Daytrips from Oxford
Feb 27th, 2005, 07:22 AM
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Daytrips from Oxford
I will be staying in Oxford for a week and wanted to make some day trips from there, to Cambridge, to York, to Hampton Court. Will I have to back into London to get the quickest form of transportation to York? I am assuming I can catch a coach to Cambridge from Oxford, and that the best way to reach Hampton Court is directly from London. Am I right in my assumptions?
I plan to see Blenheim. I have already been to Bath, Cotswalds, Stonehenge. Anything else that would be a good day trip from Oxford?
I plan to see Blenheim. I have already been to Bath, Cotswalds, Stonehenge. Anything else that would be a good day trip from Oxford?
Feb 27th, 2005, 08:13 AM
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There is a regular hourly coach service from Oxford to Cambridge, takes about three hours. Try a small Oxford based tour company called Cotswold Roaming for other day trips. They do Blenheim Palace, Stratford and Warwick Castle and also Tintern Abbey and the Welsh Borders as well as the usual staples of Bath and Stonehenge.
Feb 27th, 2005, 09:34 AM
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Henneth: Thank you. I had no idea it would take 3 hours to get to Cambridge, so already your information is helped loads in my planning. Cotswold Roaming sounds like just the ticket for some of my plans.
Roger: You confirmed my concerns about going to York. Seems like it might be more than a day trip from Oxford. I'll have to re-think that.
Roger: You confirmed my concerns about going to York. Seems like it might be more than a day trip from Oxford. I'll have to re-think that.
Feb 27th, 2005, 10:12 AM
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we spent a week in Oxford a couple of years ago and got to the cotswolds by renting a car in about an hour and a half. I don't remember if the car cost a lot, but it was gorgeous and except for exceptionally narrow roads really fun to see small villages. oops I see you've already been to the Cotswalds...
We'll be in Oxford again for five days in April (our daughter is in graduate school there) and are planning to go to London. The bus to London is easy and if you haven't spent a lot of time there, it's a great day trip out of Oxford. Old bookstores, great plays, fun to just explore different neighborhoods...my daughter went to Coventry Cathedral (as did I when I was 17 which is a looonnnggg time ago). We both loved it but I can't remember how far from Oxford it isl.
In any case, enjoy your trip
We'll be in Oxford again for five days in April (our daughter is in graduate school there) and are planning to go to London. The bus to London is easy and if you haven't spent a lot of time there, it's a great day trip out of Oxford. Old bookstores, great plays, fun to just explore different neighborhoods...my daughter went to Coventry Cathedral (as did I when I was 17 which is a looonnnggg time ago). We both loved it but I can't remember how far from Oxford it isl.
In any case, enjoy your trip
Feb 27th, 2005, 10:41 AM
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I think it may be a touch farther to get to Cambridge. I have a link that I'll post when I find it. Have heard it's nice and is different from Oxford - more rural, green, with more water.
Blenheim is a must. You could go to Bristol or Cardiff, Wales if you like.
As someone at Oxford now, I have actually found it is frustrating to day trip from here. I have gone into London sometimes to day trip from there - much better train connections, for example. I did Canterbury that way.
Hampton Court is very nice and is 45 min from London via train.
This link is good news for you (and me, as I haven't been to Cambridge yet) about Oxford to Cambridge:
http://www.stagecoachbus.com/news_509.html
Going to megabus.com allows one to search a schedule. There are many more buses than I remember there having been earlier. Travel time is 3 hours, 25 minutes.
Blenheim is a must. You could go to Bristol or Cardiff, Wales if you like.
As someone at Oxford now, I have actually found it is frustrating to day trip from here. I have gone into London sometimes to day trip from there - much better train connections, for example. I did Canterbury that way.
Hampton Court is very nice and is 45 min from London via train.
This link is good news for you (and me, as I haven't been to Cambridge yet) about Oxford to Cambridge:
http://www.stagecoachbus.com/news_509.html
Going to megabus.com allows one to search a schedule. There are many more buses than I remember there having been earlier. Travel time is 3 hours, 25 minutes.
Feb 27th, 2005, 11:23 PM
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There are direct trains to Stratford and Winchester. Also, less visited, to Worcester and Hereford (wonderful cathedrals).
Reasonably painless one-stop connections to Bath and (via Birmingham New St or B'ham International) to Coventry (though IMHO cathedral-building was, in the late 20th century, a skill England completely lost, and Coventry, Clifton and Liverpool 2 are dismal apologies for the real thing. And every other post-Blitz building in Coventry is even tackier)
Blenheim is a 15 minute bus ride (20 and 20A). Don't waste money on tours of the area. Buy the 1:25,000 OS map of the area, and follow on foot the rights of way across the estate to the medieval paintings at Coombe of what happens to loose women and to the Roman villa at the bottom of the hill. Get off at Yarnton, whose church contains extraordinary relics of pre-Reformation artistry (look for the stunning stained glass of fritillaries, the county flower, and the 15th century reredos, which is among the finest pieces of surviving medieval sculpture in Britain)
In Oxford, check the area's extraordinary palaeontology in the University Museum, then try to find similar fossils in the nearby quarries (the area round Blenheim can claim to have been the first place in the world a dinosaur was discovered.) And go by bus or along the river towpath the couple of miles to Iffley, whose church has among the most fabulous Romanesque carvings in northern Europe.
Reasonably painless one-stop connections to Bath and (via Birmingham New St or B'ham International) to Coventry (though IMHO cathedral-building was, in the late 20th century, a skill England completely lost, and Coventry, Clifton and Liverpool 2 are dismal apologies for the real thing. And every other post-Blitz building in Coventry is even tackier)
Blenheim is a 15 minute bus ride (20 and 20A). Don't waste money on tours of the area. Buy the 1:25,000 OS map of the area, and follow on foot the rights of way across the estate to the medieval paintings at Coombe of what happens to loose women and to the Roman villa at the bottom of the hill. Get off at Yarnton, whose church contains extraordinary relics of pre-Reformation artistry (look for the stunning stained glass of fritillaries, the county flower, and the 15th century reredos, which is among the finest pieces of surviving medieval sculpture in Britain)
In Oxford, check the area's extraordinary palaeontology in the University Museum, then try to find similar fossils in the nearby quarries (the area round Blenheim can claim to have been the first place in the world a dinosaur was discovered.) And go by bus or along the river towpath the couple of miles to Iffley, whose church has among the most fabulous Romanesque carvings in northern Europe.
Feb 28th, 2005, 06:05 AM
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Mucky: I drove in Wales once. Found it even more demanding than driving in Ireland! Do you have any idea how long the train trip is to Cardiff. I love Wales, and have never been to Cardiff.
Feb 28th, 2005, 07:03 AM
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Hi
Not sure why you found driving in Wales demanding?? it's pretty much the same as anywhere (except London of course).
Oxford is about 100 miles from Cardiff thats about 1.5- 2 hours by car and by train should take less than that, but you may need to switch trains, check the rail schedules.
I have the link to the railway site, but it won't let me enter due to cookies on my office pc being off.
You can look I'm sure.
http://www.rail.co.uk/ukrail/hotnews/hotnews.html
Cardiff is a great city and well worth a day of your time.
Good Luck
Muck
Not sure why you found driving in Wales demanding?? it's pretty much the same as anywhere (except London of course).
Oxford is about 100 miles from Cardiff thats about 1.5- 2 hours by car and by train should take less than that, but you may need to switch trains, check the rail schedules.
I have the link to the railway site, but it won't let me enter due to cookies on my office pc being off.
You can look I'm sure.
http://www.rail.co.uk/ukrail/hotnews/hotnews.html
Cardiff is a great city and well worth a day of your time.
Good Luck
Muck
Feb 28th, 2005, 06:16 PM
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Oh, thanks Janis. It was weird because until you had brought it to the top I'd searched under my name marciabb, and through the search with the topic Oxford and it didn't come up. I guess my computer was on the blink or something. Anyway, thanks for helping
Feb 28th, 2005, 09:32 PM
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No - it probably isn't your computer. there appears to be a glitch in the "click on your name" function.
If you click on it, you don't see all of your threads - and none of the latest ones. Then if you click your name again at the top of the list of threads (in other words click on marciabb at the top of the marciabb list in the left frame) then all the threads display. Once in a while you have to do this a couple of times to see all your threads.
Seems to be a new bug since the conversion to the new format.
If you click on it, you don't see all of your threads - and none of the latest ones. Then if you click your name again at the top of the list of threads (in other words click on marciabb at the top of the marciabb list in the left frame) then all the threads display. Once in a while you have to do this a couple of times to see all your threads.
Seems to be a new bug since the conversion to the new format.
Mar 23rd, 2005, 03:10 AM
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Kay, here in the UK we are catching up with the Americans. There is a new scheduled airline service starting on 18th April 2005. FLY from Oxford to Cambridge. This takes 20 minutes, opposed to 3 hours by road and 3.5 hours by train. The link is http://www.flyalpha1.com/cbgoxf.htm
Hope you will be one of the first to enjoy this service
Hope you will be one of the first to enjoy this service
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