Old school sightseeing in Oxford, England

July 16, 2018


English longhorns at Christ Church Meadow in Oxford

Last month, after two nights in London, we rented a car and drove to Oxford, our home base for several day trips we’d planned for the remainder of our vacation. Oxford is a lovely old city, and we enjoyed ambling around the university, window-shopping, stopping in pubs, and visiting a local farmers’ market. Late one afternoon we took a stroll along a footpath and happened upon this bucolic sight, just a couple of blocks off the busy streets: a small herd of English longhorns in Christ Church Meadow behind the university.


The Gothic architecture of Christ Church College as seen from the footpath.


Our mid-June visit happened to coincide with the end of exams at Oxford University, and we saw students walking around in formal dress and billowing black robes (required dress for finals!), reminding us of the Hogwarts uniform in the Harry Potter books.


Another day, we saw a student in formal dress who’d been absolutely smothered in shaving cream and confetti, carrying a bottle of champagne or something as his friends and family escorted him down the street in menthol-scented glory.


I asked the guy adding more shaving cream what was happening, and he told me it was a celebration of the completion of exams for his friend, a senior at the university. Looks like a fun send-off!


The university buildings, which dominate the town, are gorgeous. This is the neoclassical Radcliffe Camera library, built in the 1700s.


I won’t bore you with photos of old buildings. But any Tolkien fan would do a double-take at this shop, right? Note the lanterns, which read Speak friend and enter.


In the 29 years since David and I visited Oxford, following our own graduation from Rice, the town has been turned into a sort of Harry Potter theme park. In dozens of shops, sweatshirts, scarves, pins, art, and stuffed creatures like Dobby are a testament to the influence that J.K. Rowling’s magical books have had on England in general and Oxford in particular. After all, the university stood in for Hogwarts in the movie version, with multiple scenes having been filmed here.


The River Thames, called the Isis locally, runs through Oxford. We enjoyed stopping on the old stone bridges to watch boats going by.


It was especially amusing to watch newbie punters. We stood for at least 30 minutes on one bridge, watching people figure out how to punt in traffic-jam conditions, with overhanging tree branches and bridges to navigate. I tried to convince David to give it a go (with myself perched aboard with camera at the ready, of course), but he declined, probably wisely.


He did, however, take the wheel when it came to driving in England — wrong side of the road and all. And he did wonderfully. We all only shrieked a half-dozen times or so.


After navigating the roundabouts and right turns across traffic and finally parking the darn thing, one naturally wants a refreshment. A couple of Taddy Lagers, please.


And fish and chips


Cheers to Oxford!

Coming up next: A visit to author Victoria Summerley’s garden in the Cotswolds. For a look back at Kew’s Mediterranean Garden, Treetop Walkway, and more, click here.

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18 responses to “Old school sightseeing in Oxford, England”

  1. Alison says:

    My husband Nigel has been living in the U.S. for nearly 40 years and still misses fish and chips terribly. It’s hard to find the real thing here, and it’s hard to put your finger on what makes it “the real thing.’ I don’t think I realized that Oxford stood in for Hogwarts. You didn’t see Inspector Morse anywhere, did you?

    • Pam/Digging says:

      I confess I don’t know who Inspector Morse is. And it’s interesting that fish and chips — fried fish and French fries — would be so tricky to replicate here in the U.S. Maybe it’s all about the pub setting? 😉

    • Deb Jacobs says:

      I took a train from London to Oxford last year just to take the walking tour of places often seen in “Morse” “Endeavour” and “Lewis and Hathaway”. It was wonderful seeing the arch Morse often drove through in his Jaguar, the library and even the hall used for Hogwarts dinners.

  2. Jean says:

    Ha, like Alison, I always think of Inspector Morse when I see Oxford buildings. Kudos to David for taking on driving in England. All I can say about roundabouts is thank god for Google Maps!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      We couldn’t have managed without a GPS system. We brought one (and are using it in the photo above), but as it turned out, the rental cars in Paris and London had them built-in. It helped immensely.

  3. Lisa at Greenbow says:

    You and David could be tour guides. What a wonderful trip. I am so enjoying your narrative and wonderful pictures to go with.

  4. Kate S. says:

    “He did, however, take the wheel when it came to driving in England — wrong side of the road and all. And he did wonderfully. We all only shrieked a half-dozen times or so.”

    Ha! I’d need refreshments after that, as well. So enjoying these posts.

  5. Peter says:

    David’s a brave man doing the driving duties. Gorgeous scenes!

  6. I don’t know where this shaving cream thing came from, but a lot of the schools and universities do it. At my kids’ school in London, the start of study leave before the final exams was marked by Muck-Up Day, when they sprayed stuff at each other and wrote on shirts and things. Never happened when I was at school – but I don’t think they had invented shaving foam then!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      I think I read that they used to throw food all over the exam takers, but that got stinky and made more of a mess, and university officials discouraged it. Shaving cream at least washes off pretty easily.

  7. Jenny says:

    David says you look good with a pint in your hand. But confused about those peas. They are supposed to be mushy peas.

  8. Rebecca says:

    Looks like you are having a great trip! Thanks for sharing.