Oxford

I took this photo in April 2007 in the park 2 mins walk from my flat. The park is called South Park - it's in East Oxford - but hey. In North Oxford we have two streets called South Parade and North Parade, and guess what, South Parade is north of North Parade. Anyway, South Park goes up Headington Hill so there's an excellent view.

You can see the picture bigger if you go here: Oxford Photos

There are no high rise buildings in the city centre. In fact in the whole city it seems to me there are only two. One is the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, and one is a block of flats (apartment block). Neither of them is anywhere near the centre. The power of the University is very strong in the city and it is popularly believed that is why the city planners never succeeded in building anything more than 3 storeys high. So it is quite easy to find a hill where you can see all the "dreaming spires" of Oxford set out before you in the valley.

Anton Barbeau wrote a song about Morrell Avenue. It's called Ring Never Bell and it's on his Automatic Door album. It starts, "I walked up that hill in my Beatlest boots on the autumnest day I could find". You can hear it here unless it's gone: Ring Never Bell

AIR: The nearest airport is London Heathrow. There is a direct coach service from Heathrow to Oxford varying in frequency from half-hourly to two-hourly depending on the time of day or night. It takes about 70-90 minutes depending on traffic.

The other London airports are also accessible: Gatwick (approx 2 hours by coach), Luton (approx 3 hours and coaches are not frequent) and Stansted (there is a 'direct' coach service via Luton, but it takes hours and you might as well go into central London and out again, IMHO).

Birmingham airport is direct by train, but note that trains do not run during the night in Britain.

RAIL: from London Paddington. There are also direct trains from Birmingham, Manchester and Southampton. From Bristol, change at Didcot.

ROAD: It is very easy to get to Oxford from London by coach. There are two companies both running buses every 15 minutes during the day and once an hour I think during the night. It takes a minimum of 1.5 hours from London Victoria Coach station (first stop in London) to Oxford coach station (last stop in Oxford) but it can take 2.5 hours or more at peak traffic times. From Oxford, a lot of people use these buses to commute to London every day, or go clubbing. There's a special reduced price if you buy a return ticket leaving Oxford after 3 pm and returning any time up to midnight the next day.

Oxford is in south central England and the road network is good. The M40 runs from London to Birmingham, and the A34 from Southampton.

Parking your car in central Oxford is not easy. Tourists are advised to use the Park & Ride car parks along with commuters, unless your hotel has a car park. Most areas anywhere near the city centre have residents only parking schemes. There are some places where you can park free in the evenings and on Sundays, if you can find a space. The Keble Road and Mansfield Road areas are often good for this. Another possibility is the rail station car park. It is not free but it is cheaper than the public car parks.

CYCLING: Cycling is fairly well encouraged in Oxford and certainly there are a lot of cyclists on the roads. We have the usual British problems of cycle lanes that end abruptly, cars parked in cycle lanes, narrow streets, etc. We also have a lot of visitors driving hired cars who are not used to cyclists at all, and pedestrian tourists from drive-on-the-right countries who step out in front of you looking the wrong way. :-(

There's an amazon.com show below if you live in America, and here is where to get books if you are in the UK:

UK online bookshop

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