Oxford Day Trip

Last Saturday I took a day trip to the town of Oxford.  The university is located here, but it is only a part of the history.  Overall the town was very interesting, but definitely at a slower pace than I have been experiencing in London.  The hour train ride took me far enough away from the city that I was able to relax and enjoy myself.  I went into a few small shops and a small museum that showed the history of Oxford from centuries before the university existed.

Street view of Oxford.

While waiting for a tour of Oxford Castle to start I had tea and read a local newspaper outside.  The sun was out enough that I could actually take off my jacket.

The top of St. George's tower is the highest point in Oxford and give you 360 degree views.

St. George's Tower

View from the top of the tower.

Our guide for Oxford Castle Unlocked, she kept to a very good character through the tour.  The only remaining part of the castle is St. George's tower.  Also the castle has a long history of entrapment, torture, and most recently (at least relative to its history) reports of ghosts in the attached hotel.

All of the streets of Oxford were lined by interesting and contrasting architecture.

Finally around 6 pm I was ready for dinner.  I had read about Eagle and Child while looking up things to do in Oxford.  The pub is most famous for being a common gathering place for famous writers such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.  They would write at the college near by and then come here for drinks and dinner.  Lewis originally presented drafts of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe here.

I was afraid it would be a shire to these people and a large tourist attraction but it turn out to be a nice quiet pub with a great atmosphere.

My dinner that I wrote about previously, it was so good, I had to show it to you again.