The UNESCO World Heritage site in Oxfordshire will welcome new tours and the return of popular events next year.
Popular for group travel organisers, Blenheim Palace is hosting a temporary Turner Exhibition which will see the largest collection of Turner paintings ever to visit the county.
Works in The Art of Perspective: JMW Turner’s early architectural paintings and engravings exhibition, which opens on 9th February and runs until April, will consist of some of the artist’s most famous pieces including ‘Untitled, a view of Oxford from Headington Hill’.
The exhibition will be in the State Rooms and will give visitors a chance to see Turner’s paintings in the landscape he originally painted them within.
Announcing its 2019 programme, the team at Blenheim Palace said the Private Apartment Tours will return in the spring, offering visitors the chance to again explore the private East side of the Palace once more.
Each of the three tours, ‘The Dukes Floor, ‘The Upstairs Tour’ and the ‘Downstairs Tour’, will give visitors a unique insight into a different aspect of palace life and will undoubtedly enhance any visit to the venue.
New guided tours
For the first time, the new ‘Restoration and Conservation’ (8th January-10th February) tour will give visitors an in-depth view of the deep clean that the palace undergoes annually. Running twice daily, excluding Sundays, the tour is intended to highlight how the heritage of the Palace is preserved whilst it is simultaneously modernised to remain appealing to visitors.
Another new addition to the Palace are the ‘Twizy Tours’, which will give visitors the opportunity to explore the parkland from the comfort of a two-seater, electric Renault Twizy.
Special events
Blenheim’s 2019 calendar will kick off with the Giant Easter Egg Trail, running from 19th-22nd April. Over the Easter weekend the Palace will host a range of outdoor activities, vintage fairground rides and story-telling sessions.
Next up will be the Blenheim Palace Food Festival, returning to the palace for its fourth year. Known for being Oxfordshire’s largest food festival, the three day event will take place from 25th-27th May and is a great opportunity to try a range of the Cotswolds’ food and drink.
In June (21st-23rd), the Blenheim Palace Flower Show will return for its seventh year.
Booking a group visit
Groups of 15 plus wishing to book a visit to Blenheim Palace can email groups@blenheimpalace.com or call 01993 815600.
For more information on the 2019 events and offerings visit www.blenheimpalace.com.
Image: Blenheim Palace (photo credit: Blenheim Palace)
Uncover key moments in Lady Ashcombe’s 50-year tenure as Sudeley Castle’s longest serving steward in a new display or tour at the Gloucestershire estate.
We caught up with Iain Parkinson, head of landscape and horticulture at Wakehurst, to find out what groups can expect from the gardens in West Sussex.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site has opened the doors to its largest ever exhibition in history, where significant items from the very best of British fashion have taken over the palace.
The award-winning musical by Jethro Compton and Darren Clark will transfer to the West End following a sold-out run at Southwark Playhouse.
