Or try the Pleasure Gardens Gift Shop which offers children’s souvenirs including butterfly badges erasers and

Or try the Pleasure Gardens Gift Shop which offers children’s souvenirs including butterfly badges, erasers and slides, The World’s Best Bug Viewer, or Blenheim cuddly toys.How do we get there?By car: Woodstock is eight miles north-west of Oxford on the A44. Approaching Oxford on the M40, exit at junction 9 and follow signs to Woodstock or Blenheim Palace. From other directions take the A44 exit from the Oxford by-pass. Parking is free.By public transport: the nearest mainline railway and National Express stations are in the centre of Oxford. Go to Woodstock on the number 20 bus.Will there be queues?Occasionally, there can be congestion entering, but Blenheim is so big that once inside you should not have to queue long for anything.Admission: Park tickets cost £10 per car, or pedestrians £3.50 adults, £1.50 children.

Park tickets include entry to the maze and adventure play area, plus rides on the train, entry to the butterfly house and the herb garden and access to 2,000 acres of park.Open: daily, 10.30am-5.30pm until 2 November.Disabled access: Blenheim Palace welcomes those with disabilities and will do all it can to ensure that they can enjoy as much as possible.. Even in these times of economic uncertainty, conspicuous consumption is alive and kicking. Black credit cards – pieces of plastic that put gold and platinum rivals firmly in the shade – have established themselves as the only cards worth carrying among those willing and able to afford them. Some 326,000 people in Britain now earn more than £100,000 a year – a figure that has doubled during the past four years.American Express was the first provider to enter the market, launching its Centurion charge card in May 1999.

To qualify, cardholders must earn a minimum of £100,000 per annum, and be willing to cough up £650 a year in charges.In June last year, NatWest became the first high- street bank to offer a black card, and Halifax followed suit in the autumn. Nat-West’s card is aimed at people with an annual income of at least £70,000 and costs £250 a year, while the Halifax insists on at least £75,000 and charges £175.So what on earth would possess someone to pay that kind of money for a credit card? Well, the attraction for users is a package of exclusive extras, including the chance to earn additional Air Miles; worldwide access to executive airport lounges; and a 24-hour, multilingual “personal assistance” service, to help busy rich people organise their lives.American Express says more than 90 per cent of Centurion cardholders make use of its concierge service. “This service can get you anything so long as it’s legal,” says Jacquie Goozee of American Express. Concierge benefits break down into three categories: travel, financial and lifestyle.