Oxford

If You’ve Always Dreamed of Going to Oxford, Now’s Your Chance!

You don’t need to have a super big brain to go to Oxford, you just have to be a smart traveller! People who know rate Oxford as a perfect weekend-break destination and we’re inclined to agree – they just don’t want to shout about it! We, on the other hand, don’t want you to miss out on a city that is somewhat unassuming but offers a distinctly warm welcome…

You don’t need to be an intellectual to be interested in the history of one of the world’s most famous universities. The oldest university in the English-speaking world, today Oxford is a global centre of learning teaching and research. You can find out more by taking a walking tour led by a university student with first-hand knowledge of this prestigious campus.

Oxford’s also one of the few places you can go punting. It’s easy to rent a flat-bottomed boat and push yourself down the River Cherwell – a delight on a sunny afternoon. Take a picnic and a glass of something fizzy.

If you’ve got a Harry Potter fan in the family, they’ll be much more impressed by the various filming locations featured in many of the early movies. The Gothic vaulted ceiling of Bodleian Library’s Divinity School was used as Hogwart’s Infirmary, while Harry walked through Duke Humfrey’s Library hidden underneath his invisibility cloak. You’ll also find the gigantic oak tree - where Malfoy was turned into a ferret by Mad-Eye Moody - in the New College Cloisters. Christ Church College provided the location for many other Harry Potter scenes.

The locals call Oxford ‘Gown Town’ in reference to the many graduates who have passed through its hallowed halls for hundreds of years, and the city brims with history and science in the most delightfully English manner. Oxford is also home to Britain’s oldest botanical gardens with more than 7,000 species of plants.

You can do the city in a few days but it’s really worth taking more time to explore its many neighbourhoods. Jericho has been called one of the coolest places to live in Britain by The Times and we can see why: it’s a compact suburban neighbourhood with lots of colourful cafés, uber-stylish bars and lots of quirky independent stores. Really worth the diversion from the tourist trail! 

Oxford is nestled neatly between the Cotswolds and the Chiltern Hills, both designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Take the car, pack your walking shoes and go exploring – you will not be disappointed!  

The Cotswolds isn’t all chocolate box cottages, but its 800 square miles is richly rural with more than 3,000 miles of footpaths and bridleways, criss-crossing acres and acres of woodlands and wildflower meadows. The landscape produces incredible cheeses, meats and drinks – all of which you’ll find on the menu at the various restaurants, pubs and inns scattered across the region.

Altogether, it’s a little taste of heaven so travel to Oxford and see it for yourself!