Day Trip to The City of Oxford Oxford is known as the "City of Spires" most of which belong to the university. The colleges lie within fairly easy walking distance from the city centre and are some of the best preserved architectual treasures of Britain. Some of these colleges you are able to take a guided tour through, highly recommended if you are interested in history.There is an air of antiquity about the city; a lasting quality that the more things change, the more the city will remain what it always has been; one of the great centres of European learning. The cities brilliantly covered market selling anything from venison to Versace; visit the Nose Bag for coffee, and explore Broad Street and any of the cobbled streets off it like Turls Street, Gloucester Green double as the city bus station and abudding piazza Covent-Garden style. All this before you even mention any of the famous Colleges. Oxford features heavily throughout the Inspector Morse series on television, acted by John Thaw. The author is a resident of the city as was Morse himself, it is used as locations for the famous detective. As a result it was only natural that it would be used as the backdrop for the television series.
The other television series; Midsomer Murders are frequent visitors to the county. It is interesting to note, that the City features in roughly ten other episodes. Other landmarks for the series are; Bars in Oxford, including The Plough pub, Great Haseley, the Botanic Gardens, the Corn Exchange and Wallingford, are just a few of the numerous locations of pubs and bars to be found in the county. Oxfordshire is a gently undulating county which some classify as the South Midlands of England, although in my opinion the county seems to be quite far south with the exception of Banbury which is more of a Midlands town, being closer to Birmingham than London. The county actually lies between the pastoral south and the industrial north of England, and midway between the Thames and the Severn estuaries. To the north are the picturesque rolling limestone hills of the Cotsworlds rising to a plateau of about 500 feet above sea level; to the south lie the striking chalk hills of the Chilterns which have many beechwood areas.
It's interesting to note, that you can't really mention the county name without thinking about Oxford, somehow the multi-spired university city and colleges vibrates the county to a familiar and different tune. Near the Cotswold Hills in the county, 52 miles (84 kilometers) northwest of London, stands the old city. Just below the city the Cherwell River joins the Isis, or Upper Thames River. It's also intereting to learn, that the city gets its name from the fact that during Saxon times it was a place where oxen once crossed the Thames. Also, for a memoriable experience while in the area, I recommend a walking tour of the city.  Whether you are just visiting the area or are even a local resident and looking for hotel accommodation in Oxfordshire, you can always find an Oxfordshire bed and breakfast which you will find to be surprisingly quite inexpensive. The other option is to look for Oxfordshire cottages or Oxfordshire guest houses for rent with views of some of the most exquisite village scenes and the picturesque undulating hills and hedgerows in the distance. As an area of outstanding natural beauty you may think that the unspoilt landscapes and gentle rolling hills are attraction enough, but there are also many attractions to enjoy, including the magnificent Blenheim Palace, a World Heritage Site. The Royal Manor of Woodstock, as it's know, is in the county of Oxfordshire. A former royal hunting lodge, the manor was presented to John Churchhill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, as a token of the nation's gratitude for thrashing the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Over the next twnty years the duke and after his death in 1722, his widow Sarah oversaw the construction of a baroque residence so large and grandure that it could actually be called a Palace, the only palace that was not royal in Britain. Sir John Vanbrugh and Wren's pupil Nicholas Hawksmoor were the chief architects of the palace. From the front, with its colonnaded portico, the great wings stretch back to enclose the Great Court. Among the many rooms, 200 in all, is the 183 foot Long Library, the frescoed Saloon, and state rooms which are rich with Old Master paintings, tapesties and Grinling Gibbons carvings. It's worth mentioning here that several rooms are dedicated to Sir Winston Churchill (prime minister of Britain during World War II), who was born here in 1874 and lies buried in nearby Bladon church. Outside the Blenheim Palace you can wander around this 2,700 acres of beautiful parkland which is landscaped by Capability Brown. While here, you should also try the maze (take your GPS) and visit the Butterfly House. The handsome town of Woodstock, standing at the gates of the estate, will hold plenty of interest, including a number of tearooms and restaurants. You'll also see some interesting antique, souvenir and jewelry shops too. The Marlborough Maze and the Butterfly House are open daily 10am - 6pm, early March - October 31. The park itself is open daily 9am - 5pm. You can also take a guided tour of the house every 5-10 minutes. Restaurants and cafe's are open in the area for your convenience. Directions by road: On the A44 at Woodstock, 8 miles northwest of oxford. If you prefere the train: Leave London by express train from Paddington Station to Oxford, then take the local bus service. Many of the visitor attractions and museums across the county including the Cotswolds, offer a closer view into the areas rich history, for example; Cogges Manor Farm Museum, where costumed farm hands go about the business of a traditional county homestead in Victorian times, and the Cotswold Wildlife Park. Bicester is another town worth visiting. The town is noted hunting centre on the edge of the Cotswolds, now equally well known for its Bicester Village Shopping experience. County Events: Whitsuntide: The ancient village of Brampton has an all-day Morris Dancing festival. Early June: Go to Broughton castle fete if just to see this impressive castle surrounded by a moat of water-lillies. June: The marquees, the blue and white awnings and bunting announce that the annual Royal Henley Regatta, dating back to 1829, is imminent. A firm fixtue of the English social season, it climaxes at the beginning of July, often with a spectacular fireworks display. Late August: The annual Cropedy festival is the annual get-together of local Oxfordshire folk band Fairport Convention, and a marvellous day out with all sorts of stalls and entertainments. Early Sepember:St Giles Fair, Oxford is the 5th largest fair in England, dating back to medievel times. Like other 15th-century fairs it has ceased to be a trading fair but is still held on the original site. Summer music: Oxford runs classic music in classic venues(such as the Wren-designed Sheldonian Theatre, the grounds of Radley College, and Dorchester Abbey). May 1st: Get up at crack of dawn to see foolhardy students jump into the Isis of Magdalen Bridge while choristers greet the sunrise with a hymn at the top of the Magdalen tower - medievel tradition - and Morris Dancers celebrate May morning in more traditional ways. So, we hope you have enjoyed this page so far and that some of the information in this site will inspire you to plan and explore other villages and towns in Oxfordshire and discover other counties and towns like Cambridge that are reasonably close to the city limits of London. Have A Great Story About the City of Oxford?
Do you have some really good Ideas of What to do in Oxford? Did you tour the university for example, and did you find a really good restuarant in town. Did you stay in a good B/B you'd like to recommend, or suggest we all stay away from? Click here to leave Oxford for London & Beyond
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