If I was your Oxford tour guide...

This is what we'd do

Oh friends, it happens to be the time of year when I receive oh-so-many lovely notes asking for my very best Oxford recommendations. So I thought I’d pull out an old post, brush it up (update a few details) and send it out into the world afresh.

I know that a delight in this city is something I share with many of you, and I must admit that even after living here for eight years, I still find that this place easily inspires the contemplation suggested by its nickname: the ‘city of the dreaming spires’. So, in case you’re plotting an Oxford adventure, or are on your way and still desperate for recommendations, here’s the imagined tour I'd suggest if you had two very full days in Oxford.

You can find easy lists and links to all the places, cafes, colleges, or restaurants mentioned in the longer text at the end of this post (with a few extras added). I hope this brings a bit of fun and brightness to your day!

The adventure begins...

Day One: Classic Oxford

You’d start with breakfast right down in the heart of Oxford at the Vaults and Gardens cafe of University Church, from whose pulpit Cranmer was taken to die (the spot marked by a large black X in Broad Street) and C.S. Lewis preached his famous Weight of Glory sermon. Your official touring would begin with a climb to the top of the old church tower for a bird's eye view of the Oxford spires, but let us not start an adventure on an empty stomach! As any good hobbit knows, quests ought to open with at least a big pot of breakfast tea, some version of eggs, and I would add a big old Vaults & Gardens scone with as much cream and black current jam as one can slather on top. Thus fortified, you can mount the narrow stone steps and soak in the glory of the (very possibly grey) morning.

From that splendid height, you’d look straight down upon the Radcliffe Camera, the iconic round building of the Bodleian Library (whose sea-green and sky-lighted upper galleries are my favourite study spot), and the courtyards of the further reading rooms beyond, our next destination. The Rad Cam is off limits to visitors, but the larger library gives fascinating tours of other parts of the complex maze of reading rooms and vaulted spaces. This is my number one ‘touristy’ recommendation and worth every penny of the price. Even after all these years, I'd still go for a tour just for the historical insight, though I'd be sure to choose the one which included a glimpse of the Duke Humphries Library, one of the oldest parts of the Bodleian, with massive old manuscripts and eerie stained glass windows (the setting for the 'forbidden section' in the first Harry Potter film, if you are so interested).

After a peek into the Bodleian gift shops (they have such unique, bookish treasures), you’d head up to Broad Street for a ramble round the famed Blackwell's Books, Oxford's best-beloved and immense old bookshop. From there, you’d go for a slight shopping and college detour down Turl Street, one of my favourite side streets, and I think, one of the most picturesque in Oxford. There, you might pop into the Oxfam bookshop and hunt for a few used classics, or visit Scriptum, a stationary and curiosity shop whose leather-bound books, fountain pens, marionettes in the window, and be-wreathed British nobility always make me feel I've stumbled into a shop run by a good fairy. You might visit the shoe shop where Lewis bought his shoes, or look at the 'sub fusc' in vogue (as if it ever changes) in Walter's. You could also sit in the window of the Missing Bean for some of the best coffee in Oxford if you need a jolt of energy.

While on Turl Street, you also might peek into Exeter College (Tolkien's college, incidentally). It's a compact gem of a college hidden behind a massive old oak door in the golden-walled heart of the city. The chapel was modelled after Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, and it proudly houses a Burne-Jones tapestry of the nativity amidst a splendor of stained glass windows and soaring lines very distinct from its sister Oxford college chapels. The quad is a model of Oxford's ivied walls, neat gardens, and passageways to...who knows where. Narnia, perhaps? The fellow's garden, if open, is splendid, a serene space with a unique outlook onto the roof of the Rad Cam (a rather good place for picnics.

Lunch, and your afternoon ramble, could take you into the Covered Market, where you could sit down to a traditional British hot lunch of pie and mash (and probably mushy peas with gravy) at Pieminster, a little shop in the heart of a market where butchers and grocers, bakers and cheesemakers still ply their lovely trades amidst local cafes and curiosity shops. There are also a number of good cafes serving sandwiches and salads, and an excellent Thai place.

Thus sustained, you’d set out for the serious college touring, though you might have to choose between the mighty; Magdalen or Christ Church? Both are splendid, but let’s say you choose Christ Church and save Magdalen for the C.S. Lewisian morrow. Christ Church is one of the old grand dames of Oxford, the seat of the diocesan cathedral, with grounds stretching straight down to the river. You can visit the historic cathedral, marvel at the dining hall (again, used on the set of the first Harry Potter film), walk the majestic quad under 'Tom Tower', glance at the Christ Church art gallery, and end with a gentle stroll through the really beautiful Christ Church Meadow.

Leaving the meadows, you might pop your heads in at the bookshop just across the street: St. Philip's Books, a shop whose speciality stock is theology (from church fathers to the present) and Inklings studies of all kinds. You might end up with a first edition if you’re not careful.

For pre-dinner drinks (of the alcoholic or non variety) I’d heartily recommend The Varsity Club, where you can sit outdoors on the heated rooftop and have a magnificent view of the city with it’s many spires and green spaces.

You could have dinner either early or late at a number of fancy places but let’s schedule in a concert at the Sheldonian, Oxford's iconic round theatre right next to the Bodleian. You might catch a programme of the Romantics, or an evening of Bach and cello, or if, like I once was, you’re very lucky, you might just get to see Marilynne Robinson or Robert MacFarlane read aloud from their latest works. Regardless, it will stir the soul and draw the spirit up to the very rafters. (And students can sit up near those gorgeous rafters for a mere 5 pound ticket.) As long as we're imagining a formal evening, you might as well finish with a lovely meal in one of my two favourites of Oxford's finer establishments; either The Old Parsonage, a tiny inn of famed British hominess whose dining room boasts oil portraits that stare at down on the dark, velvet seats, a crackling fire, and excellent English fare, or Gee's, a glass housed restaurant that makes one feel one is dining in Lothlorien, amidst friendly trees and star-like lights hung from the rafters (Thomas said his steak there for our anniversary dinner was the best he'd ever had.)

With full stomachs and gladdened hearts, you would then wander home under the stars to collapse into your B&B or college lodging to gain sleep for the morrow, on which you will retrace the steps of the Inklings...

Day Two: The Oxford of the Inklings

For your labours on this auspicious day, you should probably start with a full English breakfast (also, because though I prefer the tea and scone route, one should definitely experience this English tradition at least once). If your lodging is in a B&B, this would be the menu anyway. If not, you could head to Brown's (a chain, but a classic English one that's been around forever and serves delicious British fare).

From there, you could set out by bus or taxi for The Kilns, Lewis' famed Oxford home, shared with his brother, nestled in a still countryish feeling corner of Headington in what used to be open countryside. You must book your tour in advance (as the house is actually home to a small community of students) but once you are there, you can slow your pace to enter the workaday world of home and hearth that fed and warmed the mind behind Narnia. The presence of those famed stories lingers in every room. You’ll find the great old wardrobe, the kitchen still outfitted with the Aga, the study with collections of Lewisian books, Lewis' small bedroom and the tiny porch from which he gazed out upon the stars (and gained inspiration for his cosmic trilogy). The tour guides are always up for loads of questions and you should finish by leaving the house for a ramble round the pond and nature reserve just behind The Kilns. To close your Headington jaunt, I’d suggest a quick visit to the local Anglican church where Lewis worshipped regularly, where you can imagine him at morning prayer or admire the stained-glass 'Narnia window'.

For lunch, I’d suggest heading back into Oxford. You can either wend your way to the lively Gloucester Green market (Wednesday through Saturday), where the cuisines of the world gather in a stunning display of little booths whose lunchtime delicacies are mostly priced at 10 pounds or less. Or, you might find a shop on High Street where you can stock up for a little picnic (you still have afternoon tea to face); a baguette, some cheese, a bit of fresh fruit, some cider, just enough to sustain you for the next adventure: a ramble round Magdalen College, Lewis' own academic haunt where he hammered wisdom into the heads of students and had long talks with Tolkien and the other brilliant fellows of the Inklings. This is probably my favourite Oxford college; every corner is rich in carved beauty, the cloisters are dappled with quiet light, the chapel is both awe-full and intimate. Lewis’ rooms were in the ‘New Building', and you’d have to go for a wander down Addison's Walk, the old path shaded by great trees under whose windy boughs Lewis and Tolkien had the talk about myth shifted Lewis' heart toward the possibility of Christ as the living, 'true myth' behind all our great stories. If you turn to the left as you go in the gate of Addison’s walk, you’ll see a little bridge and stone wall before the first turn with a round plaque inscribed with the words of Lewis' poem What the Bird Said Early in the Year.

Having walked off lunch in the dappled realms of Magdalen, you might want to go in search of high tea; though this is not particularly Lewisian, it is very English (Lewis was Irish, but had an English taste for ‘large’ cups of tea - though perhaps that’s an Irish love as well?), so I would include it as a necessary element to an Oxford visit. I’d always choose The Old Parsonage, that elegant, intimate spot (with excellent sandwiches, little, warm scones and tea in pewter pots. You can sit in the aforementioned velveted dining room, or enjoy the outdoor area with its many flowers and fresh air. Or, you could wander over to the rooftop cafe of the Ashmolean Museum. With a bird's eye view of the city and the near blue hills and a decent high tea, you can savour the scones and sandwiches, then head down for a wander through Oxford's art and history (the museum is free).

Sated with tea, you must set off for that splendid Oxford tradition, not to be missed, a college evensong. Magdalen and Merton are my favourites, though New College and Keble (whose side chapel houses William Holman Hunt's magnificent painting The Light of the World) are splendid as well. New and Magdalen boast their own famed boy's choirs, while Merton has a matching marvel of a girl's choir. The music, the Magnifcats and anthems, the chanted psalms by candlelight, are an experience integral to life in Oxford, something still precious to me however many times I've attended.

For dinner… perhaps fish & chips at the historic Turf Tavern?

If its a Tuesday you could then head back up the street toward beautiful Pusey House, (whose chapel, history, and marvellous Tractarian library deserve an exploration of their own) and whose upper Hood Room hosts the weekly meeting of the Oxford University C.S. Lewis Society. Here, you can hear a paper on some aspect of literature, history, art, or philosophy connected with the work of the Inklings. There will be time for questions, and a good bit of lively discussion, and the conversation might move just across the street to the Lamb and Flag pub, whose selection of drinks is, I am told, quite excellent, and which some of the Inklings actually preferred to the famed Bird & Baby (currently closed for renovation).

Or, if you feel contemplative and quiet in heart after a day of such beauty, you can just head down the steps from the Hood Room into the hushed, shadowed corridors of the Pusey Chapel where a candlelit, chanted compline (during term time) is waiting to ready you for grateful, sated sleep.

Either way, under the golden lamps of the cobbled, Oxford streets, you’ll then ramble back to your beds, to dream of the next adventures...

Cafes and Restaurants:
Vaults and Gardens
The Missing Bean
Pieminster
The Old Parsonage
The Varsity Club
Gee's
Brown's
The Rooftop Cafe at the Ashmolean
Pierre Victoire
Turf Tavern
The Lamb and Flag

Oxford Colleges (navigate to the ‘Chapel’ section for Evensong service times):
Exeter College
Christ Church College
Magdalen College
Merton College
New College
Keble College

Oxford Classic Destinations:
The Bodleian Library
University Church
Blackwell's Bookshop
The Covered Market
Christ Church Meadows
The Sheldonian
The Ashmolean
The Natural History Museum

Oxford Inklings Destinations:
The Kilns
Magdalen College
Pusey House
C.S. Lewis Society
Holy Trinity, Headington
The Eagle & Child
Tolkien's Grave at Wolvercote Cemetery

Shopping:
Scriptum
St. Philip's Books
Oxfam Bookshops
Walter's of Turl Street
Covered Market
Blackwell's Art and Poster Shop