Greys Court (15 minutes)
Is a picturesque Tudor house with a delightful series of walled gardens nestling on a tranquil hillside on the edge of the Chilterns, surrounded by beech woods and sheep-grazed pastures. Its also a great place to treat yourself in the Tea Room from a range of delicious cakes and biscuits.

Harcourt Arboretum (15 minutes).

Is an integral part of the plant collection of Oxford's Botanic Garden. In May and June the Arboretum is ablaze with azaleas and rhododendrons and in October the Japanese Maples can brighten even the dullest day. In spring there is a quintessentially English ten acre woodland and in summer a thirty seven acre meadow full of wild flowers. The Arboretum is a magical place to spend a day at any time of year.

Hidcote Manor Garden (2 hours).

Near to Stratford upon Avon, Hidcote Manor is a beautiful stone manor house with a series of interlinking and delightful small gardens, separated by walls and hedges. Hidcote is one of the most beautiful gardens in England.

Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley. (1 hour)

Wisley has been a centre of gardening for over 100 years. There is greater horticultural diversity found here than any other garden in the world and offers visitors countless opportunities to gather new ideas and inspiration.

Charlecote Park (1 hour 30 minutes).

Built in 1558 but now appears as it would have done a century ago. The gardens reflect traditional, formal landscaping and the park, famous as the legendary venue of a deer poaching expedition in Shakespeare’s youth, is still well stocked with deer.

Blenheim Palace (30 minutes).

The vast and magnificent estate of Blenheim was built for John Churchill, 1^st Duke of Marlborough, in recognition of his great victory over the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. The Palace was designed by Sir John Vanburgh and is one of the largest and finest private houses in the country. The palace has lavishly decorated staterooms and a display of memorabilia of Sir Winston Churchill, who was born there. It is situated in gardens renowned for their beauty, ranging from the formal Water Terraces, Italian Garden and Rose Garden to the natural charm of the Arboretum and Cascade. Blenheim Lake, created by Capability Brown in 1760, and spanned by Vanburgh`s Grand Bridge, is the focal point of over 2,000 acres of landscaped parkland. The Blenheim miniature railway links the Palace to the Pleasure Garden, which includes the herb and lavender garden, the butterfly house, and the Marlborough Maze, which is the world’s largest symbolic hedge maze.

Article on Blenheim Palace