Discovering Oxford

It was another wet and somewhat dismal day when we departed for Oxford. The nice thing about having a car when travelling, along with not relying on public transport, is the flexibility and freedom it gives you to act spontaneously and to visit places that otherwise would take some considerable planning and effort. Last night as we chatted over dinner we realised that we had only a few days remaining and we wanted to have one more adventure and see the countryside.

Cambridge held our interest but after google mapping it, it was too long a drive away from Esher to comfortably or easily do in a day, but Oxford was much closer. I think we all had an ambition to wander a ‘university town’ and admire the Colleges, architecture and history. Driving to Oxford meant us retracing some of our steps to Windsor, or should I more realistically say, wet and somewhat flooded roadways. The closer we came to Oxford however, the nicer the weather became. Not nice enough unfortunately for us to gain a clear view of the ‘dreaming spires’ but we were happy with clearer blue skies and a relatively uncrowded city upon our arrival.

Our first challenge though was finding a parking spot. These old towns with narrow roads were not made for modern traffic so parking is at a premium. Fortunately, as Oxford seemed devoid of heavy tourist numbers, I drove through the centre and found a parking spot in Longwall street. This street made us smile for the buildings, all small two up-two down cottages, were painted in a range of pastel hues. It was only walking down the street to the main thoroughfare did we gain the more predictable sight of large, stone college buildings with their impressive gateways.

After an hour and a half in the car, our first thoughts were for coffee. Bundled up in our coats, scarves and beanies, we walked along High St past St.Edmund’s Hall and discovered The Grand Café!

The Grand Café is certainly grand. According to Samuel Pepys in 1650, the café is on the site of the oldest house in England. It is a Grade II listed building, and with its long counter laden with pastries and flowers to its tall marble columns and bentwood chairs, the café was a wonderful discovery. We fortified ourselves with coffee and pain au chocolat before we ventured out to explore Oxford.

Walking along High St our attention was caught by All Souls College and so we turned into Catte St and came to Radcliffe Square, the location for the much-photographed Radcliffe Camera. Walking into the square had us pass over a number of well worn gravestones set flat on the ground around the Church of St. Mary forming the floor of its bijou coffee shop. In summer it must be such a beautiful location; the sound of the Church bells, the shade of the trees and tombstones in the ground and a table and chair with coffee from which to view the mighty Radcliffe Camera. But today while pleasant wasn’t one to encourage dallying for long, so after a photo stop with us taking turns posting and snapping pics, we turned back to Catte St.

On the right-hand side of the street was an impressive College entranceway into All Souls College. Its gates were wrought iron with twists and arabesques in black and gold. I think we all stood for a little while, gazing through the gates into the College grounds, wondering what it must be like to be a student and have right of entry….what it might be like to a student in a place where academic pursuits go back hundreds of years.

A short distance on our right is The Bridge of Sighs. A lovely sight, the bridge or rather, covered walkway, straddles over Queen’s Lane. There is a delicacy to the bridge with its arched windows and warm stone. While its name harks back to the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, the one in Oxford as far as I know, doesn’t have an equally sad story attached to it. There are no last looks back to the venetian lagoon and a sigh as enter the prison.

Continuing our walk, we passed the Bodleian Library and along Broad St. the Sheldonian Theatre and stopped briefly at each to admire them. As we turned into Ship St I was struck, by looking upwards to the ancient buildings sitting above the modern day shops and offices. One in particular caught my attention with its Tudor black and white timbers though these had been aged to a muddy brown. It leaned over the street with each additional story jutting out over the other. I can easily imagine how if such buildings were on both sides of the street, how enclosed and dark at ground level it could seem. Still, it had survived the centuries and I have faith it will survive a few more. Remarkably, a Pret a Manger coffeeshop was serving from inside, the store logo on its windows.