Robin's Space
Oxford
February 28-29, 2004 - We decided to spend the last weekend in February visiting our friend Sean at Oxford, where he is studying at University College. We saved money, going by coach, but we also used up 3 hours riding round every roundabout between Cambridge and Oxford. Thankfully we brought books!
We spent Saturday and Sunday walking about the city, visiting places where such greats as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein, John Wesley, and Gerard Manley Hopkins spent their time. We walked through Christ Church Meadow and the University Park. Contrary to our previous record, it did not actually rain this weekend, though we did have about thirty minutes of ice/snow.
Sunday we were able to catch up with another friend, Susannah (in Jericho no less! though we forgot our trumpets) before catching the coach back to Cambridge. Lucky for us, we were just able to catch the second to last bus back to Cambridge. Unlucky for us, the bus we were supposed to change to did not show up, so we waited over an hour in a little town called Bedford until that last bus passed through. We got home late and tired (not to mention hungry!) but we'd had a great weekend and are glad we made the trip.
One
of the first things we did in Oxford after alighting at Gloucester Green (which
isn't actually green at all - it's more of a square, paved strip mall) was visit
St. Michael's Church and climb the Anglo-Saxon tower. It's one of the
oldest buildings in Oxford and has a good view of the city. This was one
of many Oxford churches in which John Wesley preached.
These
pictures, though a bit dark (taken right after the brief snow/ice shower) are of
Merton College, where Tolkein spent some of his time at Oxford and is reputed to
be the inspiration for Rivendale. It is considered one of the prettier
colleges at Oxford.
These
pictures were taken from Christ Church Meadow, looking back at Merton college,
in the first two pictures. Christ Church is one of the most famous
colleges at Oxford and its chapel is the city's cathedral. The third
picture really does make you think of the Shire and the fourth picture is
looking back at the city's skyline.
The
first picture is also take from Christ Church Meadow. The second is of the
medieval wall of the city, which is now within the grounds of New College (which
is really several hundred years old). Also within the grounds of New
College is this Neolithic burial mound, which is really now just a strange
landmark. The stairs are just begging to be climbed, though there is a
sign forbidding it.
One
of the most interesting things that we saw in Oxford was in the Natural History
Museum, which is an interesting building that is a cross between a Victorian
train station and a church. In a case with different fossils, we found
several that were from Crawfordsville, IN, where Dad went to University (Wabash
College) and where we sometimes went to find crinoids. It's a small world!
14-Mar-2004
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