Blenheim Palace has partnered with Heritage Interpreters and City Lit College to deliver the scheme, aiming to improve accessibility across the heritage sector.

The programme, launching in September this year, will train deaf individuals to lead BSL tours at major national attractions.

Heather Carter, managing director of visitor attraction at Blenheim Palace, said: “Despite successful training courses for deaf BSL guides, taught by deaf tutors in the past, the demand for training has always exceeded the supply and training has waned in the last decade.

“At Blenheim Palace we are committed to making our attraction and its history as accessible as possible, and this special partnership to create a programme to train more BSL deaf tour guides is a natural and vital progression for us.

“We are excited that other heritage attractions will then be able to share this valuable resource.”

The announcement follows pilot deaf-led BSL tours held in 2025 and 2026, led by John Wilson, a deaf BSL guide.

Applications for the programme will open in April via the Heritage Interpreters website.

Participants will receive professional training to deliver engaging, authentic tours in BSL, with the goal of expanding the network of deaf-led guides at heritage sites across the UK.

‘Water in motion’ was their latest weekly theme and they sent in a wide variety of shots featuring rivers, gardens and beaches.

Oxfordshire has the River Thames and its tributaries but no proper beaches but quite a few photos of the sea and sand were sent in by our members showing various locations.

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We particularly liked this shot of two people having fun at the water’s edge, taken by Julia Johnson-Fry, and it’s our photo of the week.

With some beaches just a few hours’ drive away, there will no doubt be more beach photos taken once the weather warms up.

Each week, camera club members are given a theme and then post their photos on the club’s Facebook page. A selection of pictures are then featured in our papers and online. The next theme is ‘windows’.

Listed at £500,000, the property is situated on Wood Street in the centre of the town. According to the listing, renovation and extensions have added ‘contemporary living’ alongside the ‘character’ of the building’s origins.

The double bedrooms have fitted wardrobes (Image: In House, Wallingford via Rightmove)

The ground floor has an open-plan kitchen and living area. Features here include an island bar, integrated Everhot range cooker, Hotpoint fridge drawers, a freezer, and Bosch dishwasher. The space also benefits from triple aspect double glazed windows and spotlights.

An archway leads to a separate dining room, which has bi-fold doors opening onto a west-facing rear garden. According to the listing, the garden has raised planting beds, a mature hedge border, a paved patio, and artificial lawn. There is also a side access gate and further storage.

There is a modern kitchen (Image: In House, Wallingford via Rightmove)

Additional ground floor spaces include a utility room and a cloakroom. From the kitchen, access is available to a cellar. The cellar is equipped with power and lighting.

On the first floor, there are two double bedrooms with fitted wardrobes and a third bedroom suitable as a study or home office. A modern family bathroom includes a bath with rain effect shower, a vanity unit with basin, and a Velux window.