As British summertime beckons, what better way to spend a sunny weekend than visiting one of England’s great university towns?
The home of England’s oldest university, Oxford’s dreamy spires have been the setting of Brideshead Revisited, Hogwarts in Harry Potter, and the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. But there’s more to a weekend in Oxford than books and stuffy colleges, and plenty of fun to be had on a budget, despite its studious reputation…
Day One
Check Out a Castle: After rolling into Oxford Station (it’s a quick train from London Paddington, or the ‘Oxford Tube’ Coach Service), walk up the hill to ‘Oxford Castle Unlocked’, a museum and exhibition at the city’s historic fortress. Ignore the costumed character guides talking in ye olde English, and walk to the top of the Saxon Tower for 360° views over Oxford, before descending into the chilling 900 year-old crypt.
Oxford Castle was a prison until 1996, and you can visit the 18th century ‘debtors wing’ and read stories of criminals, betrayal and grisly punishments. Forget Oxford’s goody-goody reputation – this museum shows the city’s wicked side…
Cover Up in the Market: Although the colleges are spread out all over the city, Oxford’s center is pretty compact, and it’s easy to walk everywhere. Wander along the high street and head to the Covered Market, a historic arcade built in 1774, that’s still filled with traditional shops, from fishmongers to funky cafes and cobblers to artisan delis. Stock up on picnic goods at the Oxford Cheese Company, Ben’s Cookies, Nash’s Bakery, and the Oxford Sandwich Co.
Picnic in the Meadow: Walk back from the High Street and head to Christ Church Meadow for a picnic by the river. The lush and extensive grounds by Christ Church College are private but open during the day. They feel like a country village, bordered by part of the River Thames (known as the ‘Isis’ in Oxford) and the Cherwell. Munch on your goodies whilst watching college boat teams practise in the water.
Tour the Colleges: After a lazy lunch by the river, it’s time to hit the colleges, the reason Oxford draws tourists in their hoards. Unless you’re visiting with a student, many of the colleges charge entry, or won’t allow visitors in at certain times. There are 38 colleges spread over the city, and it would be tiring and time-consuming to visit them all, so pick a couple of the most impressive and visitor-friendly in the city center.
Start at Christ Church – one of the largest and most aristocratic of the colleges and the setting for Alice in Wonderland, Brideshead Revisited, and parts of Harry Potter and The Golden Compass were filmed. The college was founded in 1546, and has a famous Cathedral.
Head across town to Trinity College, a smaller college founded in 1555, that is worth visiting for its beautiful gardens and grounds with four major ‘quadrangles’ or ‘Quods’- the name given to the immaculate squares of lawn in each college.
Next door is Balliol, one of the most famous colleges, founded in 1263 and boasting three former prime ministers amongst its alumni. If you’ve got any energy left, finish with University College, founded in 1249, and the student stomping ground for CS Lewis, Bill Clinton and Stephen Hawking.
Head to the Library: Don’t worry, we don’t mean settle down and study – Oxford’s University Library, the Bodleian, is one of the oldest in Europe, and second in size only to the British Library. Feel like you’ve slogged away for your finals without picking up a book as you wander through this glorious building, stuffed with 8 million tomes. The Library runs guided tours, and the building is so impressive it’s well worth checking out.
An Upscale Dinner: By now you’ll be exhausted, so take an earlyish dinner at the Quod Brasserie, one of Oxford’s best restaurants on the bustling High Street. The menu is pretty pricey in the evening, but they run an excellent ‘Lunch’ menu until 7pm, where you can get two courses for £10. Tuck into scrumptious dishes such as Toasted Sourdough with Chicken Liver Pate, Steak frites with Bearnaise sauce, and Apricot Bread and Butter Pudding.
Pub Crawl: Even going out in Oxford feels like a history lesson. Apart from student nights, Oxford’s nightlife is centred around its historic pubs and watering holes. Start off at the Turf Tavern (Ed: where Bill Clinton famously ‘did not inhale’ a joint), and then head on to Bear Inn, one of the oldest pubs in Oxford, founded in 1242. This offers everything you would expect from an old Oxford Pub – creaky floors, low ceilings, tipsy dons, boisterous students, and a collection of ‘cut-off ties’ on the wall. In winter, enjoy mulled wine from the tap, and in summer toast marshmallows outside.
The King’s Arms is the only pub in the center of town to stay open past 11, so makes a fitting end to the evening. Owned by Wadham College, local myth has it that the KA has the highest IQ per square foot of any pub or bar in the world, and it was said that some dons held tutorials in the back bar up until the 1960s…
Bed down in a hostel: You could pay around £50 to live the student dream and kip in an Oxford College for a night, with canteen breakfast included. But a far cheaper (and more pleasant option) during term time is to crash at the Central Backpackers Oxford. Most hostels are out by the train station, but this hostel is right in the city center, for easy stumbling home. Forget grotty student dorms; the hostel has a rooftop terrace with BBQ for the summer months, and free tennis rackets to use on the courts nearby.
Day Two
Enjoy a Free Breakfast: The Central Backpackers has a free Continental Breakfast, but if you’re after some stodgy British Fare, stock up for a day of sightseeing at The Big Bang, an ethical sausage and mash restaurant serving locally sourced sausages sold at the Butchers in the Covered Market. This being Oxford, this is much fancier than your average greasy spoon, with art and jazz evenings, and unusual sausage specials that change daily, like Curried Thai and Stilton and Walnut.
Lunch in the week is only £5, but breakfast here is a real treat – the ‘Big Banger’ at £6.95 is a hefty plate of fried eggs, two Cumberland sausages, a rasher of bacon, an oven grilled tomato, beans, sautee mushrooms, toast and hash brown with a glass of juice and a tea or coffee.
A Morning of Museums: Oxford has some really interesting and offbeat museums. The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology is the world’s first University Museum, built in 1678. The Museum is being refurbished until November 2009, but you can marvel at the impressive exterior of the building, and see highlights of the collection, including drawings by Michelangelo and Da Vinci, Guy Fawkes’s Lantern, and the death mask of Oliver Cromwell.
Next up is the Pitt River’s Museum, the university’s archaeological and anthropological collections, with 500,000 items donated by travelers, scholars and missionaries. The museum is rammed with fascinating oddities and academic relics, from shrunken heads to Totem poles.
A Camp Cream Tea: If you’re in need of refreshment after all that culture, walk to the high street for The Grand Cafe, the site of the first coffee house in England (according to Samuel Pepy’s Diary, 1650). Today this opulent tearoom is a highly camp affair, compete with marble pillars and art deco interiors. Chelsea Clinton’s favourite treat, this spot is popular with students for its half price cocktails at night.
Indulge in the Cream tea for £7.50, or go the whole hog with The Grand High Tea £16.50 – a feast of smoked salmon with cream cheese and free-range egg mayonnaise sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream, handmade chocolate truffles, a glass of champagne and tea or coffee…
For cheaper eats, across the street is a great little place called Queen’s Lane Cafe – the hot chocolate brownie comes highly recommended!
Majestic Magdalene: Save one of Oxford’s prettiest colleges till last. Magdalene College has eight Nobel prize-winners to its name, but is known for its sheer beauty, with the iconic Magdelen Tower and a Deer Park in its grounds.
After wandering around in awe, go to Magdalene Bridge for a punt on the River Cherwell. ‘Punts’ are the small canoe-like boats you’ll see students and tourists alike steering up and down the river, and whilst you can be steered around, it’s much more fun to try your hand at ‘punting’ yourself. Punting boats take up to 5 people and cost £14 per hour. Set off from the boathouse and glide past the famous Botanic Gardens, and St Hilda’s College Gardens before joining the River Thames.
In Search of Cool on the Cowley Road: For one final blow to Oxford’s stuffy image, finish the day on the Cowley Road, a cosmopolitan street of ethnic restaurants, independent shops and Mediterranean cafes. Cafe Coco is a hip bohemian hangout, with a retro bar, offbeat art on the walls and a naked clown sat in a bath!
Come for the pizzas, with unusual toppings such as merguez and tzatziki, English breakfast and prawn saganaki, and stay for the cocktails – only £3.85 every night, from 9pm until close.
LS – Backpacking in England? Check out our 48 hour weekend city guide to London for more helpful budget travel tips…
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