Oxfordshire, on my own

[mymumwouldntapprove]

I’m in Oxfordshire, not far from Didcot, on my own, for a week at the end of April. I’ll have some remote work to do but plenty of time to myself. What can I do to fill my time that won’t cost a fortune?
i’ll have a car and probably half days to fill. I have lots of interests but conscious that the weather may not be great and I won’t have masses of spare cash, plus I’ll have a teenager with me in the evenings.
any recommendations?

Go into Oxford. So much to see and do. I wouldn't drive though, bus or train into the city.

Drive to Henley for a walk along the river (park in Dry Leas car park for long stay).

Look for walks in the chilterns. The OS maps online will help.

Have a super time.

Definitely agree with suggestion to get train into Oxford. There are plenty of free museums, and some of the colleges are fairly cheap entry fee for visitors (usually visiting hours are in afternoon, Christ Church is not cheap!). Plus cafes, the Covered Market shops, and walks by the river. But don't drive. Traffic is horrible in Oxford and parking extortionate. Even park and ride is pretty expensive and the bus section is slow when people are going home.

Oxford for the Ashmolean, Natural History and Pitt Rivers museums. Get train in from Didcot or drive and park at Westgate.
Wallingford is nice for a wander around antique and trinkety type shops.
Walk up/around Wittenham Clumps.
River walk and the Rowing Museum at Henley, also trinkety shops.

Recommend the following places to eat:
The Bear at North Morton (watch out for 'local' Boris Johnson - darts stop mid air when he walks in)
5 Little Pigs in Wallingford
The Fishes at Sutton Courtney
Thai food at The Blueberry in Blewbury
Indian food at Vine and Spice at Long Wittenham

You can get the train into Oxford as suggested. At the moment, though, the railway bridge which cuts off the City from the west (where Didcot is ) is being demolished , the road is completely closed, and so the City is inaccessible by wheeled transport. The traffic around Oxford ring road is chaotic as a result.

I don’t know how you would get to the ‘Westgate’ to park at the moment!

Abingdon is a very historic town, the Abbey ruins are very museum is interesting. Parking is fairly easy .

I don’t know how you would get to the ‘Westgate’ to park at the moment!

Up Abingdon Road from the southern ring road. Really straightforward - because people don't seem to know it's possible, it's easy. If Westgate parking full, park in Oxpens. Could also park at Hinksey outdoor pool carpark and walk in through the back streets.

What about a trip to millets? Good for a free wander round or you can get coffee and cake or food. Their breakfast is good!

Most obvious thing to do in Didcot itself is the Railway Museum, although you have got to be quite a fan of trains (my DC used to love trains and Thomas the Tank Engine would often be parked up there, so I have been there more than my fair share of times!)

Oxford itself could easily eat your time. It’s a beautiful place to just walk around. The best museums imo are the Natural History Museum and the Ashmolean, both free entry. The Pitts Rivers Museum is also free, if you like slightly creepy global artifacts!

If you are into fresh air, it is about 20-30 minutes drive from Didcot to Uffington White Horse, which is stunning. While there, you can also walk around the shape of the Iron Age hill fort that was there once, climb Dragon Hill, and hike along the Ridgeway for about a mile to see Waylands Smithy too.

A bit further afield, Woodstock for dinner in any of the pubs there (pretty sure it’s the Crown that has the well in the bar, with a plate of glass over it. It’s been a long time since I lived near there) after a day walking around Blenheim if you are limited on cash. There are various public footpaths through the parkland, and you can see the house plus quite a lot of film locations (eg Harry Potter movies) in the grounds. If your budget stretches, it’s a fab house to go into, and has a butterfly house and lovely gardens too.

Pitt Rivers is good as is Ashmolean.

There is plenty of stuff to see and do in Oxford in any guide book. If you fancy a shopathon maybe go up to Bicester shopping village.

I would recommend the Creation Theatre Company, who normally do some plays in some strange settings if you are into theatre.

The best thing about Didcot is you can easily get the train to somewhere else, like Oxford and London.

Blenheim Palace is about a half hour drive from Didcot and there is a new Icons of British Fashion exhibition just opened there.