Woodstock Road and Port Meadow to Wolvercote

By this point, you have concluded the tour of the main sights of the university and the town. Should you wish to go further, you can continue walking all the way north on Woodstock Road past the Radcliff Infirmary on your left which is Oxford’s oldest hospital and the setting of the scene in the last episode of the Inspector Morse series in which Morse passes away. A twelve minute walk past some of the most glorious horse chestnut trees that are especially lovely in the spring time when their candle-like flowers paint the trees white, will bring you to Southmoor Road on which you make a left. At the end of Southmoor Road, you make a right, cross the narrow bridge over the railway lines and the Oxford Canal and cross a wide field called Port Meadow that will bring you to the opposite banks of the River Isis which is a tributary of the Thames.

Some of the most picturesque scenes in all of Oxford will confront you on this extended walk away from the city and into the very heart of the Oxfordshire countryside. You will see loads of wild bird life on the river banks, a number of house boats that are moored on the river (that will evoke scenes from Inpsector Morse episodes), herds of cattle (cows and oxen) that gave the city its name all those centuries ago, a number of horses and, depending on the time of day, vast numbers of crew teams practicing their sport on the river to the loud encouragement of their rowing coaches. These typically Oxford vignettes can only be experienced if you decide to get out of the city and, time and energy permitting, I would certainly recommend it. Annalisa’s adorable sons Giovanni and Giacomo (below)  accompanied us ontheir bikes as we took one such walk on a delightful spring evening.

About an hour later, walking over a very narrow footpath cut into the river bank, you will pass the Godstow Lock that regulates the level of water in the river and permits the safe passage of river craft. The Keeper of the Lock is in-charge of ensuring the smooth working of the device though rowers play their part as well in keeping the system working. At the very end of the path, you will arrive at a dead end on a very narrow street. You are now in the town of Wolvercote and on your right, you will see the red and white striped umbrellas that cluster around the very famous Trout Inn, scene, once again, of an Inspector Morse episode in which Morse and Lewis are poised above the wier that cascades like a small waterfall down into the river, under Godstow Bridge as the river flows towards Oxford.

 The Trout Inn located at 195 Godstow Road in Wolvercote is certainly worth a visit. Morse and Lewis often stopped there though they approached the Inn from the Wolvercote Rotary on the other side of the inn. The “Wolvercote Tongue” is also the name of an episode in the Inspector Morse series involving the disappearance of a rather valuable artifact from the Ashmolean Museum. Named after the town of Wolvercote, the artifact was supposed to have been excavated in this part of Oxford.

By this point in your walking tour, it will probably be dinner time and the inn serves magnificent gourmet meals and some really good cocktails. I settled for Pimms and Lemonade which I was assured was “a Trout Inn, Oxford and Summer tradition” and found it to be very refreshing indeed. Cozy up with your drinks by the river bank in the company of a friend and watch proud peacocks (yes peacocks!) strut past. It was my pleasure in the summer of 2006 to be introduced to this bewitching part of Oxford by my former Exeter College classmate Annalisa Oboe who was in the city with her adorable sons Giovanni and Giacomo during a sabbatical from the University of Padua in Italy where she is a Professor of English. As fellow Oxford lovers, we found little to be disappointed about on our two hour hike from Oxford to Wolvercote and a drink at The Trout Inn was a perfectly comforting way to end our day together.

For those interested in the history of The Trout Inn, it is one of England’s oldest hostelries, built originally in 1133 as a hospice to serve Godstow Nunnery that can be seen in a ruined state on the opposite side of Trout Island. With its ancient stone walls, and stonesfield slated roof, leaded windows and great oak beams, flagged floors and massive fireplaces that are always lit in the winter, it is arguably Oxford’s most atmospheric and hospitable inn. Matthew Arnold certainly knew it and in 1862, Lewis Carroll first conceived of and read extracts from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” to Alice Liddel and her sisters on their river outings to Godstow which means “God’s”Place”.

There is no need to worry about walking back for another hour as, replete from some wonderful eating and drinking, you can take a bus back to Oxford city center from the main road in Wolvercote.

As you nurse your drink, the light will dim and you will, no doubt, spend many a pensive moment thinking about all the treasures you will have encountered during the course of your eventful walking tour of Oxford. While the curtain comes down on yet another glorious day in one of England’s oldest and most evocative cities, you will no doubt wish to return to explore some more wonders of this delightful place. Trust me when I assure you that you will find something fascinating to see and do each time you return to this magical place that Matthew Arnold caled the “City of Dreaming Spires”.

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Turl Street and Exeter College

Cross The Broad and walk alongside the wrought-iron railings that are topped by the sculpted busts of Roman philosophers. You will pass by a few stores selling Oxford memorabilia. Twenty years ago, I purchased a bone china cup and a sweatshirt, both of which I am very proud to say I still possess. You may also purchase post cards, college ties, mounted and framed pen and ink drawings of the colleges and other city landmarks. Make a left on Turl Street, sometimes called “The Turl”.

Turl Street:

You will have left the bustle of The Broad behind and will find yourself on a quiet, narrow street looking straight ahead at the tall spire of the Institute of Science. Turl Street is the location of three colleges but we will visit only one— Exeter College, the college that I attended in 1987 during an international graduate summer school. Most Oxford colleges are open from 2pm till 5pm daily, but do check the large notice boards placed right outside the Porter’s Lodge for correct opening hours.

Exploring Exeter College:

 The entrance to Exeter College is on your left hand side. Assuming the college is open to visitors, you go through the ancient low wooden door, past the Porter’s Lodge on your right and enter the beautiful Quadrangle. All Oxford colleges are constructed around the concept of the quadrangle or ‘Quad’ formed by the four walls of the residence rooms that house their undergraduates. You will see the steps leading to the spectacular Dining Hall on your right. This part of the college, unfortunately, is no longer open to visitors, though it is worth entering a dining Hall in Christ Church or some other college that charges an admission fee to permit visitors to wander in.

Oxford undergraduates dine “in Hall” at long tables lit by dim lamps. The exquisite wooden paneled walls are usually decorated with oil portraits of each college’s benefactors. At the very end of the hall is the Head Table or High Table, reserved exclusively for the Fellows or professors of the college who are known as “Dons”. When all the diners are assembled inside, the Hall Steward bangs thrice on the wooden floor with a heavy staff and the dons troop in together and take their seats at High Table. Grace is always said in Latin by the Master of the College who presides at dinner, after which pupils take their seats and the “scouts” come in bearing trays of food. For a good visual idea of what the atmosphere is like while a meal is in progress in Hall, do see the Harry Potter films.

Whereas the dining Hall of Exeter College is closed, visitors are free to wander in the Chapel  (left) whose entrance is on the left hand corner of the Quad. You will be struck immediately by the general air of antiquity that pervades this sacred space. If you are fortunate enough to be present while an organ recital is in progress or while a rehearsal is being carried out, do linger for a few minutes to get a sense of the majesty of ecclesiastical music as it sounds when it echoes around the Gothic walls of an Oxford chapel. Exeter’s Chapel is distinctive for the stunning mosaics that run around the main altar forming the features of the Apostles.

On your right hand side, when facing the main altar, you will see a magnificent larger-than-life size tapestry (left) depicting “The Adoration of the Magi” executed by William Morris, one of the best-known alumni of Exeter. Morris entered Exeter to train to become a minister of the church but he realized soon enough that he had a very special calling. Together with his friend and fellow-student Edward Bryne-Jones, he founded the Aesthetic Movement of the late 19th century and in the Art for Art’s Sake School of Thought that followed, the two friends influenced the course of art criticism for over a century. Morris spent his entire life in the Oxford area, buying and living in a house called Kelmscott Manor, close to Oxford, where he founded a printing press that brought out almost all his designs and patterns in wallpaper and stationery and printed his vast number of images of flowers, fruits and birds.

Exeter Chapel is also the setting for the suspenseful end of one of the episodes in the Inspector Morse series in which the wife of the Master of the College played by Geoffrey Palmer threatened to throw herself down from the organ loft after she discovers that her husband had abused their daughter when she was a child. The outside of the chapel is also the setting of the scene in the final episode of the series during which Morse suffers a sudden stroke, is picked up by Lewis and rushed to the Radcliff Infirmary which is located on Woodstock Road in the city.

After you have exited the chapel, make a left, walk alongside the west wing of the quad and turn left into a narrow opening that will lead you to the Margary Quadrangle that adjoins the main Quad. This addition, a more modern side of the college, has a contemporary sculpture in the center of the Quad and was built in 1964. The room I occupied at Exeter College during the summer of 1987 is located on the second floor of one of the buildings that comprise the Margary Quadrangle. It is a far cry from the original building whose construction began under Walter de Stapeldon, Bishop of Exeter in 1314. In the picture above above, I am posing in the Margary Quadrangle with the room I occupied at Exeter College behind me on the second floor.

Before we exited the Quadrangle, my friend Annalisa Oboe and I who had been classmates at Exeter College in 1987, stopped, for old times’ sake, to take pictures outside the Junior Common Room (right) and the Fellows Gardens (below left) where we had once hung out together. You can imagine how nostalgic this return to Exeter was for the two of us.

You will exit Exeter College through its main entrance and will find yourself on Turl Street once again. Right opposite is the entrance to Jesus College, a smaller college that is renowned for the fact that T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) won a scholarship to the college in 1904. Make a left and keep walking straight down Turl Street past the entrance to Lincoln College on your left. This college is associated with alumnus J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy who met his close friend C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia while they were both undergrads at Lincoln.

Continue Walking Tour of Radcliff Square

Radcliff Square:

Go back just a few steps and make a right on to the exceedingly narrow Brasenose Lane at the end of which the scene will open up into a wide square dominated by the presence of the circular domed building called the Radcliff Camera  (left) that was built in 1748 by James Gibbs as a memorial to the physician Dr. John Radcliff (1650-1714). This Baroque building is closed to tourists today as it serves the needs of researchers and students, being the entry point for the acquisition of any of the materials contained in the Bodleain Library.

The Bodleian Library:

Your next visit then should be to the main building of the Bodleian Library that was founded in 1320 and expanded in 1426 by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1391-1447) and brother of Henry VI when his collection of manuscripts would not fit into the old library. It was refounded in 1602 by Thomas Bodley for whom it has been named. Thomas Bodley forbid the keeper of the museum to marry. This library is one of the six copyright deposit libraries in the country and is entitled to receive a copy of every book published in Britain.

To enter the Old Schools Quadrangle of the Bodleian, you will use a small doorway on the left side of Radcliff Square. Once inside, you will see The Great Gate on your right hand side, at the base of the monumental Tower of the Five Orders of Architecture (left) . On your left, you will see the sculpture of Sir Thomas Bodley in the garb of a knight (above right). Right behind him is the entrance to the Divinity School (1488) which has a spectacular pendant vaulted ceiling in stone with 455 carved bosses representing Biblical scenes, mythical and real beasts. It is one of the country’s finest Gothic interiors and must not be missed (see below).

Exiting from the main hall of the Divinity School (left), you will pass through the Bodleian Library Gift Store from where you can purchase all kinds of memorabilia associated with your visit. The interior of the Bodleian Library might be visited on special tours that involve an admission fee of five pounds, but for our purposes, it is adequate to know that the Bodleian is one of the world’s greatest libraries and one in which academics feel privileged to carry out research. While I did use the Bodleian Library as a student at Oxford, many years ago, most of the material I required for my doctoral research, was located in the Indian Institute Library, which is a part of the New Bodleian Library and has an entrance that is located on Parks Road which can be reached by continuing on Catte Street where it intersects with the Broad.

Church of St. Mary The Virgin:

Walk out of the Bodleian Library Complex on to Catte Street and make a right. You will pass right by the Radcliff Camera on your right hand side with All Souls Collegeon your left. Straight ahead of you is the entrance to the Church of St. Mary the Virgin (above), the official church of the University and the most-visited parish church in England. It is certainly worth spending some time inside the church and, if time permits, do consider climbing up the steps to get some truly stunning views of the colleges and the town from the rooftop. In particular, you will notice the downs and fells that surround the city. It was in this church that Oxford’s three martyrs, Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley were pronounced heretics and were condemned to death by burning at the stake in 1555 during the horrors of the Protestant Reformation in England.

A good place to stop for lunch is the Vaults and Garden Restaurant of the Church which serves a very decent meal and some fine wines. Depending on the weather, you might choose to sit out in the garden as I did on my last visit with my friend Annalisa Oboe to enjoy a meal in the shadow of the Radcliff Camera. Inside, the restaurant has a pub-like atmosphere and is an ideal spot in which to rest for a while before undertaking the next leg of our walking tour.

Continue Walking Tour of Carfax and Christ Church College

Oxford – Queens Lane and “The Broad”

You will probably arrive in Oxford by coach. Your best bet is to alight just after the coach passes Magdalen Bridge—you will see the beautifully laid out formal pathways of the Botanical Garden on your left. This is Oxford’s High Street, long known as “The High” to Oxford undergrads. Shops line both sides of The High and you might well decide to stop for a quick cup of morning coffee across the street at The Queen’s Tea Room before we begin our exploration of the city on foot.

Queens’s Lane:

Let’s start our stroll on Queens’ Lane which you will find immediately to the left of The Queen’s Tea Room. This is probably the quietest street in Oxford and, depending on the time of day, you might well have this narrow winding lane all to yourself. On your left are the honey-toned walls of Queens College while on your right are the walls of St. Edmund (Teddy) Hall. If you are fortunate enough to be in Oxford in spring, you will be enthralled by the sight of a dozen blooming cherry trees on your right peaking above the walls and painting the lane a baby pink (above right).

A few feet ahead, you will start to see, on your left, the twin spires of All Souls College (left) which was founded in 1438. Press on ahead another few steps and one of the loveliest vistas awaits—position yourself in such an angle as to be able to view, at the extreme left, the single spire of The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, the twin spires of All Souls College and peaking in-between them, the verdigris dome of the Radcliff Camera (below).

Queens Lane bends left and becomes New College Lane. Follow the bend in the road until you see a dead end on your right hand side—this is the main entrance to New College. One of the grandest colleges, it was founded by William of Wykeham in 1379 to educate clergy to replace those killed by the Black Death of 1348. Indeed, in its earliest years, Oxford, like its counterpart Cambridge University, was intended to be a residential institution to train young men to become ministers in the Church. Latin, Theology, and Divinity Studies, therefore, formed a mandatory part of the undergraduate’s syllabus.

Just in front of you is the lovely Bridge of Sighs (left), a covered bridge built in 1914 that joins together the Old and New sections of Hertfort College, based on the designs of the Bridge of Sighs in the Italian city of Venice.

Catte Street:

You will, no doubt, wish to take a picture at this point, both of the bridge itself and of the vista that lies just ahead on the other side of Catte Street—the oddly-shaped building of the Sheldonian Theater (right), one of the best-known buildings in Oxford. Completed in 1669, this was the first building designed by Sir Christopher Wren and paid for by Gilbert Sheldon, then Archbishop of Canterbury. This building is not open to tourists but if you are lucky enough, you might be able to visit it during the graduation ceremonies that are held here with much pomp and pageantry and which bring out the University’s highest dignitaries including the Chancellor himself. In the Inspector Morse series, Sir John Gielgud who plays the Chancellor in one of the episodes actually leads a procession along Broad Street to the entrance of the Sheldonian Theater in which chaos erupts following the murder of one of the marchers. The classical design of the oval building is based on the Theater of Marcellus in Rome. The octagonal Cupola that crowns the building was built in 1838. Do not hesitate to pass through the ornamental wrought-iron gates and stroll over the pebble-strewn yard of the Sheldonian. When you have posed for pictures with this lovely architectural monument in the background, you can return to Catte Street and turn left.

Broad Street or “The Broad”:

A few steps ahead, Catte Street intersects Broad Street. Make a left on “The Broad” (as it is known) and take in the sight of bookshops, pubs and tearooms all along the street. Cross The Broad and make your way to Blackwell’s Book Store. Before you enter the doors of this Oxford institution, take a look across the street and make sure you notice the busts of Roman philosophers that line the street just outside the Sheldonian Theater.

Blackwell’s has been in business in Oxford for centuries. Apart from selling new and used books to generations of Oxonians, it organizes interesting literary walking tours of Oxford, readings and signing sessions by famous writers (Christopher Ricks was scheduled to speak on Contemporary British Poets a few days after I last visited). In keeping with the trend that has seized bookstores world-wide, it now boasts a café on the second floor that serves good lattes and cappuccinos and a variety of baked goods. Feel free to browse among the stacks to pick up a treasure you might not have found anywhere else. If you do not feel the need to stop, you may continue the tour.

As soon as you get out of the bookstore, you will see on your right The White Horse Pub, one of England’s oldest, dating from the 1590s when it was called ‘The White Mermaid’. After restoration in 1660, it was named ‘The Elephant’ and, a hundred years later, it acquired its current name. Steps lead down through a little door into the dark interior of the narrow wood-paneled room beyond which dates back to the 18th century. During the rebuilding of the façade in 1951, a painted wall was discovered upstairs, and in the room was a witch’s broomstick—superstition discouraged anyone from touching it! The White Horse is sandwiched between the two halves of Blackwell’s and is a favorite haunt of Morse and Lewis in the Inspector Morse TV series. It is the pub in which Morse frequently stops for a pint of brew even while he is on duty whereas Lewis contents himself with a glass of orange juice!

Continue Walking Tour down Turl Street

The High, Cornmarket and St. Giles

Exit University College and make a left on High Street to walk towards Carfax Tower (below).

At Carfax, make a right on Cornmarket Street, a lovely pedestrian plaza that is full of chain stores such as Gap, Boots and Burger King. There was a time when British department stores such as C&A and Mothercare were located on this street and I do recall doing a great deal of shopping in them, twenty years ago. While Debenhams is still present on this street, many of the shops have changed ownership and in keeping with the times, Vodafone and Lloyds Bank are now to be found here.

Walk a few steps ahead, and make a right on Market Street. Just a few feet ahead of you, on your right hand side, you will see the entrance to Oxford’s famous Covered Market, an enclosed space for the sale of all kinds of merchandise from fresh fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, cheese, prepared sandwiches, and, somewhat inexplicably, boots and saddlery. One of my earliest shopping experiences in Oxford involved the buying of cheese for a cocktail party that was to be held in the private room of my tutor at Exeter College, Thomas Docherty. I was rather uninitiated in the art of buying cheese at the time and put myself in the hands of the cheesemonger who recommended a rather ripe blue-veined Stilton that smelled strongly, a mature Cheddar and a very good chevre. You might choose to browse quickly through this market that was constructed in the 19th century, so that the smells of decaying food would not be a source of too much nuisance to the students.

Exit the Covered Market. Make a left on Market Street and a right on Cornmarket Street past the ancient stone studded tower of St. Michael’s Church, one of Oxford’s oldest. You can choose to pay the entry fee that will permit you to visit the church and climb up the tower for some interesting views. At the end of Cornmarket Street lies the Broad Street intersection. Make a slight right to walk along Magdalen Street. On your right are the walls of Balliol College. 

A few steps ahead of you, on your left hand side, you will spy a rather antiquated monument. This is the Martyrs Memorial (right) which commemorates the deaths by burning at the stake of Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley in 1555 and 1556 after the fiercely Catholic Queen “Bloody” Mary committed them to the Tower of London for their heretical views, then sent them to Oxford to defend these in front of the Doctors of Divinity who declared them heretics. The Memorial was designed in 1843 by George Gilbert Scott and based on the Eleanor crosses erected in 12 English towns by Edward I (1239-1307) to honor his queen. The Memorial is a hangout for tourists and students alike who throng the steps leading up to it when the weather permits.

Beaumont Street and The Ashmolean Museum:

Cross the street at the Martyrs Memorial and walk on Beaumont Street. You will see the grand proportions of the Neo-Classical Ashmolean Museum building of 1845 right in front of you. Walk towards the main entrance(right)  to admire the architecture of one of the finest museums in England outside London. Named after Elias Ashmole, an antiquarian who acquired the collection of the two John Tradescants, father and son, who amassed a large number of “curiosities “, the initial collection is today overshadowed by later acquisitions such as paintings by Bellini, Raphael, Turner, Rembrandt and a number of pre-Raphaelite works. Perhaps the single most important item in this collection is the gold enameled ring known as the Alfred Jewel which is 1000 years old. The Ashmolean is also known for its changing seasonal exhibits. It has lovely park-like grounds at the back which were the setting for one of the Inspector Morse episodes in which Morse re-connects with an old flame named Susan who rejected him in favor of an Oxford don whom she eventually married. In an episode entitled “The Wolvercote Tongue”, a rare antiquity from the Ashmolean becomes the focus of inquiry for Morse and Lewis causing them to seek advice from one of the curators within.

The Randolph Hotel:

Cross Beaumont Street and, time and inclination permitting, enter the posh Randolph Hotel which was built in 1864. An episode from Inspector Morse was shot in the beautifully-appointed restaurant of this hotel. Morse stops here to have a drink in the company of a woman whom he hopes will help him solve a murder. You might want to experience the ambiance of this hotel for yourself by ordering a drink in the restaurant or settling down for High Tea, as I once did, a tradition that will permit you to partake of excellent finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam and a pot of freshly-brewed Earl Grey. It is certainly worth entering this place to admire the superb ornate stairway leading to the rooms upstairs.

The Eagle and Child Pub:

Leave the Randolph Hotel behind you and return to St Giles Street. Just a few feet ahead, on your left, you will pass by another famous pub The Eagle and Child which takes its name from the Earl of Derby and has been a pub since 1650. This was the favorite watering hole of the members of the “Inklings Club”—J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis who often met over a pint for discussion and argument in a place they called “The Bird and Baby”. C.S. Lewis wrote of the golden sessions they enjoyed by a blazing fire with their drinks to hand, and the wide-ranging nature of their philosophic and literary conversations. On a wall near the bar, is a note to the landlord from Lewis and Tolkien, written in 1949 during one of their convivial meetings—it bears their signatures and states that they have drunk his health.

Leave The Eagle and Child behind, make a left  and continue walking along St. Giles. On your right hand side, you will see the more modern War Memorial (right) which commemorates the deaths of all Oxonians who gave their lives to the Great War, so many of them being snatched in the prime of their youth, in sacrifice to their country.

Continue Walking Tour of Woodstock Road and Port Meadow