Oxford England Tours
Oxford, home to the most famous (and best – sorry, Harvard, Cambridge et al) University in the world has to be one of the most interesting and iconic places to visit in England. With our range of Cotswold and Oxford England Tours finishing in Oxford, our guests often stay additional days and marvel at the range of activities and places of interest to visit.
If I had one day to plan a trip to Oxford I would look at the following activities and keeping to the active thread that runs through all our tours I would look at the following
- The walk (we will leave the circular walk around the colleges until later), however, Port Meadow is a must for the morning. Starting out from the Centre of Oxford and using the Active England Tours route map, guests will wander behind the Ashmolean Museum and past the house where Chelsea Clinton lived whilst at Oxford and onto the vast plain called Port Meadow, given to the people of Oxford in 1086. With the River Thames running past it’s like stepping back in time with wild horses and cows grazing to their heart’s content. https://activeenglandtours.com/tours/walking-tours/
- From Port Meadow and a coffee at the Bearfoot Café on Walton St guests should walk to our next stop…punting!
- From the Cherwell Boathouse on the Cherwell, guests punt ( in wooden boats, with long poles which you propel yourself forward with ) to the riverside Victoria Arms pub for a well-earned pint, and then punt back to the stunning restaurant at the Cherwell Boathouse.
- After lunch and maybe an afternoon spent watching cricket in the University Parks, it’s time for the Best Pub Crawl in the world. Immerse yourself in four pubs, full of interesting and different people, full of stories as follows…
– The Eagle and Child where CS Lewis and Tolkien used to meet– The Kings Head, where the student’s hangout (it’s always full!)- The Turf, famous as the pub where Bill Clinton admitted smoking dope (but not inhaling) and where the former Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke, broke the World Record for drinking a yard of ale in the quickest time (2.5 litres in about 12 seconds)- Then onto the Bear where the landlord would cut off your tie (if it was one he did not recognise and stick them all over the pub), hence there are ties everywhere… - If there is room for more, dinner at Quod, just off the High St and a short stroll from the Bear will provide a fitting end to an active and well spent day!
And if you have a second day, I would recommend the Ashmolean Museum, a tour of Oxford Colleges (including Christchurch College and Cathedral where Harry Potter was filmed (the dining hall and the stairs which move), the Bodleian Library and the Pitt Rivers Museum and if you have even more time, Blenheim Palace, home to Winston Churchill and the wonderful, Capability Brown designed gardens are only a gentle eight miles away by bike.
Only an hour from London and a perfect location for day trips into the Cotswolds, Oxford has it all!