A Magical Journey Through the Historic University Town of Oxford

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Only an hour from London is this gorgeous town brimming with history, stunning architecture, beautiful gardens, and culture—a historic town functioning as a modern city.

Our First Visit to Oxford

This is our Year of Oxford. Actually, it’s our son’s Year of Oxford, as he is studying an MBA at Oxford University in England. As he and his wife are living there for a year, we thought we may as well visit, despite it being more than a 24-hour trip from our home in Melbourne, Australia.

This first visit was in November – Fall (or Autumn as the Brits and we Aussies call it). It wasn’t too cold – about 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) – but the days were short. The sun rose about 7:30 am and set about 4:30 pm.

Getting to Oxford

Oxford is situated at the confluence of the Rivers Thames (locally known as the Isis) and Cherwell (pronounced Charwell). It is 90 km (56 mi) northwest of London and is easily accessible from Heathrow or Gatwick airports. You can get there by self-drive, bus or train.

We chose to hire a car from Heathrow as we wanted to chauffeur our son, Matt, and daughter-in-law, Alex, around. The drive from London is about an hour and a half or an hour from Heathrow Airport.

Going by train takes about an hour, depending on where you are coming from in London. The bus takes longer due to traffic but our son prefers the bus as he says it is more comfortable. Buses run 24/7 and the train only breaks for a few hours in the middle of the night.

Channeling Harry Potter

We met Matt and Alex at their lovely flat looking out on to the River Thames. Their flat is in a complex of about twenty row houses and looks like a scene from Privet Drive (for non-Harry Potter afficionados, this is where Harry lived as a child with his aunt, uncle and cousin).

Harry Potter is a recurring theme in Oxford. Matt regaled us with tales of wearing academic gowns for Matriculation (the beginning of his studies), academic robes for college dinners and robes and white bow ties whilst sitting exams. We tease him that he wants to be in Oxford to live out his Harry Potter dreams more than to attain the MBA.

Back in Oxford late in the day, we walked around for an hour and a half while Matt showed us lots of landmarks and Colleges, including Queen’s College (“his” College).

Exhausted from having walked over twenty thousand steps, we called it an early night.

Evensong

We visited Queen’s Chapel (at Queen’s College) for Evensong. Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms. The singing and the Chapel were absolutely beautiful, but it is best not to go when jetlagged as you may struggle to stay awake (that was my experience, anyway).

A couple of nights later, we attended Evensong at Christ Church, and I did manage to stay awake then. The Christ Church Cathedral is glorious—the hand-carved stone vaulted ceiling, which dates from around 1400, is considered to be one of the finest examples of its type in any English cathedral.

Once again, the singing and the Chapel were magnificent. Matt decided, however, that he was “Evensonged out” after two experiences over three nights.

Walking Tour of Oxford

Come Monday, Matt was in class all day, so Alex, my husband, and I booked an 11 a.m. walking tour with Footprints. Our Guide, Jack, introduced himself as a “Townie” and a “Gownie” as he lived in Oxford and had also studied there. He is now a self-confessed struggling writer hoping to have an academic career.

Jack told us a lot about the history of Oxford University and what he sees as the future of Oxford, namely, a centre for research and postgraduate studies.

He also explained the College system simply to us. He said that the Colleges are pastoral hubs, and all students are assigned to a College rather than choosing a College. Jack was assigned to Trinity. Our son, Matt, is part of Queen’s.

Turf Tavern

After our wonderful walking tour, we lunched at the Turf Tavern. The Turf Tavern has a couple of widely told tales about world leaders. One involves former US President Bill Clinton, who is said to have smoked “but not inhaled” marijuana while a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.

Another tale is about a former Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, who also studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He set a Guinness Record for consuming a yard glass of ale in 1963. For reference, a yard glass is so named as it is about 1 yard (91.4 cm) long and holds about 2.5 imperial pints (1.4 litres). Truth or legend? You can decide.

Christ Church

On Tuesday morning, we did an excellent audio guide tour of Christ Church (another of the Oxford Colleges). Built by Cardinal Wolsey, 13 UK Prime Ministers studied there, more than any other College. Albert Einstein and Lewis Carroll (the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) were notable students.

Christ Church was jaw-dropping. It is so magnificent that the creators of the Harry Potter films filmed there. The Gothic staircase with fan-vaulted ceiling at Christ Church inspired the moving staircase at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films.

The dining hall in the Harry Potter films was modelled on the Christ Church Great Hall, which is dominated by portraits of Henry VIII and Wolsey. Wolsey’s red hat even features in the Christ Church crest. It is incredible to think that this Hall dates from 1529, yet students still eat here daily.

The main quadrangle (meaning surrounded by buildings on four sides) of Christ Church is called Tom Quad, the biggest Quad in Oxford. The Tower there, Tom Tower, was designed by the famous architect Christopher Wren (also the designer of St Paul’s Cathedral in London).

The audio guide took us through all these areas, the glorious Christ Cathedral and a couple of other quadrangles.

Blackwell’s

In a town where authors like Tolkien and CS Lewis taught and wrote, it would be sacrilege not to visit a bookshop, so visit we did. Blackwell’s bookshop on Broad Street has traded continuously since 1879. Taking up several shop fronts, many hours can be spent here browsing.

A College Tour

One of the advantages of visiting Oxford with a student of Oxford University is the access provided to various colleges. We had a formal dinner on Monday night at Queen’s, and on Tuesday, we returned for a buffet lunch.

What a treat to eat in such an impressive dining room. Described as the heart of the College, it is decorated in ornate Baroque style and lined with portraits in gilt frames.

After lunch, Matt had no classes, so we toured New College, Magdalen College (pronounced Maudlin), Divinity College, the Oxford Union (a social club and library) and the Saïd Business School (where Matt studies).

Magdalen College has a deer park, but sadly, there were no deer around the day we visited.

In between our College visits, we had cream tea (scones, jam, clotted cream and tea with milk) at The Old Bank Hotel. In Australia, we call this Devonshire tea (rather than a cream tea), and we have thickened cream.

Dinner was at the at the Head of the River pub amidst blazing log fires.

So, Why Visit Oxford?

Oxford is steeped in history, but there are also loads of shops and eateries. This historic town functions as a modern city, where over 165,000 people live (about 22% of them are university students).

I love London, but it is easy to fall into the trap of just stopping in for a few days. Just an hour or so away is this wonderful town of Oxford, full of history and beauty. The architecture is magnificent, the gardens are stunning, the history is fascinating, the College dining halls are to die for and Evensong in the churches is truly heavenly.

Oxford Top Tips

• Evensong on a Sunday is usually longer than any other day of the week. (weeknight services run for about thirty minutes).

• Not all Colleges in Oxford are accessible without an Oxford University student accompanying you. Quite a few are accessible, however, with a small admission charge.

• If you go to Christ Church and arrive at the Great Hall at mealtime, you won’t be admitted. Don’t despair. Go back to the Great Hall at the end of the tour. You are meant to travel only in one direction, but we went back for a second look to admire it once more, and no one stopped us. Worth a try.

Oxford Fun Facts

• Women were only admitted to Christ Church in 1980. Today, half of the students are women.

• Thirty-one of the sixty-eight UK Prime Ministers were educated at Oxford University.

• Though nothing remains of it, the Christ Church Cathedral stands on the site of an ancient Saxon church founded in the 8th century by St Frideswide, the Patron Saint of Oxford. St. Frideswide’s remains were moved to a shrine in 1289 and the shrine attracted Pilgrims throughout the Middle Ages, including Queen Catherine of Aragon. In 1518, she came to pray for the birth of a healthy son. However, her prayers were not answered and King Henry VIII divorced her and created the Church of England.

Author Bio: Leonie Jarrett lives in Melbourne, Australia with her Husband of more than 3 decades, 2 of her 4 adult children and her 2 Golden Retrievers. Leonie is a lawyer who has owned several businesses. Now that she is semi-retired, avid traveller Leonie loves writing about her travels and her experiences.