Newbee traveler questions re mass transport

Oxford Parkway is a station on the edge of Oxford; "Parkway" is the name used in the UK for such edge-of-town, drive-to stations. the one in the centre of Oxford is just called "Oxford". You can go to either station.

1) Get a train from London Paddington station to Oxford. There are two departures per hour, and the trip takes 57 minutes.
Tickets are cheaper if bought 1-3 months in advance.
You can look up times and buy tickets from the railway company website: https://www.gwr.com/
Tickets for next year will not yet be available, but if you look up times for late November this year you can get an idea of times and prices.

2) Either bus from Oxford Parkway to Woodstock, here: https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/Oxford_Timetables/7_current.pdf
Or Oxford to Woodstock here: https://bustimes.org/services/s3-oxford-woodstock-chipping-norton-charlbury

You say "near Blenheim Palace in Woodstock", is it actually in Woodstock, or outside? If outside the town, double-check if it is near a bus stop.

Thank you! This is extremely helpful!

Chris posted while I was typing. I'll go ahead and add this anyway.

Blenheim Palace has a specific webpage about getting there without a car: https://www.goodjourney.org.uk/attractions/blenheim-palace/ It says that you take a train from London Marylebone Station (or London Paddington) to Oxford Parkway, and a bus from there.

I hope you don't mind this simplified list of public transport basics for London and beyond:

(1) Within greater London, public transport (buses, underground trains, overground trains, Docklands Light Rail) is provided by Transport for London - https://tfl.gov.uk/ - which also licenses taxis and minicabs.

(2) For rail travel to points outside London, you can find trains, schedules, and fares at the National Rail website. It will link you to the rail company who operates the train you're buying a ticket for. Always buy tickets directly from the train operator, such as the link Chris provided for the trains from Paddington to Oxford Parkway. Avoid third party websites like the trainline or whatever it is, that is all too often mentioned on travel discussion forums online.

(3) Outside London you can also travel by what we Americans call a bus and those in Britain call a "coach," i.e., an intercity bus*. Information on those is here at the National Express website: https://www.nationalexpress.com/en. I like rail travel and haven't done coach travel in the UK, but sometimes it's the best option for a specific route.

*In the UK, "bus" means a bus running a local route. I once spent nearly a month on a tour of Australia and NZ led by a Brit who placed strong emphasis on that terminology. I've forgotten a lot I heard on that trip, but not the bus/coach thing, lol.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

Buses from Oxford Parkway station (or Oxford main station, but Oxford Parkway is closer) to Woodstock are quite frequent, and are definitely buses rather than coaches.

Also, trains to Oxford Parkway leave from London Marylebone station, not Paddington. Chiltern Railways

Thanks to all who responded here. We’ll be staying nearest to Victoria Station in London, so I’m hoping there are trains leaving from there to Oxford regularly as well.

I don't see any direct trains from Victoria Station to Oxford. They all seem to depart from either Paddington or Marylebone. You can take a look on nationalrail.co.uk.

Trains are one option. When I have gone to Oxford or Blenheim Palace, leaving from the Victoria Station area, I take the Oxford Tube Coach to the Gloucester Green Bus Station in Central Oxford. The coaches leave across the street from the Victoria station, very comfortable, no need to buy in advance to save money. I leave early in the day to avoid traffic.
https://www.oxfordtube.com/

At Gloucester Green Bus Station, easy transfer to the Stagecoach Bus number S3, which stops at both the Palace and in Woodstock itself. You can walk easily between the Palace and the town, it’s not far. As others have said, the S3 originates at the Oxford Train Station so this timetable will be useful whether you choose train or coach.
Stagecoach S3 Timetable

Each station in London serves a particular line, which serves a particular part of the country beyond London.

Trains from Victoria only go south across the river and then serve Surrey, Kent and the Sussexs. You can't go back north without a great deal of trouble.

Oxford is served by some trains out of Paddington and others out of Marylebone.

For train advice around the UK (and lots of other places), this site is invaluable:

www.seat61.com