Oxford, the old bits

Oxford – Saturday 15 February 2025

I started this post soon after I visited, but am finishing over a month later, lounging on my bed in Delhi as I wind down an afternoon and await feeding time in the hotel I’m staying in. There will hopefully be a lot of Delhi, and other holiday, related posts over time, though I’ve lost the blogging urge.

In the last couple of posts I’ve touched on getting myself ready for the few days I spend in Delhi and I think it has paid off to a degree, I’ve coped well so far (day three), we’ll see.

I’m sort of just posting this for the record.

Oxford is a university town. While I’m sure many of those who have lived in this small city for generations will disagree with me to some degree, but, the university is Oxford and for this reason alone it is a hugely popular tourist destination. It was busy, and I’m glad I chose to overnight on Friday rather than Saturday. I almost had to battle against the stream of visitors coming from the station to the old town in the wind and rain late on Saturday morning as I headed home. Friday was less frantic and the weather was significantly better.

There are records of teaching in Oxford as far back as 1096 making it the oldest English language university in the world. It expanded rapidly in 1167 when King Henry II banned English students from going to Paris University. The university comprises 43 ‘colleges’, some of which I visited today. All students must belong to a college. Some of the colleges are incredibly old, for instance Balliol was founded in 1263 and claims to be the oldest college in Oxford, and the world.

A number of the buildings date back to the 1400 and 1500s, many constructed from yellow sandstone and they all look lovely. The old, university bit of town, is a great place to walk around, even though it was somewhat busy there were little oasis(es?) of peace if you wanted a moment of solitude.

Getting to the old town from the station, and the ‘hotel’ I stayed in nearby, you pass through some of the newer parts of Oxford, and it was looking a little sad to say the least. There are a lot of boarded up or otherwise closed shops and a few of the buildings look like they’re patiently waiting for the demolition that will put them out of their misery.

Once in the old centre I walked in many different circles and took lots of photos, and here they are. Sadly it was too long ago for me to actually remember the names of the buildings and colleges. At least in Delhi I’ve been keeping a rough record of what I’ve photographed! Oxford id lovely though and I’m really glad I finally spent some time there, it was long overdue..