Oxford

[noddyholder]

I am going to oxford next week just overnight but will have all day weds and thurs til about 4. Any suggestions on what to do. Like art design and bars !

[stealthsquiggle]

Ashmolean (for art), and then the Castle (for bars)?

Pitt Rivers museum is also fun if you are into scienc-y stuff

[LottieJenkins]

I did an Inspector Morse tour It was brilliant.

[out2lunch]

you will have a lovely time shops everywhere and iirc loads of signs for diff museums etc everywhere - you can't miss em

[noddyholder]

Thanks Am taking dp for a night away as he has had a shitty time recently so looking forward to it x

[stealthsquiggle]

Covered market for nice shopping options

Parks for general chilling

Blackwells for drooling over books

[CMOTDibbler]

I love the covered market - many happy memories of bootling round there.

Hire a punt and take a romantic picnic

Do an open top bus tour to orientate yourself and then use it to get around

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Wander into Jericho and down towards Port Meadow if you want a walk - it's beautiful. And if you like Philip Pullman, it matches up with his books.

If you want to go round a college, lots may be open at the moment as it's out of term - Christ Church is the grandest but IMO not very interesting, apparently Merton does a good tour, and Magdalen is lovely. Worcester is also very pretty and has a lake.

Blackwells art and poster shop is worth looking at, if you want to buy art books.

IMO the nicest cocktail bars are Angels (on Little Clarendon) and, in the evening, the Grand Cafe. The GC is also great for lunch and is the most gorgeous little building.

Have a great time!

[noddyholder]

Thanks this is great!

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I love Oxford so much.

You know it's a bugger to park, right? Worth knowing if not!

[noddyholder]

I am thinking of going by train as hotel v central.

[CommunistLegoBloc]

Duke of Cambridge cocktail bar is just opposite Angels and also very nice - a bit more spacious too.

Al Andaluz is a tapas bar on Little Clarendon St, and it's fantastic. Eat there, nip two seconds up the road for cocktails and round the night off with ice cream from G&Ds opposite DoC.

[stealthsquiggle]

G&D's for ice cream and/or coffee is definitely a must (either the original one in Little Clarendon St or the newer one on St Aldates)

[aquavit]

which hotel are you staying at? If very central then LRD is spot on with Grand Cafe for cocktails. Eating is not brilliant in central Oxford but there are some good foodie pubs if you go a bit further, specially the Rickety Press in Jericho or the Magdalen Arms in east Ox, though I think the Magdalen might be on hols at the mo. Branca (also in Jericho) is a nice modern Italian with a lovely terrace garden (great for lazy lunch).

Little Clarendon St is fun, the Duke of C does good cocktails, and it's on the way up to Jericho if you fancy a bit of a crawl

Def Ashmolean for art (and then go to the rooftop restaurant for a drink/snack/meal, the view is pretty cool) and also the museum of modern art might float your boat. From the Ashmolean it's just a hop to the university parks which are lovely.

[comixminx]

Definitely go by train and walk everywhere - no point in parking.

I think central Oxford is not bad for food actually but it depends on what you want, of course. If you want snacky stuff to keep you going while you sight-see then George & D's as mentioned, or there are two burrito places that are very central and will keep you well-fed for a long time - Mission Burrito on King Edward St (off the High St) and on St Michael's St (off Cornmarket). As aquavit says, the Magdalen Arms in East Oxf is on hols at present but otherwise is very much to be recommended. Girl Eats Oxford is a blog that reviews lots of restaurants locally, worth looking through that for ideas.

I second the recommendations for the Ashmolean. I haven't been to the Modern Art museum recently but that might be worth a try.

[aquavit]

oh just thought, there is a japanese place that's very central - edamame on holywell street - that is supposed to be fantastic though I haven't been

v useful website here tells you what's on every day, has food and bar reviews etc etc

[RuthlessBaggage]

Definitely G&Ds for ice cream (drool) or lunchy bagels.

Definitely Grand Cafe for posh tea/coffee and cake.

South Parks or Christ Church Meadow for a leafy wander.

Colleges are worth a mooch for the "ooh that was on Morse! ooh that's where that bloke got done in on Lewis!" moments. Check Wikipedia for where to go (University College is in every other Lewis, frinstance). If children are old enough you can pretend you're looking round in advance of an application.

[noddyholder]

We are staying at The Old Bank

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Personally I can't stand the Duke of Cambridge - full of drunk teenagers being yobbish.

G&Ds however is delicious. I really miss living two doors away. They make their own icecream on site and the greek yoghurt and honey is to die for.

Branca, btw, also has a deli called Gluttons next to it (run by the same people), and it is pricey but has really nice food if you were putting a picnic together.

If you're interested in the scenic stuff, if you come in by train and instead of going straight on into town by Frideswide square, you can turn left and go past a building site (ok, not attractive), but then you will go down the canal and past St Barnabus' church, across a little bridge, and up through Jericho. It's gorgeous and worth it if you were going to make a Branca trip (or even if you're heading to Little Clarendon Street).

I believe edamame has very limited opening hours - I've heard it's good too, but never managed to make it while it's open!

[noddyholder]

We went to Oxford for our first weekend away 21 years ago. Can't remember it at all we were young and spent more time in the [skanky] b and b!

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Oh, I love the Old Bank. I take DH there for his birthday every year.

The food there is good, so you could eat there. Also good are their sister hotels, the Old Parsonage (very stuffy classic Brit food, but yummy, and delicious afternoon tea), or Gees. Gees is aways out in North Oxford but IMO the nicest posh meal to have in Oxford.

[stealthsquiggle]

oooh - nice.

just across the road from the covered market - stroll through there, on down Parks road, across to St Giles and down Little Clarendon St, on to Jericho...



Old Bank have parking BTW - it's not easy to find but the staff are (IME) uber helpful - they have to come out and lower the barrier to get through to it.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Ah, so is this a reminiscing trip?

[noddyholder]

Well we aren't married so no official anniversary. Hope he is not expecting the same bedroom antics as last time (which is probably why i can't remeber it)

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Well, sounds like it will be fun one way or another.

[joanofarchitrave]

Wednesday is market day at Gloucester Green which is a good place to hang out - a few cafes at the lower end of the square if you just want to people watch.

I can thoroughly recommend the Oxford Poetry Tour. Drop in during the day at the Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street, and pick up headsets and a map - £3 per person and you need to leave 1 form of ID as a deposit. Then it takes you on a nice walk around the centre of Oxford with related poems to listen to as you go. Takes about an hour.

When going past Hertford College and the Bridge of Sighs, pause the poetry and head in to the Bodleian - beautiful in itself, and then if you bear left across the courtyard you'll find a small exhibition on Dickens and His World - very easy to enjoy as it's only one room. They have a whole case of the original paper-wrapped sections of novels which is how Dickens sold all his works, plus some other really nice things. About 15 mins.