Palaces and spaces

These are Blenheim Palace's gates. Viewed from the inside. Huge and impressive, they are titchy compared to the palace and grounds themselves. Set near an almost unbelievably picturesque village called Woodstock, we danced there, far too early on Saturday morning, observed by hundreds of Daddy-Long-Legs from the damp grass, and the odd tourist or two. I looked around and thought, yep, this would be just about enough space for me. Just about enough to run around in, have my own space in and never really feel like leaving. The grounds stretch to the horizon, so large that there is a lake with a bridge, and a distant sculpture on a massive thin plinth, like Nelson's Column. Beautiful.