YOUR FAVOURITE THINGS IN OXFORD
 

I am planning to go to Oxford for a week towards the end of March (how cool does that sound!).

My questions for esteemed and wise Fodorites:

Firstly the hotel:
I know that the university provides lodging in dormitories. However, DD is planning to come with, and all in all I think it will be easier to stay in a hotel.

I will attend a conference at the Harris Manchester College. Am I correct or am I wrong in thinking that the university area is fairly compact, and that lodging that is 'central' or 'near the university' will be near this college as well? Can 'near' possibly mean 'walking distance'?
I do not mind staying a bit farther out if I can find something that is within easy access with a bus - are there specific areas that you can recommend?
I am looking for an 'ordinary' nice 3 or 4star hotel ... any recommendations?

Strangely enough, I have had my fill of cute, old-fashioned creaky hotels for the moment; something modern and clean would suit me better (but I am not really picky). I have had a look at the hotels in Oxford, and they seem to be filling up fast. I should probably book asap.

I will have more questions to follow - this is the pressing one for now.

Thanks!

It depends what you mean by walking distance.

Manchester is about the furthest college from the city's centre (say a 12 min walk from Carfax, the central crossroads). Many people rely on bikes to get there, though I've never understood such laziness.

Your criteria are tricky in Oxford, where there's a really strong case for staying within walking distance of the centre. There are a fair few "modern" (what's that got to do with cleanliness? Slutty housekeepers tend to prefer working in square-shaped hotels) places a mile or two out - but all like refugees from Legoland, and you might as well be in Cincinnati, except that life around I-71 is rather more fun than around the A34 Ring Road.

There are no new hotels within a 12 minute walk of the centre - and newness in Oxford most certainty isn't ordinary.

I'll leave specific recommendations to those who use these places. Lists (select "North Oxford") at https://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/venues/hotels

Note that Oxford prices are usually at London levels, and comfort's rather lower.

PS:

"The university provides lodging in dormitories. " Fortunately, it does no such thing, though possibly "dormitory" means something different in your dialect from what it means in English

That means your conference is during a university vacation. In theory, your daughter might be able to stay in the same college at the same time. Look it up at http://www.oxfordrooms.co.uk/

That MIGHT offer both of affordable rooms - with character (and Manchester's too new to be properly creaky) and within walking distance of the centre.

AND, quite a lot of the rooms on Oxford Rooms are on new staircases: no new hotels have been built in central Oxford for the past century, but several thousand residential rooms have been added within colleges in the past 20 years. Oxford Rooms tends to select from these.

Flanner has nailed it, the centre is mixed in with the town, the dormitories (think Harry Potter when you think of Brits) don't exist but you can get either student concrete boxes or old rooms on staircases (often much nicer) out of term. The term staircases means just that with individual rooms and or suites (I guess) leading off.

In college you will not find slutty housekeepers but very high standard cleaning.

Rooms in my old college are not "ensuite" not sure about others. This may affect your decision, though the days of lots of baths with a beer crate in the middle are long gone.

Flanner, you are right, I am wrong. I agree that modern does not equate clean. I recently had a bad experience with a place that relied too much on 'character' and not enough on simple good standards. Let me try to rephrase: I am not picky, any nice, middle of the road hotel will do, the age is not important.

What is more important is walking distance to the conference. 'Walking distance' is a relative concept. Again, let me rephrase: it would be nice if I could find a place within 20 - 25 minutes - or less - easy walking to the college.

Reference to 1-71 and Ring Road: I have no idea what this means - I assume the Ring Road is in LegoLand. Then I will prefer not to stay there.

Reference to 'dormitories'; this is from the conference web site.

"Manchester is too new ... " Yes - it seems to me the current buildings are only from 1893 ... relatively new. Can you believe that the first guy who started this College was a certain Mr Wellbeloved!

Harris Manchester College isn't that far from St Giles so you could stay in any of the B&Bs along the Woodstock or Banbury Rds and be w/i an easy bus ride of the general area. There is another thread going w/ suggestion for places to stay in those roads.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m#last-comment

Hi Flan,

>Slutty housekeepers tend to prefer ....

Did you intend "slattern"?

((I))

http://youtu.be/a_YKKzJeHWo

This kind of maid?

Thanks everybody for your responses. Thanks especially Janis for the link, I missed it for some reason.

Thanks also to Bilbo and Flanner for explaining some of the intricacies of lodging in Oxford. Must say, I WAS wondering about slutty maids in square boxes ... sounds like the title of a really trashy short story!

My hotel is booked.

Pretty sure by "Legoland" flanner means "the United States", though I suppose it could mean "Denmark." (He seldom misses a chance to poke gentle fun at The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, bless him.) I seem to remember that you live in Dubai or thereabouts.

"Pretty sure by "Legoland" flanner means "the United States""

No I meant Legoland: a place where everything is built in cubes.

There are parts of the US with real character: but the strips of newish rectangular buildings that line a large slug of Britain's urban fringes are identical to similar strips in Italy or France (or Denmark) and differ from those bits of the US that don't have character only in being a fair bit pokier. And often having sluttier housekeeping.

Incidentally, it's not quite true that "There are no new hotels within a 12 minute walk of the centre". The Malmaison isn't new like new hotels are in other cities (bits of it have just had their 1,000th birthday): but it reopened, tarted up after its former lives as castle and local jail, about five years ago and is definitely in the city's historic core.

Personally I loathe the chain (they describe their generally reasonable restaurants as "iconic dishes, served with a twist", and rebrand everything in sight, as in "The Mal Buck's Fizz, with Mal Bubble Time Champagne", which unticks just about every box in my book). But their quite sweet staff have been nice to successive flannerpooches at a couple of branches, and the showers are hot and robust.

You remember well stokebailey - I do live in Dubai ... Legoland par excellence. This also gives me the opportunity to travel to Lego-less places :)

Oh, sorry, flanner.

http://www.ashmolean.org/

don't miss the Ashmolean Museum, easy to overlook in all the other awe-inspiring places in Oggsford.

This quote does not have any relevance to anybody / anything at Fodor's, it just made me smile:
@RichardDawkins: Of course we must respect the RIGHT of people to hold stupid beliefs. But that doesn’t mean we have to respect their stupid beliefs.

Thanks for the link above PalenQ - I see they have a great art exhibit while I am there. I am so looking forward to it.

What to do:
I will have two full days free, and also most early mornings and evenings. Please tell me: what are your favourite places in Oxford? What should a first timer see and do? Maybe things a little out of the way, a bit off the touristy track?
I love beautiful interesting buildings, music, art, theatre, nature, books, food ... For years and years I have been enamoured with the work of CS Lewis and Tolkien (amongst others).
I would rather skip something than standing in line for hours to see it. I am a novice traveller, and I am still discovering what works for me. One thing I am coming to realise - I seem to prefer the slowest of slow travel.
Would it make sense to do a day trip from Oxford - given the fact that I will not rent a car? I would love to see something of the countryside.

If I had this time to enjoy I would look at
1) attend some music in a college chapel (there is lots on, some good some not so good) but the position adds value
2) Walk by the Isis in the meadows
3) Visit the Botanic gardens, not fantastic but full of history
4) Pop into a few colleges and walk in their gardens
5) Drop by Shelley's monument
6) The Ashmolean needs 4 to 6 hours but is free so do it over a few days
7) shop on little trendy street (little clarendon) and buy deli food from the places near there
8) avoid the tourist thing of the baby and bird (angel and eagle) pub unless you really want to see the sign "Tolkein ****d here"
9) book onto the Bodlian tour (I've no idea if it any good but others speak highly of it)

A number of people on this forum have done trip reports on places connected with Tolkien and Lewis, which are mostly out of the historic centre (not much more than 10 mins by bus, but they're in different places) - all I think tagged "UK".

Use the ADVANCED search function, going back 10 years or so. You'll obviously get a lot that Morse-related if you search "Lewis, Oxford" - but that may be useful anyway.

For plays and music: https://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/whatson/index.html Not listed: liturgical music, which Oxford's quite good for

Art's (as in paintings and miniatures) not big in Oxford: the biggest single act of cultural vandalism in Europe's history was the deliberate burning of practically every single illustrated manuscript in the city at the beginning of the Reformation. Goodish, but small, permanent collection at the Ashmolean. Specialist, changing exhibition at the gallery in Christ Church. Temporary exhibitions at Modern Art Oxford.
Usual university city small galleries: https://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/events/art

Far stronger on architecture: not just the usual mediaeval stuff, but a surprisingly large proportion of the past 30 years'good UK buildings - though predictably an even larger proportion of the past 30 years' schlock .

Nature: Botanic Garden, most accessible college gardens (Worcester and Magdalen are best), Christ Church meadow.

I've scarcely even seen a queue in Oxford, except for the bus to the Park & Ride. Or, to be honest, anything particularly touristy, apart from some horrid souvenir shops and the Harry Potter obsession with Christ Church dining hall (just one of 40 in the city)

Flanner and bilboburgler have given you a lot of good suggestions. Just wanted to confirm that really nothing in Oxford is 'touristy' apart from a few shops selling postcards and t-shirts. You will run into tourists - you won't run into touristy schlock.

For out of town one day you could take the bus to Woodstock - but you'd really want to do that in the main part of the day, so I probably wouldn't sacrifice one of only two full days in Oxford.