Oxford September 2017

In September 2017 we visited the historic city of Oxford to celebrate Susy's birthday. We stayed overnight at the White Hart Inn in the sleepy village of Dorchester-on-Thames just outside Oxford. First impressions of Oxford were slightly tainted by how hard it was to find a car park in the centre and the cost!! Oxford is a big drawer for tourists and it appears that the owners of the city centre car parks are making the most of that, so if you can, take advantage of the Park and Ride facilities outside the centre.

Welcome to Christ Church

We only had a day to explore the city so after stopping off for some refreshments after our arrival and taking in a few shops and the lovely covered market we made our way to the impressive Christ Church College. To fans of the TV detective series based around the novels of Colin Dexter and his main character Endeavour Morse, many of these scenes will be familiar.

Oxford and Cambridge are two of England's most famous universities and both are really worth visiting. If I had to chose one of the two to visit I'd probably go for Oxford purely on the basis of the stunning architecture and the sense of history and achievement that you experience when wandering round the colleges and the city centre, it edges Cambridge but only just.

Radcliffe Camera 

Bodleian Library

Bridge of Sighs

The King's Arms

We came by chance upon The King's Arms (see above) around lunchtime and took advantage of the opportunity to savour lunch surrounded yes by fellow visitors but also students from the colleges. When you listen to the conversation going on around you, you begin to understand the level of intellect that the University of Oxford attracts.

Blenheim Palace

The following morning after a hearty breakfast we made tracks for Blenheim Palace a short drive from where we were staying. Home to the 12th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough the palace boasts over 300 years of history to learn about and is a World Heritage Site. It's also the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill and you can visit an exhibition about this pillar of British history in the main house. It is a truly impressive and beautiful place which if you get the chance you should take the opportunity and pay it a visit. We were blown away by the experience, between the house and ground you can more than fill a whole day here so try and allow plenty of time.

The Temple of Diana

Hopefully you enjoyed seeing some of what the City of Oxford and beautiful Blenheim has to offer, we certainly did.