Blenheim Palace [antikvár]

'The F ine st Vie w in England iThe usual approach to Blenheim is through Woodstock, past Sir William Chambers' town hall, past the Bear and the church, and along a street of well-bred Georgian fronts, brass knockers and climbing roses, intermingled with unobtrusive shops; the kind of street that mightbe expected eventually to lead gendy out again into the mild,wooded Oxfordshire countryside.This street is different. After the last shop it turns to the left, crosses a quadrangle and dives through a triumphal arch to spring on the visitor - suddenly and all at once - a view painstakingly designed to take the breath away.'As we passed through theentrance archway and the lovely scenery burst upon me', wrote Lady Randolph Churchill on her first visit to Blenheim, 'Randolph said with pardonable pride, "This is the finest view in England." Looking at the lake, the bridge, the miles of magnificent park studded with old oaks and the huge and stately palace, I confess I feit awed. But my