| Blenheim Palace, Cotswolds, England, continued | |
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| Finally! The inner courtyard and main entrance to Blenheim Palace. | Statues in niches around the courtyard are copies of the original sculptures which had weathered away. |
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| The parkland and gardens at Blenheim are spread over acres and acres of land. | Trails lead through the parklands to little treasures like this small garden. |
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| Pools, fountains, sculptures, and parterre beds, the elegance never stops. | The crowd of people here are seated on a terrace outside the palace tea rooms. |
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Toward the back of the pools and fountains above I found this, The Dying Gaul. It is one of my favorite sculptures.
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An impressive gate leads to the Rose Garden. |
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| A pathway of trellises surround the Rose Garden. | There's a spot, rather hidden, of exquisite garden beds, paths, streams and pools, and a rustic bridge. it is the Secret Garden. |
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| Farther out in the parklands, through some woods, hides this cascade. | A bridge over the cascades gets you up close to the thundering beauty. |
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| Blenheim has a maze, a tradition of English manor gardens. Josh couldn't wait to get in it. | We were 'mazed, all right. We thought we'd just walk in a little ways and come back out. The weather had gone gray and rainy. Forty-five minutes later... |
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| See that wooden wall on the left? That's a platform. I was standing on a twin platform to take this photo of the center of the maze, and the way out. You could see it, but once you got down off the platform, you were lost again. The letters in the topiary sculptures spell "Blenheim." | Suddenly, we were there. Lisa reads the plaque on the Mercury sculpture. |
