Hey guys,
I ll be visiting Oxford for a week next month. I have a booking at st anne s college but I figured that it s not an ancient college and I am thinking about spending a night at a more "oxfordish" one. I found openings at Magdalen (outside walls), keble and Brasenose.
Does it worth the time to reallocate for one night?
Thank you
Is it worth the time to you? Your opinion is the only one which counts.
BTW - the last three are all in great locations, especially Brasenose and Magdalen (especially if you like gardens or rivers).
I'm not sure what "outside walls" means at Magdalen. You might be in a college-owned building that is some way away from the main location of the college. If you really want to stay in central Oxford, check that.
Keble isn't an "ancient" college, it's a nineteenth-century foundation with very controversial architecture.
Also don't expect college accomodation to be luxurious, or especially quaint.
Hi. I have stayed at both Brasenose and Magdalen as part of summer study programs in the 90s. Both are great. Brasenose is more in the heart of things with the Bodleian right outside the doors. Magdalen has more greenery and some walking paths to explore. Not sure which rooms are available. Both have older buildings and newer buildings. BTW, Magdalen is not so far removed as to be a difficult walk. In fact, you may get to see more because you have the option of walking various lanes to and from the college.
Read carefully about where the rooms are and what type they are. Two summers ago, I stayed at Wadham. The room was great, the location central and beautiful, shakepeare performances in the garden. Unfortunately, a few busloads of teens were also housed in my building and they all checked out around 3AM. Much noise and pounding up and down the stairs in the hours leading up to 3AM. That experience - which I believe can be replicated at many of the colleges - has led me to try for the more expensive single ensuite options at some colleges in the hopes that busloads of teens will not be next door.
I understand the lure of seeking out a more traditional setting; just read carefully and google any buildings to be sure that is what you are getting.
Have fun. Debbie
Brasenose is a very small, very old college right in the beating heart of Oxford and would be my first choice for sure! Magdalen is very pastoral and classic Oxford with extensive gardens and even a deer park - if the lodging is in the old college then it would also be a good choice but if it's in one of the newer buildings outside I would stick with Brasenose. If they offer a dining option that includes eating in the dining hall, do it! It's not one of the grand halls of the larger colleges but is quite nice.
Personally I would change for the night just to get the experience...it won't take up too much of your time to move. Don't expect the room itself to be a wood paneled affair with a fireplace and leaded windows like you see in Inspector Morse...most of the dorm rooms in the colleges, even the old ones, are not much different than college dorms anywhere. My husband does academic work in Oxford every few years and I've stayed in quite a few of the dorms and visited many others.
