How To Spend An Afternoon In Oxford
Last month I had a lovely spa weekend at the Oxford Belfry hotel about 20 minutes outside of the city centre and it was a lovely relaxing weekend but we decided as we were so close to the city centre that we’d explore for our final afternoon before heading home. If you’re driving to Oxford one thing which I would recommend without a doubt is to go to a park and ride and not drive into the centre itself. There are about three park and rides so regardless of where you’re driving from you’ll get to one and it will work out so much cheaper (£8 for 2 people via park and ride for parking and the return bus), and it will be less stressful. When we went around the city there were queues for car parks and everything was pretty busy.
Now the practical stuff is over with it’s time to talk about what to do in the city. Now there’s so much you can do to explore Oxford as it’s an absolutely stunning place that you could spend a week here but we decided to just do the core things. We arrived in the city around midday and decided to jump onto a live guided bus tour, we boarded from Christchurch as it’s near all the bus stops from the park and ride, and the one hour tour around the city was really interested. We found out more about the people who had lived and studied in the city and more about the university which is known throughout the world.
After we hopped off the bus we headed to the official Alice shop with all things from the Lewis Caroll book as this is where the story of Alice began. The main character was inspired by Alice Liddell who was the 10-year-old daughter of H.G.Liddell who was the dean of Christ Church College where Lewis Carroll was a mathematics lecturer. During a boat trip on the River Thames Lewis told Alice and her sisters a story about a girl looking for adventures and it is here that the stories began. The shop itself is really small so can get very busy with people but there are so many cute items in there.
Next up we had a wander around the stunning University Buildings which are spread all across the city including Radcliffe Camera a beautiful rounded building and The Bridge of Sighs, another beautiful piece of architecture before finishing near on the square and having some tea and scones in the Universities Old Congregation House.
Once we had been refreshed we headed off to Christchurch to queue to explore the grounds. The building and surroundings were part of the inspiration for Hogwarts from the Harry Potter movies and parts of them were filmed in Oxford, this is also the college which has the largest connection to Alice in Wonderland. The great hall where people still dine has hundreds of beautiful portraits and paintings and the still working Cathedrale is really beautiful.
Before heading back to the car we headed to The White Rabbit pub nestled down a little side street to enjoy some freshly baked pizza and rest our legs after plenty of walking. Overall we had an amazing day in Oxford and I’m keen to go back and take a tour of university and see more of the place.
Pin It!
24 responses to “How To Spend An Afternoon In Oxford”
Leave a Reply
All About Me
Rhian Westbury
Travels and Destinations
Nothing currently planned
I’ve never been to Oxford but definitely want to visit – the Uni buildings look beautiful!
Christchurch is beautiful. I remember being in Oxford last year for a job and I found it to be rather beautiful. Its like something out of a book x
I LOVE Oxford! We have had the best weekends down there just wandering around and taking in the sights!
I have never visited Oxford although I have friends that have moved there recently. Would love to look round Christchurch
I have only been to Oxford briefly for a wedding, but would love to explore it and spend more time in Oxford!
The only Oxford I have ever been thru was Oxford,Ohio but I hear your Oxford is a grand place to visit….
Ahh I just graduated from Christ Church! So glad you had a lovely time in Oxford, Christ Church is the best college of them all hehe 😉
I’ve only visited family in Oxford once I definitely want to go there again and explore the area more.
I have never been to Oxford before but it sounds like a lovely place. The buildings look amazing.
I was lucky enough to grow up for the first part in a village just outside Oxford, it really is a beautiful place and somewhere with so much to do and see.
I live just 15 minutes outside Oxford and can not recommend park and ride enough, in the centre we have little to no parking lots unless you know sneaky places to park park and ride is your best bet.
My brother went to Oxford Brookes Uni and remember visiting once and loving the city, would like to return one day, glad you found time for tea and scones YUM! x
I’ve never been to oxford as I’m more of a Cambridge girl myself. Up Christchurch looks amazing and I never know it was linked with Alice in wonderland
I’ve never been to Oxford before but I hear the architecture there is something else. It’s a place I’d love to visit one day – thanks for the tips! 🙂
I love Oxford, it’s such a great city. Sounds like you really had a lovely time 🙂
I think there’s a lot to explore in Oxford. Christchurch will be at the top of my list.
Oxford looks like such a beautiful place to explore. I don’t think I’ve ever been, but hopefully I’ll get to visit next year as I want to take the kids to as many different places as possible during the 6 week holidays!
Louise x
oh wow oxford looks beautiful i would love to visit here ,looks such a cultural place
I’ve only been a couple of times for work, but Oxford always feels a bit magic to me. It’s amazing to see how much the city has to offer from the past and present!
I never knew that Christchurch was the inspiration for Harry Potter! I can see why, it’s a beautiful building.
We love visiting Oxford – The architecture is just incredible, isn’t it? I would love a visit to the Alice Shop next time I visit.
I’ve never visited Oxford but it looks lovely, I’ll definitely have to pay a visit one day 🙂
I’m hoping to visit Oxford while in London next April! It looks gorgeous!
I am desperate to visit Oxford as I have never been. I have allocated a day in half term so fingers crossed the weather is good