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Oxford Day Trips in Dec
Family trip to visit England the first 2 weeks of December 2019. We will be in Oxford 6 nights and plan on taking day trips from here. We will be ending our trip with 3 nights in London. We will have a car in Oxford. Any suggestions on where to go? Thinking of Bath, Stonehenge, Cotswolds. This is our first time to England.
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Make time for Oxford. Whatever your views on religion it is worth going to a chapel even song at least one time. Take tea in the covered market. Visit the Ashmolean, Natural History and Pitt Rivers https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attrac...e_England.html drop into a college in the afternoon but some will be unfriendly at that time as the colleges may be very busy. Buy a book.
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I'd play it by ear based on the weather. You'll find plenty to fill 2 or 3 days IN Oxford. I wouldn't want to take any long distance drives if the weather is dreadful -- so just have a few plans in mind and pull one out if the weather is decent - or at least not gawd awful.
You could do Oxford to Stonehenge to Bath and back on the same day. The total round trip would be about a 4 hour drive so if you left in the early AM and arrived at Stonehenge at opening time, you'd have more than half a day in Bath. But do realize -- daylight will be very short and you'd be driving back to Oxford in the dark. A driving loop through a bit of the Cotswolds is easy -- but could be quite weather dependent. |
Bilbo's Evensong suggestion would be terrific anytime. But especially as nights get darker and longer.
Though the service is held occasionally at most of the university's 30-odd college chapels and at a number of the city centre's medieval parish churches, it's held virtually daily at 6.05 GMT at Christ Church (the university's poshest college, whose chapel doubles as the city's cathedral), which also has the city's best choirs. https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/choirs Evensong (an almost entirely choral service invented during the Reformation) is probably England's greatest cultural innovation. |
Bath, Stonehenge could be done in a day as janisj suggested. I’d also plan on time to explore the Cotswolds. Suggest you do a bit of research on the Cotswolds.. Easy to do the typical tourist sites but there are numerous lesser known places that are well worth a visit. As for Oxford, there are usually a number of excellent concerts and musical programs, if interested. In the Covered Market that bilbo suggested, look for Ben’s Cookies. I’m not much for cookies but can’t resist Ben’s, often fresh out of the oven.The Market has changed over the years and become more conventional. Haven’t been there in December for years but they used to have game ( turkeys, deer etc.) hanging from ceilings during the holidays. Probably too off putting for moderns, but I thought it brought back a sense of what it was like in the past. Don’t know if it’s still there but they used to have a great cheese shop. |
Blenheim would be easy.
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Another vote for Blenheim Palace - and particularly the Illuminated Light Trail. Also, the rooms in the palace will be decorated for Christmas. Book tickets on line here.
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Thanks.
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Thanks! Good to know. We are hoping weather isn't too bad.
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Thanks. We will definitely check this out.
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Salisbury/Salisbury Cathedral could easily be combined with a trip to Stonehenge.
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Bath Christmas market will be on until mid December (15th I think). This is lovely but also means Bath will be MOBBED. If you can, go on the train. Parking becomes a nightmare. I'd also recommend not going on a weekend if you can avoid it at all, you can't move!
I lived and worked in Bath for a bit and visiting town on a weekend during the Xmas market was a special kind of punishment! |
Definitely Blenheim Palace. How about Stratford Upon Avon? |
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