Oxford May 4, 2012 - Part 2



It was a thrill for me to see the Radcliffe Camera. Apparently Headington stone was used on the lower part of the building, while stone on the upper part was from Burford in the Cotswolds, which probably accounts for the more honeyish colour there.

The Old Bank Hotel would have been my choice of places to stay if money was no object.

Hertford Bridge, commonly known as The Bridge of Sighs, mentioned in the Small Faces' song Itchycoo Park, was another thrill for me to see. Singer Steve Marriott of that band died in Arkesden, Essex, which was a place I'd hoped to get to for family research purposes, but didn't.

Oxford's construction fences are a little classier than ours.

The Macdonald Randolph Hotel probably would have been my second choice of places to stay in Oxford.

Now I was heading back toward Summertown.

Sadly, I never got to see Oxford in sunlight or nice light as shown in this postcard.

Oxford May 4, 2012 - Part 1

I did a lot of walking on this day, apparently to the train station area three times (!). That's where the car rental places are.

The down side of travelling with no restrictions and plans is that sometimes you don't know where you'll be sleeping next and you can spend a lot of time trying to figure it out. I was starting to get a complex about Fridays in England as this was reminding me of that lousy Friday in London.

Back home I came to a brick wall when planning the Oxford part of the trip and it didn't change when I got there. I decided to go to Burford next. Two problems: the only bus there on a Sunday was at 7:00 pm (and it would be the same on the bank holiday Monday), and rooms were booked up because of an airshow south of Oxford.

All this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't booked Oxford in the first place. Then I would have happily still been in Winslow, and leaving here on a week day when things would be normal.

The information office in town was virtually useless. In fact, a fellow at a car rental outfit said the people who work there barely know they're in Oxford. They gave completely wrong directions to the Avis office, which put needless mileage on my feet.

The nice man at the Avis office said he just couldn't justify the rates for an automatic and suggested trying Thrifty's, which is a little beyond the train station. If I'd known then that I'd wind up with a standard, I would have stuck with Avis. But at Thrifty's the choice was between a mid-size automatic or a small standard. I chose the standard, figuring a switch could be made later if necessary or, if I hated driving altogether, I'd cancel the whole thing. I'd never driven a car with the gearshift on the left before. It was unfortunate too that they didn't have a GPS available. I was travelling without my navigator, Glenn, and I have no sense of direction.

So the next day I would trek out past the train station again to get the car and drive it up through Oxford to the B&B. Then it would be handy to head straight out to the Cotswolds on Sunday morning... if only I knew where I was going.

I had been emailing some hotels and B&B's but didn't find a place to stay. I could drive around aimlessly looking for a vacancy, or possibly stay in Oxford another night, which I was hoping not to do.

First off, I walked by the house Percy, Sallie and Ida were living in when they signed the 99 year lease for the house on Woodstock Road.  

I walked through Oxford past the Malmaison Hotel, which used to be a prison. I believe it was featured in an episode of Lewis.

 By the train station are many bicycles.

Back in town, I stopped in at the Ashmolean, which is free, and had lunch there - pot pie and green salad. 

Messiah. This violin from Stradivari's 'Golden Period' of about 1700 - 1720 is considered by many to be his finest work.

Out to the train station area I went again, this time following along a canal, which, I guess, was the Oxford Canal.

I think this clock was near the train station.

Back in town, I'm about to climb the 99 steps of the Carfax Tower.

Carfax Tower

This could be one of Glenn's model street scenes.

It would have been nice to see these views in the sunshine.

What goes up must go down.

 I don't know what this was for.

There was a big line up for these cookies at a market. I thought that if I worked around there, I'd be eating them all the time.

Oxford May 3, 2012

Continuing south, I headed into downtown Oxford. 

I can't really say what I think about Oxford. It feels a bit cold - maybe because of all the stone, which I ought to like but somehow don't. Maybe it would look warmer and softer on a sunny day. The people don't strike me as particularly warm and charming either. But there is something interesting about the place. There are, of course, university students all over. Young boys in white shirts and ties. Bicycles galore. Croquet!

I was curious about the stone  used in this area and looked it up on the net: 

Medieval builders liked to use a stone with the jazzy name of Oxford Rag. It was created when the sea covering this part of the country was rich in coral reefs. The shells and corals fused into this loose-textured stone, which was used in rubble lumps. You can see it in St Michael's Church tower in Cornmarket Street. By the 15th century, Oxford Rag had been overtaken in popularity by limestone from quarries at Headington. It was used for New College (1396), what would become Christ Church (1520s) and, in time, every major building in the city, as well as quite a few minor ones. 

By the 18th century, Oxford had come to realise that Headington stone weathered badly, and stone from Taynton, on the other side of Burford, and Clipsham, in Rutland, was used instead. From the Regency period it became practicable to bring in stone from further afield, Bath stone from Box being popular. 

Alice in Wonderland

After my ancestors' house, one of the main things I wanted to visit in Oxford, believe it not, was the Alice store on St Aldates Street. I went straight there and had fun buying stickers, tea towels, erasers, etc.

According to the store's website: "Alice's Shop is the authentic Alice in Wonderland Shop because it is part of the original story. Situated across the road from Alice's childhood home, the Oxford University college of Christ Church, Alice's Shop was Alice's sweet shop 150 years ago. Lewis Carroll wrote the shop into the Alice adventures in Through the Looking-Glass and the illustrator, Sir John Tenniel, sketched two illustrations of the shop for the original book. An entire episode in the story takes place in the shop."  

Christ Church Meadow

Across the road from the store happened to be Christ Church Meadow. I was lured by the greenery. 

Text at bottom of picture reads: "The famous Alice books were written by a Christ Church maths lecturer, Charles Dodgson, whose pen name was Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass, were originally tales told to Alice Liddell, daughter or the Dean of Christ Church. Many locations in Alice's adventures are based on parts of the college."

I liked to see the word pilgimage here (on the ground), relating it to my trip thanks to a friend who put a name to its purpose.

'Dogs are not allowed'... except they are if they're on a leash. 

Christ Church produced thirteen British prime ministers, more than the other colleges.

Apparently it's a two mile walk through meadows and along riverbanks. In the summertime Longhorn cattle graze here!

The Meadow Building, I believe. 

University Botanic Garden

Across from Magdalen College and founded in 1621, this garden was created to grow plants for the research of medicine. There are over 7000 species.

I'd walked across Christ Church Meadow to the garden.

Wish tree. 

Magdalen Bridge! I hadn't expected to see it right here. 

 ??

I wonder if this is the Magdalen College bell tower, viewed from the garden? If so, the school choir sings from the top of it at 6:00 am every May Day. That would have been something to experience, and I probably could have, but maybe I wasn't aware of it, or didn't want to get up that early.

Once out of the garden, I crossed the bridge and headed north toward Summertown.

This lovely, softer coloured stone is what I'd expect to see in the Cotswolds. But I didn't know because I hadn't been there yet. 

This could almost be Quebec City. 

Bluebells?