Blenheim Palace - has anyone been - I have a question?

[Sherlockgirl]

My daughter and I have an annual winter, pre Xmas, weekend away every year. This year we are going to Oxford.

We want to do the light trail at Blenheim Palace but I am finding it confusing working out what we can do, as we would also like to wonder around the grounds and do the Xmas market, have some market food if available, possibly see the house ( is that a thing?)but not the specific ‘Wizard of Oz’ display.

I am probably being stupid but can I just get a light trail ticket and parking to do this? I cannot see a ticket for the market stalls.

If anyone has been, and can you let me know how it worked it would really be appreciated. I have emailed them but not had a reply.

Yes DD and I went last year, once you’ve parked and walked in the market stalls are the first thing you’ll see in the courtyard, the light trail starts just a bit further on

It is two tickets - 1) house and gardens and 2) light trail and then you will need to pay for parking separately. The house and gardens ticket will get you into the house - the display is embedded so it isn’t a separate area, the library will also have Wizard of Oz stuff in. This ticket will also let you into the market. The light trail is an additional ticket on top. It is worth buying the house ticket first if you want to go in and then you get a discount for the lights.

as others have said, you can't do the house but not the specific wizard of oz display, because it's throughout the main part of the house that's open for visitors.

You can visit the market stalls, etc. with just the light show ticket, but not the house and gardens. Tbh most of the gardens are where the light show is so you can see them then (albeit in the dark).

Whichever one you go to you also have to buy parking separately on top. technically if you're prepared to walk the length of the drive you can park in the village for free but obviously the inhabitants of said village would prefer you didn't. It's also a bit of a trek particularly if you're walking the whole light show as well.

Personally I think it's worth buying the ticket to be able to see the house. Once you've bought it and visited you can then change it into an annual pass for free, which means you can visit again as many times as you want within the next year, so could, for example, come again in the summer and see the house without the xmas decs/garden in full bloom.

Thank you everyone. I appreciated your replies. Really helpful. I have booked the combined house, light trail and parking. I like the idea of converting to an annual pass so will look at that also.

We go every year, it is well worth visiting. The market is a little underwhelming and very overpriced, particularly the food but that probably isn’t a surprise. Parking and walking in take a little time so leave a bit of time for that before your timed entries.

The invite to change the ticket into an annual pass is sent automatically, I think the day/day after I visited, but went into my junk mail, so keep an eye out. If you time your first visit right you could even get 2 Christmas trips out of it for the price of one!

Thanks. Will look out for that.

Thanks. Good point. Will allow some time for parking. Expect slightly overpriced market stalls but we love them. We did Bath last year for our weekend which was fab with the stalls, baths and spa.