Due to extreme laziness I'm virtually retired from Ciao, although I'll still read and post the odd o...
Due to extreme laziness I'm virtually retired from Ciao, although I'll still read and post the odd op every now and then......
Member since:16.01.2001
Reviews:369
Members who trust:124
I only spent a day in Oxford so apologies for all the things I miss but it also means that you can see a great deal and have an enjoyable time there within a period of ten or so hours.
We travelled there by train from Bath. The journey took about 75 minutes , the connecting train was on time and the cost was a miserly 7.50 GBP return because we travelled after 9:30 am. If I'd travelled before the cost would have been nearer 20 GBP rising to 40 GBP for first class travel.
When we arrived, the station was well served by buses and taxis to the town centre, though walking only takes about ten minutes and you get to see the magnificent architecture.
The place is awash with students for some reason (joke) , and the college buildings are truly magnificent. You can walk round most of these , and I used up several rolls of film taking photographs of many buidings, especially Christ Church and Baliol. Luckily the weather was good so walking round Oxford allowed us to see the place in its best light.
PArking seemed to be at a premium and many of the streets are very narrow, so try and come by train if you can. Bicycles are prevalent throughout Oxford, and are tied to every spare place you can see (almost). The sight of thousands of parked bicycles at the station was amazing, and also good for the environment and probably the health of the cyclists.
Oxford is big enough to support all the usual shopping suspects (Boots / HMV / WH Smith etc) but also has a very large Borders (books and music) and a local firm called Blackwells who supply books and music from a variety of outlets.
We sampled various pubs, The White Horse located next to the main Blackwells shop was small but friendly, and The Mitre is an ancient place taken over by a chain , but was still pleasant and does good value lunches (23 GBP for two courses for two people which is OK considering its location , but as a comparison I had an equivalent meal at a place called the Nine Pins in Gateshead that cost 11 GBP for two courses for two people. We also went into The Wig & Pen which was OK , but there was a small pub next door to it that was much better , but I forget its name.
We finished off the night at a Thai Restaurant called The Chaiang Mai Kitchen, which was down a small walkway called Kemp Hall Passage off High Street. This provided excellent food , service and wine, and a major two course meal for two , plus wine and starting drinks came to under 50 GBP, but worth every penny.
I think the Inspector Morse series is based round Oxford, but how he gets that Jaguar around there beats me.
Oxford is an extremely pleasant , city. The people are friendly and the buildings are breathtaking, but you will need more than a day to appreciate it. Our day there was unplanned, but we'll be back.
Great opinion - really interesting to read, cheers!
flashpointz 05.03.2001 19:19
Whenever I have to go to Oxford I always find parking is dreadful, a) you've got to find some and b) you need to find a csh machine to pay for it - or a 2nd mortgage. Nice City, but you are right, you can't do it justice in one day. But pity me, I'm half way though writing a 'tome' on Los Angeles - I was there 5 days and I barely pricked the surface. Cheers
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: A few minutes away from M4 and A34, busy market town, very central for touring the area Disadvantages: Good accommodation may be hard to find unless you book ahead
jonathan-wild 08.09.2000 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Newbury in General
Mar 5th, 2001
(Aug 28th, 2001)
very helpful by (94%):
helpful by (6%):
