A Day in Oxford – London

Continue from my previous post – London, I would like to throw back to my day trip in Oxford last month. My colleague and I planned to go to have a quick visit in Oxford then we went to Bicester Outlet shopping in late afternoon. To be honest, I think we could spent a whole day in Oxford as there were lots of places to explore which definitely wasn’t enough for only a couple of hours.

We bought the ticket in advance through the web as it is much cheaper than you buy it in the station. So if you wish to save some money from your pocket, highly suggest you to plan it in advance. Anyways, we departed in Paddington station hence I had a chance to take a picture with this iconic Paddington bear in the station! ^0^ How excited this was!

We bought our breakfast and enjoyed in the train. It took approximately 60 mins from Paddington to Oxford station. We also booked a walking tour in advance from Oxford walking tours in Oxford. I decided to join this walking tour because I don’t have to pay for a fix tour price like the normal tour, instead it is free to pay as you like! Of course I did pay for a reasonable tour price. The guide brought us to many places which highlights in the leaflet. That includes the School of Divinity (Also one of the Harry Potter filming site) and the Biggest library in London – Bodelian Library. One of the most memorable from what the guide said is this library kept every single published books/magazine in London! So as long as you published a book in London, it will keep in this library!! That sounds so cool!

Besides we visited the Oxford University and the landmark like Bridge of Sighs, Blackwell’s Bookshop and more! Let me show you some photos below!

Heading to the ship street, will pass through the Castle Mill Stream

There were lots of restaurant on the way to the meeting point of Broad Street. (also our meeting point for the tour). I love how the new shop mix with the historical architecture.

School of Divinity

The School of Divinity wasn’t as exciting as I imagined. This site needs to pay an optional  1 pound entry fee. However still worth to have a look! as it is also one of the Harry Potter site.

University Church of St Mary

Since when I was there is during Christmas, there were some students singing Christmas song next to the Church of St. Mary. It was full of festive atmosphere.

The interior of Church of St. Mary

The Bridge of Sighs which is one of the iconic in Oxford.

There are around 20 people of our tour that day!

Love these pastel color houses along the street in Oxford.

Lunch in Cafe Loco

Lastly, as a big fan of Alice, I went to visit the Christ Church Cathedral and Alice’s Shop. Christ Church Cathedral which is the inspiration of Alice in Wonderland from aka Lewis Carroll. Unfortunately due to the limited time and the long queue, I don’t have time to go inside and visit the great hall as well! I only managed to visit the exterior and the Alice’s shop situated opposite to the Christ Church. It was a bit surprised that I didn’t buy anything from the store as most of the things were so expensive and I found some were made in China or even I have seen from Asia! I was a bit disappointed too.

I highly recommend to join the day tour as it provides so much background history behind each spot rather than walking on your own without knowing the story. The tour takes about 2 hours with a leisure walking way and stop for 10 mins in each spot in order to introduce the history of each landmark of Oxford.

Walking tour of Oxford

www.oxfordwalkingtoursofoxford.com

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