Our second day of this weekend gateway took us to the world-famous city of Oxford, home to the famous Oxford University. Oxford is a university city in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 152,450. It is 56 miles (90 km) northwest of London. This city is primarily known for its prestigious university that was established in the 12th century. The most obvious reason for Oxford's fame is the university. It's the second oldest in the world (allegedly), educator of 28 NobelPrize winners, and often cited as the best university on the planet. The architecture of its 38colleges in the city’s medieval center led poet Matthew Arnold to nickname the city as the 'City of Dreaming Spires'. For people who are Harry Potter fans this must be a known fact that other than London, Oxford is another place where many scenes of this J.K Rowling masterpiece were shot. Every frame of this city of instagrammable!
Fun fact: 1
Here are the names of 10 famous people from different walks of life who went to Oxford University. Kate Beckinsale, Rupert Murdoch, Emma Watson, Oscar Wilde, Indira Gandhi, Hugh Grant, Benazir Bhutto, and David Cameron.
NOTE: A word of caution for our readers before we delve deeper into the details of the trip. Finding parking spaces can be a tad bit of an issue. We could not find parking space closer to the attractions and since we parked at a space quite far removed from the main attractions of the city our walking route got pretty long. So if you have kids with you try to park as near as possible to the places that you plan to visit on your day trip. Find below a list of parking space postcodes for your aid and also find a link to the official parking details website here.
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Name of the parking area
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Charge
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Slots available
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Time of parking
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Postcode
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Gloucester Green
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GBP 6
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105
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2 hours
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OX1 2BN
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Worcester Street
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GBP 6
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200
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2 hours
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OX1 2BQ
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Oxpens Road
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GBP 4
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179
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2 hours
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OX1 1RQ
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Destination One: Oxford Castle and Prison
We flagged off our discovery of this gorgeous city with the must-visit Oxford and Prison. The prison closed in 1996 and was redeveloped as a hotel and visitor attraction. The medieval remains of the castle, including the motte and St George's Tower and crypt, are Grade I listed buildings and a Scheduled Monument. Today, the remains of the Saxon St.George's Tower, Motte-and-Bailey Mound, the Prison D-Wing, and Debtor's Tower make up the Oxford Castle & Prison tourist attraction. The prison was closed in 1996 and the site reverted to Oxfordshire County Council. The Oxford Prison buildings have since been redeveloped as a restaurant and heritage complex, with guided tours of the historic buildings and open courtyards for markets and theatrical performances. There are entry tickets that can be bought from the tourist information office that is located on-site. Alternatively, you can also purchase them from the official website linked here. The entire tour might take up a good amount of your time so choose wisely, we did not take the tour since we had a long list of places to tick off on our must-see list for the day. You can also buy souvenirs from the shop that is located inside the tourist office. Do you know what a student who goes to Oxford University is called?
Oxonian. A student or former student at Oxford University.
Destination Two: Oxford Museum of Natural History
Entry to this museum is free. Irrespective of which age group you fall into you are going to love this place. The collection is humongous. This place is rather difficult to be described in mere words. The grandeur of the building both inside as well as on the outside is almost surreal. Ranging from life-size dinosaur skeletons to shiver, worthy insect models, to the awe-inspiring archaeological collection you name it and they have it! In fact, to be honest, if you wish to explore the place in its entirety you have to dedicate a whole day to the tour. I being a history lover myself thoroughly enjoyed this part of our tour in Oxford. Destination Three: Oxford University campus
From here we made our way to see some of the famous locations of the Oxford University campus where the much loved Harry Potter movie scenes had been shot.
First on the list was the famous Hertford Bridge, often called "the Bridge of Sighs", which is a skyway joining two parts of Hertford College over New College Lane in Oxford, England. Its distinctive design makes it a city landmark. Some scenes of Harry Potter were shot near and around this bridge. It has been nicknamed after its similarity to the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, however it was never intended to be its replica. Instead, it seems to bear a closer resemblance to the Rialto Bridge located in the same city. The bridge has regularly featured on the big and small screens, making an appearance in X Men: First Class and is shown frequently on Inspector Morse.
Located opposite this is The Bodleian Library which is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in Britain after the British Library. The Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford form the largest university library system in the UK. Two of its venues, the Old Bodleian Library and the Weston Library, are open to visitors daily, all year long. Find a link to its official website here. When you are in the Bodleian Library, make sure you pay a visit to The Divinity School.
Designed between 1423 and 1488 specifically for lectures, oral exams, and discussions on theology, The Divinity School is a medieval building and room in the Perpendicular style characterized by its rich ornamentation and tracery. The building, which belongs to the University of Oxford, is attached to the Bodleian Library (the main research library of the University of Oxford,), and is opposite the Sheldonian Theatre where students matriculate and graduate. At the far end of the Bodleian Library entrance, a door leads to Convocation House (the lower floor of the Bodleian Library and Divinity School). If you are a Potter head, you are sure to find this place seem familiar, this location appears in the Harry Potter movies in which it served as Hogwarts Infirmary. They have conducted tours of the place, to book it click here.Next on the list and at a walking distance was the Radcliff Camera. Below the Tower, there are rooms at each of three levels: the ground floor is now the college dining room, the first floor, originally the library, is now used as the Common Room, and on the top floor is the magnificent octagonal observing room. Although now it does not contain its instruments, the room nevertheless still contains some of the original furniture as well as a spiral staircase that leads to an upper gallery from which the observer had access to the roof (that is now closed off) where meteorological observations were carried out. Large windows lead from the observing room onto the balcony, making it possible to wheel observing instruments outdoors. (info source: Green Templeton College website.)
From here you can either choose to go visit the University Church of St Mary the Virgin or spend a few more minutes strolling along the Radcliff Square which is every inch instagrammable. Radcliffe Square is a square in central Oxford, England. It is surrounded by historic Oxford University and college buildings. The square is cobbled, laid to grass surrounded by railings in the center, and is pedestrianized except for access. The square named after John Radcliffe, a student of the university who became a doctor to the King. At the center of the square stands head held high, the circular and imposing Radcliffe Camera. The Bodleian Library, (main building) is situated immediately to the north of the square. The two are connected by a tunnel and there are many books stored under the square (with space for around 600,000 volumes). These books may be requested by readers. To the west is Brasenose College, one of Oxford's older colleges. To the east is All Souls College, which only has fellows and no students, and is thus largely dedicated to research. A good view can be had through the gate leading to the square since although these are normally locked, they consist of metal railings. The eastern side of the square forms part of Catte Street.
Travel Checks: Be sure to wear your comfy shoes as a day trip in Oxford is synonymous with walking!
Fun Fact 3: There used to be a small underground railway to transport books between the Radcliffe Camera and the main Bodleian site.
Located to the southern side of the square is the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, It is the center from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost exclusively of university and college buildings. St Mary's possesses an eccentric baroque porch, designed by Nicholas Stone, This is the official church of Oxford University and is where the Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy. A good view of the Radcliffe Square and the rest of central Oxford is available from the tower, which is open to the public for a charge. Find the link to the official website here. Looking back in time: Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style that appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to combat the Reformation and the Protestant church with a new architecture that inspired surprise and awe. It reached its peak in the High Baroque (1625–1675), when it was used in churches and palaces in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France, and Austria. In the late Baroque period (1675–1750), it reached as far as Russia and the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Beginning in about 1730, an even more elaborately decorative variant called Rococo appeared and flourished in Central Europe.
Destination Four: Bourton on the Water
The biggest advantage of the UK summers is that there is light till about 9:30 pm at night hence you can make the most and some more of each summer day. thinking on the same lines, after wrapping up our tour of Oxford we decided on paying a visit to an authentic village of England in order to get the real feel of how countryside living really is. So we drove on motorway A40 and then onto A429 and it took us around 50 minutes to reach the beautiful village of Bourton-on-the-Water. This is a village in the rural Cotswolds area of south-central England, straddling the River Windrush. This popular village is often referred to as the ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’ because of the attractive little bridges that cross the gently flowing River Windrush, which runs through the center of the village. Bourton has a charm all of its own at any time of the year. The word ‘Bourton’ is of Saxon origin, derived from ‘burgh’ meaning fortification or camp, and ‘ton’ meaning estate, enclosure, or village. Taken together you have the village beside the camp’. The village is known for its low bridges and traditional stone houses. The Cotswold Motoring Museum features vintage cars and a toy collection. Birdland is home to species including parrots, owls, and king penguins, plus life-size model dinosaurs. Then there is also The Dragonfly Maze that was designed by Kit Williams which has a Rebus puzzle to solve to find the secret hiding place of The Golden Dragonfly. Basically, no matter which age category you and your fellow travelers may fall into there is something for everyone to be charmed by in this village. For us, the landscape that was painted for our eyes to behold by the river in its serene avatar coupled with the colorful trees that line it, interrupted by nothing but only the low stone bridges is what took our hearts away!
Travel Checks: Be sure to try out some dairy ice-cream when at the village and you all can come back and thank us later for this tip!
Travel Checks: there is a paid car parking at the entrance to the village. So finding a place to dock your car will not be a problem.
Fun Fact 4: On August Bank Holiday Monday afternoon, a rather eccentric tradition takes place when the local football team plays a game of football actually in the river! The odd event has been going on for over 100 years and has been filmed and written about all over the world.
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