On the Monday of our holiday in The Cotswolds, I begged for one special trip somewhere. Somewhere I had been dying to go for years. Somewhere that just captured my imagination due to its numerous film settings, and gorgeous architecture. That place was Oxford.
Famed for its University, I was neither clever nor rich enough to go for real, but for one day I could pretend I was an academic pounding the cobbles as I dashed from one lecture to the next, hoping I would run into Sergeant Hathaway... boy he could arrest me any day!
Oxford lived up to my expectations, as there was just something about it that captured my heart. It is one of the most beautiful cities I have been to in England, with its outstanding buildings weaving around the city.
There are many ‘must see’ buildings, including the colleges, the Radcliffe Camera and The Bridge of Sighs- the most photographed building in Oxford apparently.
Of course doing all that walking built up quite an appetite , so I found a Pieminster! Ok, so not quite local Oxford cuisine, but seriously if you’ve had one of their pies before, you’ll know why I couldn’t say no. I went for the Heidi Pie; Somerset goats’ cheese, sweet potato, spinach & red onion, smothered in red gravy and minted mushy peas.
But soon we were back gawping at the buildings.
The Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone hospital scene was filmed here.
Of course, the colleges are one of the biggest attractions. Each one is completely an independent body, with their own traditions, customs and rules. My university was a collegiate system, but somehow I don’t think it quite compares, do you?
Now before you think I’ve lost it, photographing a lamp post, this apparently is the very lamp post that inspired C.S Lewis in the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Remember how the lamp post is the very first thing Lucy sees in Narnia? This is it! Pretty sweet eh?
Oxford just took my breath away. It is a gorgeous city, with so much heritage, so much to see. Good thing we returned the next day then! More tomorrow on the blog!
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