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A Most Distinguished Town

Oxford is one of those cities that can feel at once intensely vibrant and blissfully sedate. This might have something to do with its student population which all around you tries to match up to the expectations of history and tradition.

There is no denying that Oxford
is dominated by the academic spirit. University students everywhere, especially in England, are renowned for their need to party and to live it up. For some that and showing up to the occasional lecture is all they really do. In Oxford, however, you find that most elusive of specimens, a student that actually studies. Even in pubs you see them alone with a quiet drink poring over their notes, and the rowdiness that you come to expect of student pubs is simply not there.

For the tourist the students are part of what is interesting to look at, but there are also many good shopping streets, museums, pubs, and of course the colleges themselves.

Where to Stay: Burlington
House is a luxury Bed and Breakfast in North Oxford, about 10-15 minutes walk from the city centre, but there is also a regular bus service. The rooms are beautifully decorated and for the price (starting at 85 for a double room including a luxurious breakfast) you get infinitely better value for money than you would at one of the more central hotels. http://burlington-house.co.uk/

Eating: For such a wealthy town, Oxford is actually a little poor in dining out options. Restaurants are pricey and not always up to the standard you would expect. We were disappointed with our meal at the much touted Fishers restaurant, where our order was not properly cooked. The best food we had was actually at the famous Eagle and Child Pub in St Giles, just across the road from the Natural History and Pitt
Rivers Museums. Soak up the atmosphere and find a nice little nook where you can enjoy big portions of honest and very good Pub grub washed down with a pint of ale. For some fresh produce or food on the go visit the Covered Market, which was established in 1774. It is home to one of the best fishmongers you will find anywhere, and you can even eat some fresh and reasonably priced oysters at their counter.

Watering Holes: As well as The Eagle and Child, which has been open as a pub since 1650, there are many other good historical Pubs in Oxford
with a great atmosphere, especially in Winter. The White Horse on Broad St is favoured by locals and serves very good ales, while the Kings Arms on Holywell Street
has a much livelier atmosphere and serves reasonably priced food.

Museums: Oxford
has arguably the best museums in the UK
outside London. I particularly enjoyed my visit to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, which is housed in a spectacular neo-gothic building. It is very family friendly with stuffed animals out for the children to pet, and a wonderful collection of specimens. Make your way to the back to enter the Pitt Rivers museum, which is likely to be one of the most interesting and bizarre places you'll ever visit. There, shrunken heads sit alongside weapons from every historical period, early prosthetics, armour, jewellery, and just about every other artefact imaginable that will have you leaning forward with a frown to look at the label. Unlike in other museums, objects are grouped together according to type rather than period, so you get a lot of variety as you walk around, and there is a feeling of exploration about the whole thing. There are also several other museums in town housing collections of Archaeology, History of Science, Painting, Drawing and Musical Instruments. Whichever cultural branch tickles your fancy, you are sure to find it here. For more information visit: http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_ university/museums_and_collect ions/index.html

Colleges: These are at the heart of what makes the city special, and a tour around them is mandatory. It is easy, however, to get lost and not know which places are open for the general public. The best option is to try the City Sightseeing Oxford Tour, which will take you around all the colleges and give you all the juicy history behind them. http://www.citysightseeingoxfo rd.com

There are also many guided tours departing from the Oxford Information Centre which will take you through specific parts of the city that are relevant to the many characters real or imaginary - which have made it their home over the years such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Inspector Morse, C.S. Lewis and Harry Potter.

Botanic Gardens: This compact garden manages to combine an extremely interesting array of species in several acclimatised glasshouses with an extremely attractive walled garden next to the river, which is perfect for a leisurely stroll. The 1849 lily tank is worthy of note, and in summer it provides the rare opportunity of seeing the Victoria water lily blossom, while for fans of Philip Pullman's Dark Materials Trilogy the first book of which was recently filmed as The Golden Compass the garden is a mandatory stop, as it is the setting of the final poignant scene of the saga is set

Learn more about this author, Alice Atkinson-Bonasio.
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