England

Built between 1705 and 1724 Blenheim Palace as a gift to John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace is the only non-Episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. Blenheim is one of England’s largest homes and due to its architectural significance was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1987. The palace was designed in the rare English Baroque style which to this day still divides the architectural appreciation as it did in the 1720s. Blenheim Palace is a unique combination of family home, mausoleum and national monument; it is also the birthplace and family home of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill. One of Blenheim Palace’s most popular attractions is the beautifully landscaped parkland created in the 1760s under the eye of Lancelot Brown, a famous English landscape architect more commonly known as “Capability Brown”. The palace sits on 2100 acres and is surrounded by the magnificent lawns as well as amazing formal gardens and the great Lake, giving visitors a wonderful place to spend the day.

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The largest occupied palace in the world, Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England sits on land that has housed royalty since the 800s. Currently it is one of several places Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip call home, and on April 29th 2011, will be used as the venue for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. This residence, fortress, and palace is a grand way to spend an afternoon in merry ol’ England. Covering 484,000 square feet, this massive castle boasts extravagant staterooms, an art gallery, a dollhouse replete with many remarkable antique treasures, a chapel, and vast gardens just begging to be explored. It is hard to see how the Queen spends only about six or seven weeks a year here when you see the splendors Windsor Castle has to offer.

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Take a step back in time to a world of magic, mystery, and sacred rituals. Stonehenge, located in Wiltshire, England, is an ancient monument begun in approximately 3100 BC as a series of earthen mounds and wooden posts. Completed around 1500 BC the only stone circle with lintels on top has kept its true nature and purpose a mystery to scholars the world over. It has been regularly misattributed to Druid priests; however there is no historical evidence of Druids existing prior to 200 BC, leaving the completion of Stonehenge predating them by well over a thousand years. Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the current prevailing speculation as to the builders is a series of native peoples dating from the Neolithic Period to the Bronze Age with no specific religious ties. Rather, they each began, added to, and used the site for their own ritualistic purposes.

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