Oxford – City of Dreaming Spires

Our going away this year has been a bit spasmodic for one reason or another. However we did manage to find a gap for a few days away to visit Oxford. For our previous visit to Oxford we stayed at Blaydon Chains but that is a bit far out of the City. This left us with the C&CC site actually in Oxford and very handy access, as it turned out, to public transport. Another unusual aspect of this trip was that it was over a weekend something we usually try and avoid!

Saturday dawned a bit dull but it did brighten up and the most important thing was that it was dry! We had a choice of buses, one from almost outside the campsite, or more correctly outside of Go Outdoors, or the Park and Ride just a little further away. We decided on the former and one soon appeared to whisk us into the City. It dropped us off outside the recently refurbished Westgate Shopping Centre where we had a coffee in the new John Lewis. An interesting feature of this shopping centre is the roof terrace that looks out over Oxford’s Dreaming Spires. We walked up through the shopping area, which was very busy, to the Ashmolean Museum. It was really more of a case of finding out where it was just in case we had a wet day. It is right next door the Randolph Hotel which has associations  with Morse the Oxford based detective in the books written by Colin Dexter.

We were navigating blind as we had no map so stopped at the Tourist Information Office in Broad Street to buy a map. Only 50p but abroad we are used to those tear off maps for free! At least we got some free advice from the lady in the office. Outside a tour guide was explaining to her group that one of the Colleges was closed because of a Graduation Ceremony. We noticed the bowler hatted officials as we passed by. The Bodleian Library and the Radcliff Camera are really magnificent buildings and you almost feel history oozing out of the mellow yellow Cotswold stone. Nearly time to call it a day so we made our way back around the various colleges to find our bus, this time to the Park and Ride.

Rain was forecast on Sunday but fortunately it proved the forecasters wrong and we awoke to a bright sunny day. In fairness it had rained overnight so perhaps just a question of timing! Back on the bus and this time we alighted just beyond Folly Bridge as we had decided to visit the Botanic Gardens which are situated near to Magdalen Bridge. We couldn’t resist going up on the bridge to the punts on the River Cherwell. The Botanic Gardens were founded in 1621 and they are lovely to wander around. For those of us that don’t always remember the names of plants they are all neatly labelled. There are several glass houses with different temperatures, I avoided going in the hottest as I always find it steams up the lens of my camera! Around the garden information signs telling you about certain plants and the contribution they have made in history.  Apparently the builders of the Pyramids ate onions and garlic. It is rumoured that they didn’t have many friends!!

It had been an enjoyable short stay with lots to do and even more than we could achieve in just a weekend. I always find it best not to do everything on one visit as you then have a good excuse to go back!