| Day 8 - Oxford |
| Copyright Famocon Tours 2001 |
| The bus trip to Oxford took about 90 minutes - these buses leave every 12 minutes or so. This means there is no waiting around. The buses arrive in a coach parking area - if you look around you will find a taxi rank from where you can get to your accommodation. The first thing we did was to pick up our hire car which we would have for the rest of our trip, returning it in Canterbury. Its funny how you get attached to a hire car that provides good reliable service. We spent 2,500 miles in this one and it was like leaving a family member behind. Hire car companies always take an hour or more to process the paperwork even if, like us, you are the only ones there - imagine the wait if there was a queue! We checked into our hotel in the heart of Oxford and then hit the streets. This is a University town made up of over 30 colleges. Most of the colleges set aside some time for visitors to look around but be prepared for closed doors and no visitor signs occasionally. The colleges we viewed were Magdalen College, Merton College, New College and Wadham College. The principal tourist buildings are the Carfax Tower, Radcliffe Camera, Bodleian Library and the Ashmolean Museum. We particularly liked the Botanic Gardens down next to the Cherwell River, the University Parks and the walk to the King's Mill, the Bridge of Sighs and the Martyrs' Memorial. It should be compulsory to go to St Mary the Virgin church next to the Radcliffe Camera - not only is the church well worth the look but you can also climb the narrow stairs to the very top for excellent views of the whole of Oxford. Oxford is a quirky kind of place - it is full of tourists and souvenir shops as well as excellent heritage structures but it is still the preserve of students, teachers, dotty old professors and retired folk who love basket weaving and growing vegetables. You will either seriously like or dislike this place. A word of warning - parking is a huge problem, especially overnight parking. Maybe you should not hire that car until you are leaving Oxford. |
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