Travel UK

Oxford, England

I’ve started a new job and one of the perks is that I get to take part in some pretty cool activities. Like going to Oxford for the day. For those readers who don’t know, Oxford is a smallish city in South East England, most famous for Oxford University aka the oldest English speaking university in the world. It’s only 50 miles north-west of London, so it makes for the perfect day trip!

Poet Matthew Arnold called Oxford “the city of dreaming spires” and that fits right in with my romanticised view of the city. Partially helped along by a healthy love of Phillip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” which are  set in a fictionalised Oxford. But the list of famous authors who’ve lived or studied at Oxford is ridiculously long. So a trip to Oxford should go on any anglophile’s “Bucket List”.

If you get the chance to explore Oxford, besides visiting individual colleges inside the University (which I definitely recommend!), I’d also recommend visiting the Ashmolean Museum and the Bodleian Library aka the library of my dreams. Oxford also has examples of every type of English architectural period from the Saxons to the present day, so it’s not just a town for the literary nerds!

All Souls bridge of sighs bust busy street camera
Dome of the Radcliffe Camera.

columns famous pubs
The pub that was a favourite haunt of many readers, but especially Tolkein,

faun
One of the fauns around Oxford, rumoured to have inspired CS Lewis in writing “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

ivy covered house marker market
Exploring the indoor market.

ship street tudor buildingtower
Have you ever visited Oxford?

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