This is our 'bed & breakfast' located on London Road and very nice it is too...and only a 6 minute walk to the hospital.
I'd never been to Oxford before and being world famous for it's University, the individual colleges and many other old buildings dominate the town. Here are a couple of examples -
Colleges like All Souls, Christ Church, Balliol, Magdalen, Merton, Jesus and so on go back to the 12th century so the buildings would be impressive now and they are what the visitors come to Oxford to see. Students and locals alike whizzzzzz about the town on bicycles and it was bizarre later in the day to see many men in evening attire complete with bow ties riding push bikes. Presumably on their way to some posh do. It's that sort of town.
In places bikes and punts were gathered so close together that they made for interesting photos.
But the town still had plenty of beautiful open spaces and thankfully we had time to explore a few of them. With the bike in the foreground against a backdrop of a college building, this was a quentisential Oxford scene.
Then it was time to eat and we picked The Head Of The River pub down by The Thames. We both ordered the 8oz steak but never expected the food to be presented in such a way AND served on a cutting board !
Those were the biggest, thickest, bestest chips in the whole world ever and were golden and crispy on the outside with fluffy potato on the inside. Delicious. The cutting board took a bit of getting used to but we were 'down south' and they're an odd bunch here.
Finally one location was crying out for one of my panorama shots and I think this is one of my best ones yet as the joins are hard to spot. Click to enlarge.
The plan is to visit Ruth again in the morning and then go a few miles south to Blenheim Palace, the stunning stately home, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
But all that walking and eating has worn me out and anyway, it's after midnight so I'm off to bed.
More later...........
Lovely photos. Oxford is in a class of its own. Now, when are you both coming to see us???
ReplyDeleteI've also never been to Oxford which still amazes me.
ReplyDeleteLiked the photo of the punts!
And either you have the appetite of Goliath or there is wide angle distortion in that closeup burger pic as it looks H U G E !
I love the panorama shot in particular and it really was as lovely as that. Gorgeous, as we say Up North.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos of Oxford, Ian! The panorama is exquisite.
ReplyDeleteSince you brought up the word, why do Brits pronounce Magaden as "maudlin"? Also, how did "St. John's Wood" (one you didn't mention) become "sinjin's wood"?
RWP - I think it's because we've been doing it for a very long time, and because we CAN. And that's nothing compared to our pronunciation of names: Featherstonehaigh as Fanshawe or Cholmondeley as Chumley (seriously, that's true). We do it a lot. (Sorry, Silverback, getting into discussion on your blog again, apologies)
ReplyDeleteJennyta, will make plans to see you early July on my way to Tenby.
ReplyDeleteMilo, that 'burger' was a steak and there was no camera trickery going on....it was just piled up like some sort of nouvelle cuisine malarkey but the chips WERE huge and thick.
Bob, it's like wot Daphne said ! And I didn't mention St. John's Wood as that's an area in North London and not a college in Oxford.
How very focused (or is that focussed?) of you, Ian!
ReplyDeleteTo return to your blog, then, I noticed that the buildings of Oxford got the long-distance treatment, but the onion rings merited a full close-up.
Verification word "previt" reminded me of Andre Previn. Why don't you blog about him?
Awesome pics.
ReplyDeleteChips did look lovely. Bet you ate every last one too!
Those certainly beat M&S oven chips (which nevertheless are quite good).
ReplyDeleteHaven't been to Oxford but have done Cambridge, and some of the photos make them look quite similar.
Hmm ... maybe all prestigious places of learning look similar? (Now there's a thesis doomed to failure!)
I know Cambridge quite well, but I've only been to Oxford once, and very briefly. I think maybe of the the two, I prefer Oxford, but that may just be because the grass is greener. It just looks more peaceful to me, somehow.
ReplyDeleteI love the panorama! Good job you did on that one!