back to contents

The ‘Remorseful Weekend’ Report - Part IV
 

Filming Locations And Blenheim Palace
Sunday 1st. October 2000
 

Once again we were treated to drive through the countryside in glorious sunshine until we reached our destination; Bullingdon prison! Antony was dispatched to the prison’s reception area to explain to the bemused prison officer that he had asked for, and had received, permission for the Inspector Morse Society to come and look at the prison bus stop! As the prison officer confirmed this with security her laughter was, apparently, bordering on hysteria!

We were granted our wish and climbed from the bus to view the aforementioned bus stop. It was used in REMO for the scene when Lewis is trailing Harry Repp back to Oxford. We couldn’t resist having a group photograph taken outside the huge iron gates of H.M.P. Bullingdon and it was at that choice moment that about seventy prison officers (presumably on some kind of shift change) walked past us looking highly bemused! By this point my laughter was too bordering on hysteria. Credit should be given to our lovely bus driver who managed, by grimacing, to keep a straight face as we reboarded the coach!

Our next stop was the lovely village of Burford where so much of the action in REMO takes place. We had lunch at the Bay Tree Hotel, featured in Dexter’s description of the village before we went to look at the house which Barron the builder was working on when he met his death. It is hard to imagine that so much activity could have gone on in such a quiet village!

Back on the bus once more we sped towards Oxford, through Woodstock and up to Blenheim Palace (which has been a filming location in several productions of Inspector Morse). Our guide to the palace was informative and its contents were astonishing. There were huge tapestries illustrating the battle of Blenheim and family portraits, which highlighted the link between the royal family (through the Spencer family) to the present occupiers of Blenheim.

The grounds, designed and managed by Capability Brown were breathtaking and we were able to wander around them down to the lake and look at the palace from various different angles. There was also a well-stocked shop selling Blenheim water, wine, chocolate and postcards which we were able to dash into at the last minute. With our senses overloaded we clambered onto the bus for our last stop of the day.

The Bear Hotel in Woodstock was the scene for a gratefully received afternoon tea with scones, jam and sandwiches. It is safe to say that at this point exhaustion was setting in and, finishing our tea we were once more aboard the Oxford bound coach.

We bade our farewells outside the Randolph Hotel and agreed that next year’s weekend was a must. The ‘Remorseful Weekend’ was a magnificent event and something, which was highly enjoyed by each and every person who attended. Our thanks go to the organisers who did such a wonderful job and worked so hard to make the weekend a success!