อ็อกซฟอร์ด youth guide
About Oxford
Oxford’s firecracker blend of history and beauty, youth and experience makes for a fascinating and fun destination. Behind the city’s ruthless pursuit of academic excellence lurks a distinctly eccentric streak. Tales of mischief-making, obscure traditions celebrated with great gusto and wild nights are everywhere in this historic city. As if to prove it, if you know where to look you’ll spot a life-size model of a shark upended in the roof of an otherwise ordinary terraced house on your approach to the city.
Oxford’s superb architecture and the unique atmosphere of the colleges, courtyards and gardens remain major attractions. You’ll also find world-class museums, a thriving, alternative, music scene that has spawned some of the most popular British bands of the last decade like Radiohead and Supergrass and there’s a river or two to mess about on as well. All this just over an hour by frequent (and very good value) bus or train from London.
Oxford Tourist Information can be found at 15–16 Broad Street.
For more information visit our Oxford city guide.
Seeing
Must Do
It takes more than a day to do justice to all the central University colleges, but make sure you visit Christ Church if you only go to one. The grandest and most popular of all of Oxford’s colleges, Christ Church (www.chch.ox.ac.uk/) is worth a visit for its huge quadrangle, the largest in Oxford, and Christ Church Cathedral, the smallest in the country.
Ashmolean Museum (www.ashmolean.org/) is the country’s oldest museum and has a fantastic atmosphere to complement the antiquities, art and curios.
You can reach the Pitt Rivers Museum (www.prm.ox.ac.uk/) through the University Museum. It’s the kind of place Indiana Jones would be perfectly at home in: the glass cases are crammed with everything from a sailing boat to a gory collection of shrunken South American heads.
One of the best ways of soaking up the local atmosphere is by taking to the river and going punting. Both the Thames and the Cherwell are shallow enough for punts, but the best advice is to bring a picnic and head upstream along the Cherwell.
You can rent a punt from Howard C & Sons by Magdalen Bridge, for £10 per hour, or from the Cherwell Boat House farther upstream at the end of Bardwell Rd, for £8 per hour on weekdays and £10 per hour at weekends.
Off The Beaten Track
We weren’t joking about the Shark House. You’ll find the Great White jammed through the roof of 1 New High Street, Headington. To get here, take Stagecoach bus No 5 up to Headington.
Insider Info
The Oxford Tube (£9 overnight return) is the best known of several buses competing for your custom on journeys into London. The service runs 24 hours, meaning that you can stay out as late as you like in Oxford and still make it back to London for the next day.
Eating
Not surprisingly Oxford abounds with cafés, restaurants and other eateries where you can get everything from snacks to full-blown gourmet meals.
HiLo
A ramshackle Jamaican restaurant with no fixed menu and a penchant for charging whatever it can get away with, nevertheless incredibly popular with students who love it for its late-night drinking. Tel: +44 (0)1865 725984; 68-70 Cowley Road.
The Grand Café
Oxford’s most elegant coffee house and a definite must for visitors, if only to sit over a latte in the opulent surroundings. Tel: +44 (0)1865 204463.
Bangkok House
Try the mushroom and galangal soup, which is sublime, at one of our favourite restaurants in town.
Tel: +44 (0)1865 200705; 22a Hythe Bridge Street.
Cherwell Boathouse Restaurant
Perfect location on the river and a mouthwatering selection of dishes (including great veggie selections), the perfect spot for a post-punt meal and simply the best place to eat in summer. Tel: +44 1(0)865 552746; Bardwell Road.
Nightlife
Lamb & Flag
Once the haunt of Graham Greene and Thomas Hardy, this is now a popular student bar with the atmosphere of an old Victorian drawing room. Tel: +44 (0)1865 515787; 12 St Giles.
Po Na Na Souk Bar
Moroccan-style chain club featuring jazzy beats and other kinds of interesting down-tempo, alternative flavours. It’s the best club in town. Tel: +44 (0)1865 249171; 13-15 Magdalen Street.
The Zodiac (www.the-zodiac.co.uk/shonkweb/zodframe.html)
From heavy metal to hardcore dance this rockin’ club appeals to a wide range of musical tastes. It also hosts live gigs, usually guitar-thrashing indie bands kicking off their England tours. Tel: +44 (0)1865 420042; 190 Cowley Road.
Sleeping
Accommodation in Oxford can be relatively expensive – expect to pay at least £30 for even the most basic single with a shared bathroom (unless taking the hostel option). As you might expect, there’s plenty of student accommodation around outside termtime, which can be a good deal. Contact the individual colleges for details.
YHA Oxford
Good facilities, includes breakfast. Tel: 0870 770 5970 UK only; 2a Botley Road.
Isis Guest House
This is what St Edmund Hall turns into over the summer, offering student digs as superior B&B accommodation. Tel: +44 (0)1865 248894; 45-53 Iffley Road.
Becket Guest House
Pleasant guesthouse a stone’s throw from the train station. Tel: +44 (0)1865 724675; 5 Becket Street.