Oxford is a city in the central southern England. The city is world wide known as a university town and home of the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the country and the English-speaking world. It takes 1.5h to get there by car, M4 until J13 and then A34. The train is also a good option to get to Oxford: it takes around the same time and you can have a return ticket for 15 pounds. National Express is not a good option as the journey takes almost 3 hours and it is not very flexible in terms of timetable.
We have a friend living in Oxford and she told us Oxford City Royal Regatta was taking place 17-18th August. We thought that it was a good opportunity to go there and enjoy the rowing-loving atmosphere.
DAY 1: Sightseeing Oxford
Buildings in Oxford demonstrate an example of every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons in the mid 18th century. Oxford is known as the city of dreaming spires, a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings.
We started our tour in the train station, heading to the centre. We left the Said Business School on the left side and took the Park End Road to go to Oxford Castle.
Oxford Castle is a large and partially ruined medieval castle. The original wooden made castle was replaced in stone in the 11th century. In the 14th century the military value of the castle diminished and the site was used as a prison. During the English Civil War, but the castle was used as a prison until 1996, when it was closed and redeveloped as an hotel. There is a hill next to the castle from where you can take very nice pictures of the city.
Behind the castle, there we found a beach in Oxford! 23 tonnes of sand have transformed the area of Castle Quarter into a beach. It is open to the public between 10am and 11pm until mid-September. You can enjoy the sun between palm trees while your friends play volleyball... or visit an art gallery! The O3 Gallery, which is next to the beach, offers a very interesting art exposition.
We continued the road until Queen Street, a pedestrian shopping street. It is a one-way road for bus and taxis, two-way road for cyclists outside main shopping hours, and completely forbidden for cars. Carfax Tower (in the picture) is considered to be the centre of the city and is the remaining part of the 12th century St Martin's Church. The tower is 23 metres tall and no building in central Oxford is higher than this one. It is very noisy when clock bells sound!
The beautiful Town Hall, located in St Aldate's, very close to Carfax Tower, was first built in 1292 and occupied by Oxford Guildhall. In 1752, the site was replaced by a Town Hall which was demolished in 1893 to make way for the current building, designed by Henry Thomas Hare.
Following the same street a little bit further, you will find Tom Tower, a bell tower showing the entrance to Christ Church. The bell of Tom Tower, called Great Tom, is the loudest bell in all of Oxford. It was moved from Osney Abbey where it was called Mary and it has sounded every night since the Second World War.
You can take very beautiful pictures of Christ Church from inside the park...
Christ Church Meadow is a famous flood-meadow popular for being a walking and picnic post in Oxford. It is bounded by River Thames, River Cherwell and Christ Church, creating a triangular shape. It provides access to many college boat houses and it is a private property of the college Christ Church although access is allowed during the day.
After the tour around the park, we headed to the university area. Oxford University is a collegiate research university whose foundation year is unclear, although there is evidence of teaching activities back in the 1096. As mentioned before, Oxford University is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and the second oldest university in the world after University of Bologna. In 2011, around 21.000 students were studying in Oxford University, 11.700 undergraduates and 9.300 postgraduates.
The university maintains the largest university library system in the UK. The main library building, which is covered by a scaffold by the way, is called the Radcliffe Camera, built as a science library between 1737-1749 now holds books from the English, History and Theology collections.
We started our tour in the train station, heading to the centre. We left the Said Business School on the left side and took the Park End Road to go to Oxford Castle.
Oxford Castle is a large and partially ruined medieval castle. The original wooden made castle was replaced in stone in the 11th century. In the 14th century the military value of the castle diminished and the site was used as a prison. During the English Civil War, but the castle was used as a prison until 1996, when it was closed and redeveloped as an hotel. There is a hill next to the castle from where you can take very nice pictures of the city.
The beautiful Town Hall, located in St Aldate's, very close to Carfax Tower, was first built in 1292 and occupied by Oxford Guildhall. In 1752, the site was replaced by a Town Hall which was demolished in 1893 to make way for the current building, designed by Henry Thomas Hare.
Following the same street a little bit further, you will find Tom Tower, a bell tower showing the entrance to Christ Church. The bell of Tom Tower, called Great Tom, is the loudest bell in all of Oxford. It was moved from Osney Abbey where it was called Mary and it has sounded every night since the Second World War.
You can take very beautiful pictures of Christ Church from inside the park...
...and you will get to see the queue to get in too!!
Christ Church Meadow is a famous flood-meadow popular for being a walking and picnic post in Oxford. It is bounded by River Thames, River Cherwell and Christ Church, creating a triangular shape. It provides access to many college boat houses and it is a private property of the college Christ Church although access is allowed during the day.
The university maintains the largest university library system in the UK. The main library building, which is covered by a scaffold by the way, is called the Radcliffe Camera, built as a science library between 1737-1749 now holds books from the English, History and Theology collections.
DAY 2: Oxford City Royal Regatta
The Oxford City Royal Regatta is an historic and popular regatta held annually on the Isis river, a beautiful stretch of the River Thames, and the scene of centuries of rowing history. The regatta consists of a 1000m downstream course on Saturday and a 500m sprint on Sunday. As my friend had some colleagues rowing on Sunday, we all agreed to go that day. We grabbed some sandwitches at Tesco's and enjoyed the weather picnicking in Christ Church Meadow before heading to the river. 
I have to admit that I was expecting the area to be more crowded at the regattas. More people, more music... Apparently, my friends told me the regattas between Cambridge and Oxford are more popular as well as busier.
Nonetheless, I had a good time enjoying the sun and cheering up rowers surrounded by good friends!
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Very useful facts to host my future visits ;)
ReplyDeleteIndeed!! Thank you for hosting us!! :)
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