Oxford, England
japra | Oct 09, 2008 | Comments 19
At the end of August, we visited the historically rich city of Oxford and its famous University. According to Wikipedia, Oxford ‘s buildings “reflect every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons“.
Oxford University is the oldest university in the English speaking wold and is consistently on the list of the world’s top 10 leading universities. All I could keep thinking about during my visit was: “I hope the kids who go here realize how lucky they are.”
Oxford feels old. There really is a heaviness in the air in places like this–not a bad thing. Is it old energy? Ghosts? Lots of brain waves? I don’t know.
Outside the pedestrian-only area, walking toward Christ Church College.
A lovely, old door.
Pretty Merton College.
The Radcliff Camera.
Hertfod Bridge or more romantically, the “Bridge of Sighs“.
Another beautiful building.
I loved the way the curtain billowed out of this window. Notice how they open, though!
On the grounds of Christ Church College.
The Meadow Building, where you enter for your tour.
And the meadow across from it.
Really, there was just too much goodness to take in.
How can buildings like this still be around, be in such excellent shape, and still be used for something other than a museum? Shame on America for tearing down our old buildings!!
For HP fans, here’s the ceiling of…
…the “Hogwart’s” staircase as used in the movies.
We thought it was amusing to see these energy-saving bulbs in this chandelier. Real people use this building. It’s not a set!
The dining hall of Christ Church College. Look familiar? The dining hall in Hogwarts was based on this one.
I bet the students who sit in front of these large fireplaces get nice and warm!
Back outside, we found a market on Broad Street. Lots of food stalls plus other interesting things. Roxi bought a leather covered journal.
And yes, of course, I had to go to Blackwell’s. What started out as a family bookstore in 1879 has grown into a national chain. This location is one of the flagship stores. They have a nice selection of used books on the third floor.
While the Norrington Room on the lower ground floor has three miles of shelving in a 10,000 sq ft area. Apparently, this room gained a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest single room anywhere to sell books.
Wandering around some more,
admiring all the sculpture,
and feeling glad
that someone
had a sense of humor!
Dear Oxford, you are so beautiful! I hope to visit you again another day.
If you’d like to learn more about the charms of this town , why not visit Sarah Laurence’s blog? She was in Oxford for a sabbatical last year and has a lovely collection of posts.
And if you’re a fan of sculpture, be sure to check out Pigtown-Design’s posts Animal Wall at Cardiff Castle and Beyond Limits @ Chatsworth House.
Filed Under: Blog • Destinations • Oxford
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
What a stunning post! My friend is studying her doctorate in Oxford at Christ Church. We went to visit her in 2005 but she is too busy these days. I hope to go there again soon!
Hi JAPRA, Just love your wonderful photos and guided tours. I walk them with you ! Many thanks. Have never been to Oxford and only been twice to London ! Perhaps you could do Canterbury next because I’ve never been there either. Merton College which has only been a name to me is a delightful building. Know Cambridge though because my son was at Uni there. I think he realised how fortunate he was- especially as his next door neighbour became his wife !
Incredible!!!!!!!!!!
Emm–How fortunate your friend is! I just wanted to lie on the soft grass near the meadow and bask in Oxford’s loveliness but I was determined to see CC at least. We were there while the students were on break. I wonder what it is like when classes start up again. What is your friend getting her PhD in?
Barbara–I’m so glad you could come for a walk with me. I would LOVE to go to Canterbury! Let me see what I can do ;-) BTW, I made your delicious gingerbread on Sunday. We ate about a third of it and I hid the rest of it so I could make gingerbread pudding this coming weekend! Yum.
Laurie–It really was. The buildings are in such good condition. Total eye candy.
PS to Barbara–We went to Cambridge the first weekend we arrived in England (Feb 2007). We really loved it–very beautiful. But there wasn’t an American school nearby, so we scrapped that plan. I would have loved living there, though.
Super trip of delights through Oxford.
I was lucky enough to go to art school there in the late 60′s.
The Ruskin school was in the Ashmolean Museum.
The high spot of my existence probably.
Yes, I really enjoy Sarah’s blog about England and am following her adventures in Maine.
Warm and sunny in NY today….
I’d love to visit Oxford. We have not made it there, yet. Mostly what I know about it is from reading the world’s greatest mysteries written by Dorothy Sayers about the most amazing detective ever, Lord Peter Wimsey. You MUST read them all from start to finish. Sigh. Mimsy
I have a picture of that same bridge taken back in 1993!
I LOVE Oxford. I always tell people that it was my favorite place to visit in all of England.
So THAT’s Oxford. Thanks for the tour. Maybe Roxi can go there one day!
1. Thanks for the mention!
2. I LOVE oxford. I had friends who taught at a prep school there (did you see the Dragon Prep School!!! – they even have a Dragon Pre-prep school!!!), and I got to know the town really well.
3. Here’s my favourite picture from Oxford, taken about 10 years ago.
M
Elizabeth–Oh, how I envy you your time in Oxford! I can’t think of a lovelier place in which to study. Art, no less! Your New York weather sounds so nice.
Mimsy–I always appreciate your book recommendations! Thank you, my dear.
Alyson–I think I was a little “star struck” by the city. I would like to go back and get another look. I would love to spend a couple of days there just to soak it all in.
Christine–I think she would LOVE to go there ;-)
M @ Pigtown-Design–I finally got those silly faces up! Glad to link to your posts :-) Love your door photos, especially the Lion door in Rome (of course!) and the last one.
Did you do a guided tour? How did you get all of these great insider views? Your pictures are FAB.
I’ve been to Oxford many times, and I always feel badly that I just walk around without really knowing what I’m looking at! I’m persuaded that I should take a more professional approach.
Yeah! Your Oxford post is up! I’ve been waiting for it, and it lives up to expectations. You saw so much in one visit. I love your photos, especially of the interiors. Living there, I almost took it all for granted. Can you be homesick for a sabbatical?
I agree that Americans could do more about preserving old buildings, but we’ve never had anything like Oxford. I always felt a bit like a movie extra walking around.
I got sick of the rain, but I never got sick of the gargoyles. The humor really helped.
Thanks for bringing it all back. I wish I could have been there with you (and Bee!), but this is the next best thing.
It’s nice to see that you and Elizabeth have connected – opposite ex-pats.
Bee–No, we just wandered around by ourselves. I wish I had done a tour, though, just for the history. Maybe next time (my travel mantra). I think it’s good to be able to both, if possible. That being said, there is a lot of joy in being able to go where you like, when you like :-)
Sarah–I wish you and Bee had been there as well! What fun we would have had. And certainly, you may feel homesick for a sabbatical. Half of your roots are planted here in England, after all. And yes, it’s true we don’t have the same scale of buildings in America, but it’s such a shame to see any beautiful old building torn down for “bigger and better” or worse… a parking lot. I’ve seen that happen in Texas.
I am actually enjoying a few East Coast blogs recently. Yours and Alysons and now Elizabeth’s and another one called “City Views, Country Dreams”. Have you seen it?
Oh, I failed to mention that I actually slept at a hostile in Oxford. (At the time it seemed normal, but now I can’t believe I did that.) And my walkman was stolen while I was in the hostile. Still, didn’t diminish my love of the city.
Her doctorate is in sociology and she handed in her final thesis this week.
Interesting to see your pics. I did lots of posts on Oxford after a 3 night stay there last year. Interesting to see that some of your photos are the same as mine.
Click on Oxford under labels if you are interested.
Alyson–Oh you must have fallen hard for Oxford to be able to overlook the stolen walkman ;-) I’ve never stayed in a hostel before…
Emm–Wow–pins and needles time.
Barbara–I will be sure to stop by to see your photos! You are so lucky you had the opportunity to spend several days in this beautiful city.
great and delicius photos! i would to visit oxford this summer ,you make me convice me more,see u