Sunset in Wallingford, Oxfordshire

Travelling from the East, you arrive in the heart of Wallingford by crossing the town's Grade II-listed stone bridge over the Thames. On the west side of the river, you'll find dozens of period houses, pubs and shops in this distinguished market town, which dates from the Saxon era.

Academic Street Life outside the Kings Arms Pub, Oxford

 

Academics on eclectic bikes glide around the roundabout where Broad Street meets Holywell Street meets Catte Street meets Parks Street. From the tables outside the Kings Arms pub you are treated to fine views of the venerable Old Indian Institution Building, the mid 20th century Weston Library and the neoclassical Clarendon Building.

New Buildings, New College, Oxford

 

The New Buildings along Holywell Street were built between 1873-96 to enable New College to expand. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, New College is so called to distinguish it from an earlier Oxford college (Oriel, founded 1326) also dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Magdalen College, Oxford

 

One of Oxford's largest and most beautiful colleges, Magdalen College's medieval tower and cloisters are an evocative landmark at the eastern edge of the city's historic heart.

Merton Street, Oxford

 

Although it is just a stone's throw from Oxford's busy High Street. cobbled Merton Street is a peaceful throwback to another era. It is lined by some of the city's oldest colleges, including Merton College, which dates from the thirteenth century. As you stroll past the ancient academic and ecclesiastical buildings, it is easy to imagine what this citadel of learning was like before the tourists arrived in force.

Port Meadow, Oxford

Butted up against the River Thames, Port Meadow is a large open green space just north of Oxford's city centre. Reminiscent of the Fens, this is big sky country. While in February it can be partially flooded, Port Meadow would make a good place for a bracing walk or run, once the waters recede.

Stockmore Street Mural, Oxford

 

The vibrant mural on the entrance to Stockmore Street celebrates the community street band, The Horns of Plenty. Painted in 2018, this exuberant street art marks the band’s first 10 years of making music on the Cowley Road.

Magdalen College Commemoration Ball, Oxford

An extraordinarily elaborate event organised by undergraduate students, the Magdalen College Commemoration Ball actually lived up to its billing as a magical evening of revelry. It successfully delivered an array of live music, culinary treats, entertainments and fireworks, in a truly historic setting.

The Queue for Magdalen College Commemoration Ball, Oxford

The Magdalen College Commemoration Ball - the first in seven years - generates one of the most elegant queues you will find anywhere.

Tom Tower, Christ Church College, Oxford

Christ Church College's monumental, yet handsome, Tom Tower is one of Oxford's best known landmarks. Built at the tail end of the seventeenth century, the tower houses Great Tom, the bell used to signal the now notional 9pm curfew for the college's students.

Holywell Street, Oxford

 

Semi-pedestrianised, Holywell Street is a peaceful oasis away from the hustle and bustle of nearby Oxford High Street. Many of the terrace houses date from the seventeenth century. Famous former residents include J.R.R Tolkein, who lived at number 99 during the early 1950s. A grandiose late nineteenth century extension to New College backs on to the street. 

Old Indian Institute Building, Catte Street, Oxford

Dating from the late nineteenth century, the elegant Old Indian Institute building sits on the corner between Holywell Street and Catte Street. The institute was the brainchild of Sir Monier Monier-Williams, who was appointed the second Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University in 1860. He wanted to encourage and support greater research into Indian literature and culture. The building is now home to the management of the Oxford Martin School.

The Memorial Gardens, Christ Church College, Oxford

Passing through the ornate iron gates that lead from St. Aldate's into Broad Walk will take you into Christ Church College's well-tended Memorial Gardens.  Designed in the 1920s to mark the college's losses in the First World War, the gardens were laid out in an Arts and Crafts style with a York stone path, stone walls, and herbaceous borders. 

Trinity College, Oxford

 

Dating from the mid-sixteenth century, Trinity College is proud of its verdant gardens, visible from Broad Street.

Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh by bike

The Evenlode Valley, between Wilcote and East End

About 50km as the B road winds, the ride from Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh takes in some fine rolling countryside dotted with grand houses and sleepy Cotswolds villages. Once you break out of the university city's gravitational orbit, if you plot your route carefully, you should be able to escape cars almost entirely. Tempting as it is, you should avoid riding through Cornbury Park Estate, as you may get challenged by a ranger on a golf buggy. 8/10

Walk around Uffington Castle and the White Horse, Oxfordshire

The National Trust car park on Woolstone Hill is a good starting point for a fun and scenic family walk around the iron age hill fort of Uffington Castle and the nearby White Horse. Head south on the minor road and the subsequent track that climbs up to The Ridgeway, the historic trail that runs along the dramatic chalk ridges of the Berkshire Downs. The treeless land up here at about 250 metres altitude can be bleak in winter, but it offers sweeping 360 degree views across rolling countryside. On a Saturday, you may spot red jackets, flagging a hunt galloping across the fields below. Kids will enjoy running along the mounds of earth that defended the hill fort. If you head north east across Uffington Castle, you will soon be standing at the head of the White Horse - an equally ancient stencil of a giant horse marked out in the white chalk of the hillside. Rather than descending north down the steep hill, you can extend the walk a little by heading east for half-a-mile until you come to a path that leads down past a small wood and the campsite of Britchcombe Farm. When you get to the road, head back west and then take the minor road, or one of the nearby footpaths, back up past Dragon Hill, the White Horse and Uffington Castle, towards the car park. All in all, this scenic stroll through ancient history is probably less than three miles - ideal for young children. 8/10

Buscot Park, Faringdon, Oxfordshire

A handsome Georgian stately home, reminiscent of a fine French chateau, in lavishly-landscaped gardens, Buscot Park is something of a treasure trove for art lovers. The substantial house is awash with both modern and historic paintings, including a Rembrandt portrait and Rossetti's striking Pandora, as well as sculptures. The extensive gardens are dotted with striking contemporary and classical water features, temples and statues. Through the gates in the walled garden, you can admire a beguiling series of man-made and highly-symmetrical waterwalls cascading down from a stone goddess framed by Greek-style pillars. The undulating grounds are partitioned by very high, red-brick walls, some broad lawns, a large lake and a series of long, narrow ponds. Nearly everywhere you turn, your eye is directed down carefully-crafted corridors, lined with trees, hedges and stone walls, towards features in the distance. Serving as the cafe and National Trust reception office, is the very large stable block, as big as a row of terrace houses, with its own clock tower, rising from the tall, tiled roof.

Britchcombe Farm campsite, Uffington, Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire

Several sloping fields in this picturesque patch of English countryside make up Britchcombe Farm's very rustic campsite. From your tent, you'll have wide views of the very green, rolling countryside and the flocks of sheep stretching away into the distance, while a nearby footpath makes the steep climb up to the scenic and ancient Ridgeway path, which overlooks the famous white horse etched into the chalk downs. In a wet April, each field might only house a couple of tents, so the campsite can be peaceful and the portaloos clean and well-equipped with bog roll. But it is still a bit of a hike from the fields to the charming, but shabby, farm buildings to make use of the decent showers and washing up sinks. Campfires are allowed in designated circles, but you are supposed to buy wood from the farmer, rather than bring your own. The farm charges £6 per person per night, but toddlers and babies are free of charge, while kids aged 5 to 14 are half-rate. 8/10

White Horse pub, Woolstone, Oxfordshire

An alluring and seemingly unspoilt timber-framed 16th century pub in a charming south Oxfordshire village, the White Horse offers passable Sunday roasts for a reasonable £9. The roast beef, for example, comes with three big slices of rather dry meat, crispy roast potatoes, a very dry Yorkshire pudding and a side serving of respectable vegetables, while the lamb is also sliced, rather than on the bone. The succulent white fish (£10) in batter, served with fat chips and a small bowl of peas, is better, as is the seafood risotto (£10), although it looks like it has been heated up, rather than cooked from scratch. Kids can have half-size meals at half-price. The deserts (around £4.50) include a large cube of sticky toffee pudding, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It is very sweet and a little too neat and tidy. You can get two large scoops of decent ice cream for £4, which is a bit pricey for kiddy fodder. The coffees are also expensive - £2.30 for a modest cappuccino. On tap, are a couple of Arkell's bitters, such as the fairly weak and innocuous 3B. The Stowford Press cider, which is full of flavour and very refreshing, is more exciting. The White Horse's tired run-of-the-mill wood interior, which lacks the character of the exterior, is a bit of a disappointment. But the comely female staff are friendly and attentive. 7/10