Car-free adventures aroundWoodstockThe Cotswolds
Winston Churchill’s grave, a life-size Megalosaurus, leafy waterside walks, historic cobbled streets, an outdoor pool - and one of England’s biggest palaces… Woodstock is packed with things to see and do. Lots of visitors heading for the huge estate and gardens at Blenheim Palace, barely notice the lovely town right next to it with its gourmet cafés and its pubs serving local ales. There’s no need for a car to get there. You can reach and explore this little walkable town by bus, foot, train and/or bike. And Blenheim Palace offers a discount to sustainable travellers too! Read on for more.
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1. How do I get to Woodstock without a car?
With several regular bus routes, Woodstock makes a great hub for exploring the Cotswolds or a lovely day out from nearby towns and cities. There are frequent buses from Oxford, Witney, Chipping Norton, Kidlington and Charlbury. You could also get a train to Hanborough station and walk or cycle along the scenic new community path to reach Blenheim and Woodstock.
- Bus S3 leaves every half an hour (hourly on Sundays) from Oxford railway station (Stop R5) and fares to Woodstock are currently fixed at £3. Look out for thatched cottages in Yarnton as the bus rolls through this pretty village and sit upstairs for the best views from the bus window.
- Bus S7 runs twice an hour from Witney’s Market Square (Stop C) or from central Oxford through Kidlington. If you’re going to make more than two journeys, it’s worth getting a MyBus ticket, covering the whole of Oxfordshire for £6.50.
- Hourly trains to Hanborough station from Oxford take 10 minutes to get to there and currently cost £4.40 for a day return. A new Community Path starts nearby. Come out of Hanborough station and turn right along the main road and you’ll see the gate on your left with a sign. Follow the track through tall trees and past a lovely house to another gate, which seems to be locked. Look closely at the keypad to find a label with the code to open the gate!
- From here, it’s just over 3 miles along paths and pavements to Woodstock. There’s a map here. It’s a bit far for most people to walk both ways, especially if you’re exploring Woodstock and Blenheim once you get there, but great for cyclists. The route runs partly along pretty rivers and through the village Bladon (see 4 below).
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2. A car-free family day out in Woodstock
There’s so much to do in Woodstock – even without visiting Blenheim Palace (see 3 below). Here is one possible itinerary for a day out with the family.
- Arrive by bus at the Marlborough Arms. Nearby, you’ll find Hampers Food and Wine, a deli that is perfect for stocking up with snacks and treats for the day. Three minutes’ walk down the road, there are picnic tables in the big grassy walled garden of The Oxfordshire Museum, which also has a great café with homemade food. The museum has changing I-Spy sheets, featuring anything from ancient artefacts to seasonal sights of the garden. Look out for blue tits nesting in the old stone walls in springtime.
- Woodstock has short Town Walks with things to spot for children and adults. The kids’ trail includes seeking out the free museum’s dinosaur garden, to find prehistoric ferns and a life-size model Megalosaurus, or looking up to see fire marks, pub signs and the unusual church clock or musical carillon, which plays a tune at 9am, 1pm, 5pm and 9pm.
- St Mary Magdelene church is opposite the museum and has art exhibitions, a Norman doorway and a collection of colourful hand-stitched cushions. Look out for an embroidered fox, mice, butterflies, and a group of garden birds.
- If it’s a warm summer afternoon, you could head to Woodstock Open Air Pool (see 5 below), wander through the Water Meadows or into Blenheim Park (see 6). Raining? Check out the Oxford Bus Museum (see 4) or the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum (in the garden of The Oxfordshire Museum), where the collections include magic lantern slides and a marching drum. If you’ve come by train you can claim 2-for-1 entry. Follow Good Journey’s directions to reach both The Oxfordshire Museum and The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum and claim your discount for arriving car-free.
- Stop of for tea at Brothertons Brasserie, an authentic Italian restaurant with tables and chairs outside in the cobbled alley. The kids’ menu offers little margarita pizzas on homemade dough or Giovanni’s spaghetti and meatballs with tomato sauce.
- Finally, Woodstock is a fabulous place for shopping, packed with independent boutiques, art galleries and quirky, family-run businesses. You could pick up something to read on the way home from the Woodstock Bookshop, a new top from Sassy and Boo or even an antique from Martha’s Attic.
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3. Blenheim Palace
A huge adventure playground in an old walled garden, a butterfly house, a miniature train, and the fiendishly complex Marlborough Maze with two miles of pathways running through dense yew hedges… Or a stroll through soaring state rooms, full of tapestries and portraits, and a buggy ride into the gardens, past picturesque cascades and roses…
- There’s so much to see on the sprawling estate around the Baroque magnificence of Blenheim Palace that it would take most people several days to cover it all. This might be one reason why the standard entry ticket is now automatically an annual pass. And there’s 20% off if you arrive by train, bike or bus.
- So how do I get to Blenheim Palace without a car? Follow Good Journey’s directions. You can get there easily on foot from Woodstock. Bus S3 and bus S7 from Oxford stop at the Palace gates. On summer weekends, there’s a shuttle bus from Hanborough Station or bus S7 runs from opposite Hanborough Station to the palace gates daily all year round. Hang onto your train or bus ticket to show at the kiosk for a discount.
- Peckish? Blenheim has six different cafés and restaurants on site, from the Oxfordshire Pantry near the entrance to the Walled Garden Pizzeria near the adventure playground. There are picnic areas too, near the Queen Pool, so you can eat your sarnies overlooking what Winston Churchill’s father called the “best view in England.”
- Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace in November 1874. He proposed to his wife in the Temple of Diana and is buried at St Martin’s church in the nearby village of Bladon (see 4 below). There’s an exhibition about his life and times inside the palace, a memorial garden outside, and a new sculpture on the South Lawn of Churchill painting the landscape while smoking his trademark cigar.
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4. Hanborough and Bladon
These villages are easy to get to from Woodstock on bus S7. They are also now easier to walk to, thanks to the new Community Path. One footpath runs through a corner of Blenheim Park to Bladon and a beautiful new section of well-surfaced riverside path links Bladon and Hanborough. Here’s a map.
- What is there to see in Hanborough? Just by Hanborough railway station, with regular trains from Oxford, you can find the capacious Oxford Bus Museum, showcasing more than a century of local transport. It’s open on Wednesdays and Sundays and sometimes runs heritage bus rides.
- In the neighbouring village of Bladon, now linked to Hanborough by the pretty Community Path, Winston Churchill is buried in the churchyard. His grave is often heaped with flags and flowers and there’s a small display about the wartime Prime Minister inside St Martin’s church.
- How can I find Churchill’s grave without a car? From Woodstock, you can catch bus S7 and get off at the Church bus stop. Or walk (about 1½ miles) from Woodstock along the pavement of the Oxford Road and follow the signed footpath right, turning right again along the pavement of Grove Road until you reach The White House community pub. The church is left up a tarmac lane opposite the pub. If you’re coming from Hanborough railway station, the Community Path emerges just behind the pub.
- If you’re visiting Blenheim Palace, the pedestrian path towards Bladon from the grounds is marked on the Visitor Map.
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5. Woodstock Open Air Pool
Heated in the summer holidays, Woodstock Open Air Pool is a 25-metre seasonal outdoor swimming pool with a diving board, grassy lawn, sun loungers and small café. It is open for cool water swims from late May and then heated in late July and August.
- How do I get to Woodstock Open Air Pool without a car? The pool is an easy half-mile stroll from the High Street or from the bus. From the Blenheim Palace bus stop, walk a few steps along the main road, heading away from Blenheim Gates and the town centre, and turn left along Cadogan Park.
- Follow the pavement of this road, Princes Ride and Flemings Road, winding through houses. At the T-junction, turn right along Shipton Road and keep going past The Marlborough School to reach the pool on your left.
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6. Water Meadows and Blenheim Park
At the other end of Woodstock is a small but beautiful area of water meadows, full of wildflowers, birdsong and paths winding between streams.
- How do I get to the Water Meadows in Woodstock without a car? Bus S3 and bus S7 go through Woodstock on their journeys to or from Chipping Norton and Witney respectively. Get off at the stop called Farm End and walk downhill a little way until you come to a footpath sign on your left, leading into the meadows.
- On the other side of the main road, there is a large pale green gate. If you go through this, you will find yourself on a public footpath through Blenheim Park. As long as you stick to the way-marked paths and avoid any areas that are clearly signed for ticket-holders only, you can walk a long way through landscaped parkland with great views of the bridges and palace.
- You can pass such sights as the eighteenth-century Column of Victory and Rosamund’s Well. If you have an annual pass for Blenheim Palace, you will be able to visit all kinds of other areas too.
- When you’ve finished exploring, return to the main road and turn right along the Causeway, following a sunken path past cottages. Turn right up a flower-bordered flight of steps to reach Chaucer’s Lane at the top and turn right and left for the pubs and cafes.
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7. A Woodstock pub crawl
Woodstock has lots of great pubs where you can eat, drink and make merry at the end of a great day out. Here are three very different watering holes to sample.
- The Back Lane Tavern: On Park Lane, just off Woodstock’s High Street, this characterful pub has real ales and small plates and a leafy garden. How do I get to The Back Lane Tavern? You could walk through the flowering churchyard behind St Mary Magdalene and turn left along Rectory Lane. Or simply head into Park Lane near Woostock Pharmacy.
- The Crown: A restaurant with rooms in the heart of the town, The Crown has tables in an outside courtyard or sofas by the fire. There are small plates or wood-fired pizzas, Sunday roasts with craft beers or cocktails with gourmet snacks.
- The King’s Arms: Round the corner on Oxford Street, The King’s Arms has board games and log fires, crowd-pleasing pub classics and dishes with a twist, like sea bream schnitzel or teriyaki cauliflower. There are rooms upstairs too and it’s almost next to the bus stop.
Exploring without a car means you can have a drink or two at the end of the day and enjoy a chauffeured journey afterwards on the top deck of the bus. You’ll also be helping to keep this beautiful landscape green and pleasant for future generations. For more car-free adventures in the area, check out our guides to Oxford, Kingham and the Cotswolds.
