A Walking Tour of Oxford

“Oh ye spires of Oxford! Domes and Towers! Gardens and Groves!

Your presence overpowers the soberness of Reason.”

(William Wordsworth, 1770-1850)

Oxford’s  High Street

The university town of Oxford in England is one of my favorite places on earth. My special memories as a student of this university make visiting it joyous at any time of year, but during spring, Matthew Arnold’s “City of Dreaming Spires” is exceptional. Indeed, the start of the season is celebrated with traditional singing on Magdalen (pronounced “maudlin”) Tower by the Magdalen College Choir on the morning of May Day. You could, of course, take one of the open-roofed city sight-seeing buses that would wind you around the main streets. Or you could come with me, map in hand, and walk at leisure through the streets I remember with such deep happiness that I want to cry out with exhilaration each time I return.

On my walking tour, I will take you to the colleges that make up this world-famous university as well as to the architectural landmarks that render this city unique. We will not get involved in the Town Versus Gown politics that have long riddled the city, but we will understand just how and why this place has earned such an exalted position on the academic map.

Since I am also a huge fan of the British detective writer Colin Dexter’s character Inspector Morse that evolved into a BBC TV series starring John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as his sidekick Sargent Lewis, I will point out locations associated with the making of this series that was set and shot entirely in Oxford and its surrounding towns. If you are familiar with the series, I have little doubt that you will recognize some of the settings yourself. It is my fervent hope that, by the end of our journey, I will have infused you with some of my own enthusiasm for Oxford and that you will leave this city vowing to return again and again…just as I have done at many different points in my life.

The city derived it name from an Old English word, “Oxenford” because it represented the shallowest point on the River Thames which rendered it safe for oxen to ford (or cross) the stream. In course of time, “Oxenford” became shortened to “Oxford”. This explains also the crest on the coat of arms of the city that depicts a pair of oxen and a river. Now that you know the history behind the name, you can make certain to spend some time on the riverbanks and imagine what this place might have looked like in 1167 when the first French scholars arrived in England to found a university on this site.

Click here to begin the Walking Tour of Oxford