I am thinking of spending the last two nights of our July-August visit to the UK in Oxford. We have never been but have an interest in the museums and architecture, as well as walking along the Thames. Can anyone tell me what it will be like then in terms of crowds, closures, etc.? Will the walking tours be offered?
Thanks for your help.
I was in Oxford around that time last year and it was crowded, but then again Oxford is almost always crowded. The good thing about staying in the town is that once the daytrippers leave it is a very nice and much less crowded place. And along the Thames (or Isis as they call it in Oxford) is generally nice and I've never been bothered by crowds there.
There will probably be an abundance of walking tours, both general ones as well as "themed ones" (Harry Potter, Lewis/Morse, Tolkien etc.).
Thank you! We would be interested in a Morse tour, or maybe an academic one (seeing inside one of the colleges).
I just booked two free nights there (courtesy of Marriott) so I am pretty excited.
I took a walking tour offered by the tourist office and really enjoyed it. I got the impression that the T.O. had more reliable access to colleges than the commercial tours, but I can't swear that is the case. The Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers Museums are both excellent. The light level in the Pitt Rivers is rather low, to protect the artifacts. If you ask at the shop, they'll loan you a flashlight to make it easier to read the descriptive labels.
Recommend The Ashmolean Museum. Excellent, like a miniature version of the British Museum.
Recommend walking the Thames Path to the north of Oxford, to:
The Trout Inn, 195 Godstow Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire:
https://www.thetroutoxford.co.uk/
Outdoor terrace beside the Thames and great food.
It's a good long walk there and back to Oxford, but beautiful scenery by the Thames along the way.
Well worth the walk.
The other classic outside walk is in The Parks, which is close to the Pitt-Rivers. Chance of seeing cricket in the ground within.
The guided visit round the Castle and Prison is commercialised but I understand the cheesier bits have been toned down.
These are great suggestions; thank you!
I always enjoy searching for performances of Shakespeare plays sometimes held on the grounds of colleges. You may have to wait closer to summer for a schedule.
Don't know if you have seen Blenheim Palace (north of Oxford) before or have any desire to see it.
If you want to see Blenheim Palace, you can go by bus from Oxford.
The S3 runs up to every twenty minutes from Central Oxford. It stops at Gloucester Green bus station and Oxford rail station and arrives right outside the Palace Gates. The 7 runs every 30 minutes linking Oxford, Oxford Parkway Station and Blenheim Palace.
https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/oxfordshire/bus-to-blenheim-palace
Right outside the gates to Blenheim is the little town of Woodstock with many historic buildings. I think you would enjoy a walk around Woodstock. In medieval times, this area was popular with the kings for hunting. Old Woodstock Palace was used as a royal hunting lodge, but its remains were demolished and Blenheim Palace built on its location in the early 1700's. Blenheim is not a royal palace; it is owned by the Duke of Marlborough.
Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim, but did not live there.
Just down the road a very short distance from Woodstock (or across the grounds from the Palace) is the tiny village of Bladon. Winston Churchill and his wife are buried in the churchyard (Saint Martin Bladon) there along with other Churchills from earlier days.
There is the 'other' Oxford to explore; not the one of colleges and museums but the local community (ie town not gown). Take a walk down the Cowley Road for example. Many of the shops have an interesting history and/or architecture listed in that community site.
Yes, you should really try to see the inside of a couple of colleges. Most of them have rather impressive buildings. I'm not sure which tours are the best though, or how fast the (rather long) queues move. (I've been fortunate enough to have been able to see them without taking tours.)
Regarding museums, the Ashmolean is great but I can also recommend the Natural History Museum. And if you like reading, a visit to Blackwell's for some shopping is a must.
Cowley Road can be a good way to see other parts of Oxford, but I wasn't too impressed with it. There are quite a lot of restaurants there, but the one we ended up in on my last visit was pretty underwhelming.
To escape the crowds, try Port Meadow along the river a bit upstream. I really enjoyed my visit there, a bit of peace and quiet as well as a nice landscape.
And if you want to see a completely different part of Oxford, you can visit the Mini plant.
... Or the gin distillery https://www.spiritoftoad.com/
If you happen to be in Oxford on a Sunday, Christ Church Cathedral has a wonderful chorale Evensong program, about 30 to 45 minutes in length, that is an excellent experience.
actually, choral evensong is held at Christ Church Cathedral every evening of the week except Thursdays, when choral eucharist is celebrated. We attended two services during advent this past month. Sublime!
