High Street:

After lunch, walk through Catte Street. You will find yourself back on the High Street where you will make a right, walking right past the Church of St. Mary the Virgin (below) .

Look up and take note of the Gothic spire of the church and continue to walk past the entrance to Turl Street at whose corner you will see The Mitre Inn, an old inn and restaurant, so-called because its logo is the pointed hat or mitre of the Anglican clergy. Walk right to the end of High Street to the corner where it intersects Cornmarket Street. Right ahead of you is the ancient Carfax Tower which is all that remains of the 14th century Church of St. Martin that was demolished in 1896 so that all roads could be widened. If you are there at the quarter hour, you will hear the clock chiming and see the two doll-like figures on the clock move in time to the chimes. The architecture of the buildings where four major streets meet—Cornmarket Street, Queen Street, St. Aldates Street and the High Street—is particularly striking because it combines several different styles including medieval and Gothic.

Christ Church College:

Turn left on St. Aldates and walk past the Oxford Town Hall on your left. Right ahead of you is Tom Tower which together with two ancillary towers flanking it forms part of the exterior of one of Oxford’s most famous colleges— Christ Church College. You make pay an admissions fee of three pounds to tour the college premises in their entirety—a tour that will permit you to walk around Tom Quad, Oxford’s largest, and the cloisters, visit the chapel which is considered Oxford’s Cathedral and the ornate Great Tudor Dining Hall which was the inspiration for the Dining Hall at Hogwarth’s, the School for Wizards, in the Harry Potter films. Should you choose to visit only one college on your visit, this might be an excellent choice.

Built by Cardinal Wolsey and founded by King Henry VIII (he of the six wives) Christ Church dates from 1525 when it was intended to be an ecclesiastical college for the training of Cardinals. The upper part of the Quad was built by Wren in 1682. During the Civil war, Tom Quad was commandeered as a cattle pen by Royalist supporters of King Charles I. When its bell, “Great Tom” was hung in 1648, the college had 101 students which is why the bell is rung 101 times at 9.05 pm to mark the curfew for students which has not, however, been enforced since 1963. The odd timing is because night falls at Oxford five minutes later than it does at Greenwich. If you have seen the film Chariots of Fire, you will recognize this quad as being the scene of the race run by the students to determine who is the fastest athlete among them based on the number of rounds of the cloisters they are able to complete before the chimes stop at 101.

Christ Church College  (left) has produced 16 British Prime Ministers in the last 200 years and is proud of its alumnus Lewis Carol who, while a Mathematics don at Christ Church, created the story of Alice in Wonderland while taking little Alice Liddel, daughter of the Master of Christ Church at the time, punting on the River Isis. Apart from this claim to fame, Christ Church was where Charles I held Parliament, where Queen Elizabeth I watched a play, where Charlie Chaplin came to dinner and where every table that has ever been in the Hall is still right there. In addition to the Chapel and the Dining Hall, there is also a Picture Gallery that contains an internationally important collection of Old Masters like Leonardo, Titian, Tintoretto, Van Dyke and Franz Hals.

If you decide not to visit the interior of the college, do take a quick glimpse of Tom Quad from the Porter’s Lodge (right). Then, walk a few steps ahead on St. Aldates. Across the street, you will see the Alice in Wonderland Shop that sells all kinds of merchandise associated with the novel and its author. Make a left on the Broad Walk . This leads you into Christ Church Memorial Gardens that were laid out in 1926 to commemorate college members who fell in World War I. This is a good place to pose for pictures especially in the summer when the perennial flower beds are in full bloom and make a breathtaking sight (below left). Walk past the gardens on your left and head straight for the vast expanse of the Meadows which you will see on your right hand side. Should you have the time, you can stroll right across the Meadows and get to the banks of the River Cherwell where you will see punters enjoying the pleasures of the waters.

If, however, you decide not to walk across Christ Church Meadows, you will need to retrace your steps and return to St. Aldates. Make a right after you exit the Memorial Gardens and walk by the main entrance of Christ Church College once again. A few steps ahead of you, make a right on to Blue Boar Street, a narrow alleyway that will lead you to a maze of very quaint streets.

Blue Boar Street:

At the corner of the first left intersection on Blue Boar Street  is Alfred Street, location of one of England’s oldest pubs called The Bear Inn. Without a right angle anywhere, the original tavern dates from 1242. Where this pub now stands, there was once an ostler’s house which provided accommodation for the stablemen of The Bear. The ostlers were employed to look after the horses of the visitors at the inn. In the 17th century, The Bear was a very fashionable coaching inn—imminent judges and royal commissioners stayed here, as did the heir to the throne of Denmark in 1652. What is most unusual about this very tiny and very dark pub is the vast collection of neck ties that line its walls and are enclosed in glass showcases. Since the early 1950s, many celebrities have ‘contributed’ their ties to the collection of 4,500 which are displayed on the walls and ceiling, in exchange for a pint of beer. Present day customers should note that this arrangement no longer applies!

After you have posed for pictures at this venerable inn or have decided to quaff a swift half inside, you proceed down Blue Boar Street. The street will curve slightly and intersect with Oriel Street on which you will make a right. The Quadrangle of Oriel College (right) is very small but very interesting and has been the setting for many televised series shot in Oxford.

As the street curves, you will make a right to enter Merton Walk which runs parallel to Merton College which being founded in 1264 is Oxford’s oldest. Right ahead of you, a few steps in front, you will see a small wrought-iron gate. Go through the gate to enter Dead Man’s Walk. On your right hand side is Merton Field, a lovely expanse of green lawn that presents one of the most peaceful vistas in all of Oxford.At the end of Dead Man’s Walk, just as you spy the charming cottage-like structures at the end of the street (above right). Make a left here on to Rose Lane. You will see the main entrance to Merton Collegeon your left hand side, while just ahead of you on your right hand side across Magdalen Bridge is Magdalen College Tower, a square structure that gives this area its very distinctive charm.

You are now walking right past the Oxford Botanical Garden on your right hand side. This is a very pretty part of the city, but just a few feet ahead of you, Rose Lane ends and intersects with The High. At this point, you may decide to turn right and pay the entry fee that permits admission into the Botanic Garden, Britain’s oldest, founded in 1621. One ancient yew tree survives from that period. The ornate entrance gates were designed by Nicolas Stone in 1633. If time permits, do consider strolling through the botanic gardens in which a vast number of rare plants, all clearly labeled, thrive. This is also a good spot from which you may rent a punt by the hour or for half a day. Punts, for the benefit of those who are not aware of this very unique river craft, are flat bottomed boats that are pushed along the river with the aid of a long staff that allows the punter to ‘row’ the boat forward. It represents the quintessential Oxford summer afternoon activity and is something that every visitor should experience. Like renting a gondola in Venice, it is something that is unique to this part of the world and, therefore, worth considering.

Back on The High:

If you decide not to visit the Botanic Gardens, your best bet is to make a left on High Street. You will pass the University Examination Hall on your left. This building which is closed to visitors is used exclusively for the taking of final exams at the end of each year by undergraduates and graduate students who wear the traditional black robes when sitting down to write them. A few feet ahead of you, also on your left is University College. Though this college might not be open to visitors during most of the day, do request the Porter at the Lodge to permit you to enter the Quad to see the Shelley Memorial.

You will enter by a nondescript doorway on you right. Just past a little stairway on your left is a truly exquisite pure white marble monument dedicated to Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) who attended this college but was expelled after writing the revolutionary pamphlet, “The Necessity of Atheism”. Despite the disgrace that surrounded his departure, the college chose to claim him as a revered son following his rise to stardom. John Keats, my favorite poet, and Shelley’s close friend, was right when he proclaimed, “Fame is the food that dead men eat/ I have no stomach for such meat”. University College Quad is very pretty indeed especially when wisteria hangs in great purple grape-like bunches from the vines clinging to its stone walls.

Continue Walking Tour of Cornmarket, The High and St. Giles