Here is all you need to know to access Blenheim for free, using the 'secret green gate' in Woodstock. It's perfectly legal – you will be using a Public Footpath to enter instead of one of the official entrances. It's just a 5 – 10 minute walk and will bring you in right next to the lake.
As it is a private estate entry to the Blenheim can be expensive, but a little known secret is that a number of public footpaths cross the park, so it's possible to enter without needing to buy a ticket, absolutely free. Follow the links below to find out how!
To help you with your visit all tickets must be purchased in advance; this allows faster entry at the gates, one quick scan and you'll be through. You will also receive our latest information on what's happening and how to make the most of your day at the Palace.
Free car parking is available to all Blenheim Palace visitors (a parking fee applies to selected third party events, like Christmas), with disabled parking for blue badge and accessible parking at the front of the main car park with a shuttle buggy to the Palace. Further parking is available at the Walled Garden.
There are many walks to experience at Blenheim Palace, here are a few recommended ones. Please view our map for further information. The Formal Gardens: A 1.5-mile walk taking 1 hour suitable for wheelchair and buggy users. The Lake: A 0.75-mile circular walk taking 35 minutes.
How to Find the Harry Potter Tree Blenheim Palace & Visit for FREE!
Is Blenheim worth a visit?
With over 30 wineries and its in-demand wine industry, scorching heat, locally-grown food scene, and breathtaking landscapes, it's one of the best places to visit on the South Island! Known as the foodie capital of New Zealand – Blenheim is a must-stop for food and wine lovers.
How long to allow for a Blenheim Palace visit. Touring the house will take you about 40 minutes using the audio guide. The Churchill exhibition another half an hour. Within the house there is also The Untold Story exhibition which tells stories about the house and the people who lived in it takes another 40 minutes.
Home to the 12th Duke of Marlborough and his family and the birth place of Sir Winston Churchill, Blenheim Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site boasting a long and diverse history.
Dogs are not permitted in the Walled Garden, Blenheim Palace Adventure Play, Formal Gardens or Palace, with the exception of assistance dogs. Visitors are not permitted to bring food and beverages into the Palace. The use of tripods or selfie sticks is not allowed inside the Palace.
Films shot at the exteriors include Spectre while the interior has been used as a filming location for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation among others.
Do the Churchill family still own Blenheim Palace?
Blenheim Palace today is still the home of the Churchill family. It is currently the home of the Twelfth Duke of Marlborough, Charles James Spencer-Churchill. The land is now owned by the king since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. The family has paid rent for the land for the past 300 years.
At Blenheim Palace you will find the 'Harry Potter Tree' which is where the scene containing Snape's flashback was filmed; taunted by James Potter and friends a young Snape was levitated into the air upside down in front of the tree.
Travel the greener way to Blenheim Palace to receive your 20% discount and help conserve Blenheim for future generations. Use the code GREEN20 for discount during online checkout and show your proof of travel by bus, train or bike on arrival.
Whilst Blenheim Palace is not owned by English Heritage your membership does in fact allow you a discounted admission on arrival. However please note that is not valid for online tickets.
As it is a private estate entry to the Blenheim can be expensive, but a little-known secret is that a number of public footpaths cross the park, so it's possible to enter without needing to buy a ticket, absolutely free.
In 1987 the palace and its surrounding property were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The 2,100-acre (850-hectare) estate, which has remained in the Churchill family, is open to the public.
Blenheim Palace is the only non-royal and non-episcopal (residence of a bishop) palace in England. It was built by the first Duke and Duchess of Marlborough in the 18th century, and is instantly recognisable for its Baroque architecture.
It's bigger than Buckingham Palace, but it's also privately owned by the family that built it over 300 years ago. It's been the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough since 1704 and was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
Was Princess Diana related to Duke of Marlborough?
He is the eldest surviving son of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and his first wife, Susan Mary Hornby. As a member of the Spencer family, he is a distant relative of the war-time Conservative Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and of Diana, Princess of Wales, born Lady Diana Spencer.
Did Winston Churchill ever live at Blenheim Palace?
The palace is notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill. Following the palace's completion, it became the home of the Churchill (later Spencer-Churchill) family for the next 300 years, and various members of the family have wrought changes to the interiors, park and gardens.
Why was Winston Churchill born at Blenheim Palace?
On his father's side, Winston Churchill was a direct descendant of the Dukes of Marlborough, nominally among the higher members of the British aristocracy. The family's ancestral home is Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, where Churchill was born on Monday, 30 November 1874.
Blenheim (/ˈblɛnɪm/ BLEN-im; Māori: Waiharakeke) is the most populous town in the region of Marlborough, in the north east of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an estimated urban population of 30,500 (June 2023). The surrounding Marlborough wine region is well known as the centre of the New Zealand wine industry.
