Visiting. No going back to college for this one 🙂 With the university spread out all over Oxford, it felt like a uni campus that had evolved into a small town. The different colleges have taken residence in old, stately buildings scattered around, and since many of them turned out not to be open to the public, I had to scratch a visit from my list. Therefore it ended up being nothing more than impressive buildings to look at, and an OK small-town to stroll through. In my opinion a day is more than enough. I surprisingly (to myself) decided to go on one of those hop-on hop-off buses I always try to avoid – don’t know what got into me… I guess it was OK, as I got an overview of the place, but besides that a not particularly interesting ride. The centre of town is a fair walk from the train station, where I arrived, so the bus came in a little handy.
This is an easy day trip from London to do on your own. The trains leave often from Paddington Station. Same goes for returns.
I’m very fond of Oxford but due to family and friends who studied there. Which means I got an insider look at the colleges (sorry). It’s really pretty in the summer and there are some great things to see and do, but if you’re not sure where to go then it can be a confusing place. Sorry you didn’t love it, I hope you make it back one day – I’d recommend the Botanic Gardens when the weather is nice 🙂
Always helps to have insiders at your disposal 🙂
I’d really like to explore more of Oxford..it’s quite a small city but it’s beautiful down by the river and has so much history #citytripping
I forgot about the river 🙁 I prefer nature over history 🙂
great photo! I visited it too years ago on a cold February day! It’s such a beautiful university town #city tripping
The most beautiful building, I think. Otherwise I was a bit disappointed… Sounds freezing 🙂
🙂
Sorry you didn’t have a great time in Oxford – I lived there for a few years and there’s a lot to discover as well as the architecture. Some great walking tours, museums, the Botanical gardens, the river, lots of history and you can visit some of the colleges as well. #citytripping
Yea, I didn’t find my way. Wanted to visit some of the colleges, but those I tried weren’t open to public. Forgot about the river 🙁
I’m glad you shared your honest thoughts about Oxford. I’ve always wanted to go, but knowing it’s more of a college/university feel with pretty architecture I might not put it at the top of my list. Perhaps I’ll consider joining a walking tour as other comments have mentioned to enjoy the history of Oxford. 😉
I guess I’m not much of a history buff, when I comes to joining tours. Kind of like to wander off on my own. In hindsight I would have skipped… But I’m going to give Cambridge a chance 🙂
Beautiful building indeed!
Hi Beatravelling. I stayed at Balliol College while in Oxford in 2011 during their holiday period and absolutely loved it. I spent two days and three nights but could easily have spent a week wandering from place to place. I would have loved to follow the river along for a way but ran out of time.
Yes, it would have been nice to walk along the river. Will try Cambridge next 🙂
Visited Oxford a couple of years ago – loved it –
did a walking tour, very entertaining and ‘educational’ :-o)
Saw they had a selection of walking tours. Apparently I should have joined one 🙂