Richard Humphrey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Combe and Blenheim Park
A 6.7-mile (10.8km) circular walk from Combe, moderate and about three hours: over stiled fields to East End, into Blenheim Park, mostly on its public footpaths, past Fair Rosamund's Well and the lake, north to the park wall and back down the western edge to Combe's green.
- Distance
- 10.8 km (6.7 mi)
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time
- 3 hrs
- Ascent
- 122 m
- Circular
- Circular
The route
Starts at The Green, Combe Muddy in winterStiles Download GPX
Step by step
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Step 1: Combe to East End
From the green in Combe, walk past the church of St Laurence and take the footpath east across the fields, over four stiles, past Boltons Farm to the hamlet of East End.
- Stiles
- Muddy in winter
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Step 2: Into the park
From the lane at East End, follow the public footpath into Blenheim Park and on east through the parkland, joining the Wychwood Way and crossing a stile.
- Stiles
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Step 3: Fair Rosamund's Well and Queen Pool
Follow the Wychwood Way down to the lake by Fair Rosamund's Well, with the Grand Bridge in view across the water, then turn north along Queen Pool towards Fishery Cottage.
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Step 4: North through the park
Follow the bridleway and then the public footpath north along the estate road through the open parkland for about a mile, to the gate in the park wall.
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Step 5: Down the west side to Combe
Turn west on the footpath along the line of Akeman Street, past Stonesfield Steps, then south down the field paths along the western edge of the park, over a stile, back into Combe by the Methodist church and Park Road to the green.
- Muddy in winter
- Stiles
Sights on the way
The sights this walk passes, numbered as on the map.
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St Laurence's Church, Combe
Sight · Church · The Oxfordshire Cotswolds
St Laurence's Church in Combe, near Woodstock, was built by the monks of Eynsham Abbey in 1395. It keeps a rare stone pulpit, fifteenth-century glass and medieval wall paintings uncovered in the 1890s, with a Doom over the chancel arch. Open daily; Grade I.
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Queen Pool, Blenheim
Sight · Lake · Woodstock
Queen Pool is the northern arm of the lake Capability Brown made at Blenheim from 1764, above Vanbrugh's Grand Bridge, with Rosamund's Well just west of the bridge and the Column of Victory above. Reached free on public footpaths from Combe; the lakeside road is permissive.
The walk in detail
The Combe and Blenheim Park walk is a 6.7-mile (10.8km) circular walk from the green in Combe into Blenheim's park on its public paths, past Fair Rosamund's Well with a view of Vanbrugh's Grand Bridge. It is moderate, with stiles and about 122m of climbing, and takes about three hours. Combe's pub is closed, so bring a picnic.
Unlike the paid circuit past the palace, this route keeps to the public footpaths and a bridleway for almost all of its time in the park, and you see the Grand Bridge from across the water rather than crossing it.
Combe's church and green
The walk starts on Combe's green, by the Cock Inn, a house of the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century that became a pub; CAMRA records it as closed since July 2022, and in February 2026 found no progress on the renovation approved in 2023. Combe's church of St Laurence, a few steps away, was built in 1395 for Eynsham Abbey, and the date is carved on the finial of its south porch, which keeps an ancient plank door with iron fittings. The north porch has an early twelfth-century round-arched inner doorway, older than the rest of the church.
Into Blenheim Park
From Combe a field path with four stiles leads past Boltons Farmhouse to East End, where a public footpath enters the park. Inside, the walk follows the Wychwood Way down to the lake at Fair Rosamund's Well, a spring by the water. Across the lake stands the Grand Bridge, begun by Sir John Vanbrugh around 1706 and left unfinished when work on the palace stopped in 1712; its listing says it has more than 30 rooms inside. Capability Brown later made the lake around it.
North of the bridge, the route follows Queen Pool past Fishery Cottage, a mid to late eighteenth-century house, then runs north through open parkland by a bridleway and a public footpath to a gate in the park wall. The walls round the park were mostly built between 1722 and 1729 on the line of the medieval park and run for about 14.5km. The way back follows a path named Akeman Street west, past Stonesfield Steps, and then field paths south to Combe.
Paying and not paying
Public footpaths and the bridleway cross the park, and those you can walk free. One stretch of about 570m by Queen Pool uses an estate road that is not a public right of way, so check the signs at the gates. To see the palace, the formal gardens or the walled garden, or to walk the park's other roads, you need a ticket from Blenheim Palace: in 2026 a Park and Gardens ticket is £31 for adults online. The park opens daily from 9am to 6pm. The palace is the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, as our story on famous people with Cotswold connections tells.
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What walkers report
Walkers in January 2026 found it deep in mud, with parts flooded, and another in November 2025 describes well-kept paths for the most part and muddy fields for the rest. Expect stiles on the field paths at the Combe end. Red kites are seen all along the walk (July 2025). One walker noted that the second half is mostly road and farm tracks (August 2026). Three walkers between November 2025 and January 2026 found it easy to park, one of them free. The AllTrails listing itself warns of sheep along the paths and of stretches on roads shared with traffic, and its surface data puts about 3.7km of the route on paved ways and 1.3km on grass.
Nearby
Our Blenheim Park circuit from Bladon goes past the palace and needs a ticket, and the Woodstock town walk starts by the palace gates. Our guide to Woodstock covers the town, and where to stay in Woodstock its inns and hotels. Blenheim lets dogs on leads into the park, as our guide to the Cotswolds with a dog notes. The western edge of the park, by Combe, is inside the Cotswolds National Landscape and the palace side is outside it; our guide to the Oxfordshire Cotswolds covers the country around.
There is no pub open on the walk itself. The nearest are in Woodstock, on the palace side of the park: the Woodstock Arms on Market Street serves food all day and welcomes dogs and children.
Places on the way
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Blenheim Palace
Historic houses and heritage · Woodstock
Vanbrugh's palace at Woodstock, Churchill's birthplace and a World Heritage Site, with Capability Brown's park, formal gardens and a ticket that lasts a year.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly · Car-free
Verified Oct 2026
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The Woodstock Arms
Pubs · Woodstock
A bistro pub with rooms on Market Street, Woodstock, showing two AA Rosettes, open every day from 9am with food all day and dogs and children welcome.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Bear Hotel
Hotel · Woodstock
A Macdonald hotel in a Grade II* listed old inn on Park Street, Woodstock: 54 rooms with four-posters and suites, a restaurant, afternoon tea and dogs welcome, a short walk from Blenheim.
Dog-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
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The Feathers
Hotel · Woodstock
A hotel with 18 rooms and five suites on Market Street, Woodstock, with two AA Rosettes and a Michelin Key, a few minutes from Blenheim's gates.
Verified Nov 2026
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The King's Arms
Inn · Woodstock
A Fuller's inn with 15 rooms on the corner of Market Street, Woodstock, in a Grade II listed building, with dogs welcome and breakfast included.
Dog-friendly · Car-free
Verified Oct 2026
Stay near the start
Inns, cottages and hotels within a short drive of where the walk begins, so you can set off early.
Where to stay in Woodstock-
The Star Inn
Pubs · Woodstock
A Grade II inn on the north side of the Market Place in Woodstock, serving pub classics and burgers all day without bookings, with cask ales and four rooms.
Family-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
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The Crown, Woodstock
Inn · Woodstock
An inn on Woodstock's High Street, in a building it describes as Grade II listed and eighteenth century, with five en-suite rooms, a three-bedroom cottage, a townhouse apartment and a restaurant.
Wedding venues
Verified Oct 2026
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The Punchbowl
Inn · Woodstock
A family-run Arkell's pub with nine rooms, most of them family rooms, on Oxford Street, Woodstock, with EV charging and dogs welcome.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly · EV charging
Verified Oct 2026
More like this
Stories on this walk
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Christmas in the Cotswolds
Story · Guides · 10 minute read
Christmas in the Cotswolds: Blenheim's and Sudeley's light trails, Christmas markets at Cogges and Stroud, steam trains to Broadway's late-night shopping, candlelit carols, Boxing Day mummers, winter walks and inns with fires.
More walks to try
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Blenheim Park from Bladon
Walk · Starts in Woodstock · 2 hrs · Circular
A 4.5-mile (7.2km) circular walk from Bladon round Blenheim's park, about two hours, easy and on estate roads. It crosses New Bridge, goes through High Park to Vanbrugh's Grand Bridge, past the palace and back by the walled garden. About half needs a Park and Gardens ticket.
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Woodstock town walk
Walk · Starts in Woodstock · Circular
A 1.1-mile (1.7km) easy heritage loop round Woodstock from the stocks in Park Street to Hawksmoor's Woodstock Gate into Blenheim, along the coaching inns of Oxford Street and Market Street to the Town Hall and the Hensington Gate, and back through the churchyard.
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Witney Lake and Cogges
Walk · Starts in Witney · 1 hr, 15 mins · Circular
A 3.2-mile (5.1km) easy, flat loop of about an hour and a quarter from the middle of Witney: down the Windrush through the meadows to Witney Lake, back by farm tracks and a lane to Cogges, its manor farm, café and church.