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Bookmark & shareA Top Day in Oxford
Oxford traffic is a nightmare so my morning begins with a leisurely walk or cycle down to Iffley Village, where the thatched cottages and 12th-century church are an oasis of calm. Then it's off down the tow path, past the university boathouses, the trainers on bikes, the squawking coxes and the rowing eights making their way up and down the water. I'll avoid the biggest colleges once I get to town and wander through some of the smaller quads, chapels and halls of the university, amazed each time at the sudden hush that falls as soon as you walk through the gates. I make my way past the Radcliffe Camera and the Bodleian to my favourite Oxford haunt, the Pitt Rivers Museum. It's easy to while away a few hours here peering into dimly-lit cases, exploring drawers of hand-labelled exotica and indulging day dreams of life as a Victorian adventurer. Back in the full light of day hunger will draw me towards the smell of freshly baked cookies and ripe bags of cherries, and I'll be unable to resist the urge to ramble around the wonderful world of the covered market. If the sun's shining I'll pick up the ingredients for a bumper picnic and then make my way to the Cherwell Boathouse to meet some friends and pick up a punt. My inherent lack of talent for punting means someone else will have to do the donkey work while I sit back, sip some Pims and delve into the deli bags as we glide up to the Victoria Arms for a couple of drinks before wandering back to town. If there's time, I'll pop into Modern Art Oxford for a look around the latest exhibition, grab a drink at the outdoor courtyard at the castle and then leave the chain restaurants behind for cocktails, dinner and dancing in Jericho or Cowley.
Author: Etain O'Carroll
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