You don’t need to find a subtle knife to visit one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Fans of His Dark Materials and those simply looking for festive fun can hop on a train to admire Lyra’s Jordan Collage (aka New College, Oxford) and the surrounding area.
The BBC adaptation was filmed at the Botanical Gardens and the famous Bridge of Sighs.
But there’s more to the area than that – as well as being easy on the eye there’s plenty to do in the city of dreaming spires. Here’s why Oxford makes for a marvellous weekend break.
The sights
The Oxford colleges provide beautiful architecture and most are open to the public – but check their opening hours and admission fees before you head over. Unless there’s just one or two you’re keen to see, consider a tour, such as those run by Footprints. There are also lots of specialised tours, from Harry Potter to Inspector Morse, as well as bus tours.
Oxford Castle and Prison features a 900-year-old crypt, a Saxon tower with views of the city and an education in the past 1,000 years.
The Ashmolean Museum is a stunning building constructed in 1845, home to Roman mosaics, ceramics and coins and an imaginative and ever-changing rota of exhibitions.
The Pitt Rivers Museum makes for a fascinating visit, with its artifacts arranged by type rather than time period or origin, and tours of the Bodleian Libraries, which include the iconic Radcliffe Camera, are also popular.
The shopping
Oxford offers a great mix of chains such as John Lewis (in Westgate Shopping Centre) and boutiques such as Vanilla, as well as plenty of bookshops, notably Blackwells.
The main shopping areas are Queen Street, Cornmarket Street and Westgate Shopping Centre, along with the 18th Century Covered Market in Market Street, which houses independent traders selling everything from flowers to fine jewellery.
The wooden chalets of Oxford Christmas Market can be found on Broad Street until December 21.
The market features handmade gifts from sheepskin slippers to artisan cheeses, decorations, mulled wine and carol performances.
It is open 10am-8pm Thursday to Saturday and 10am-6.30pm Sunday to Wednesday.
Designer junkies, meanwhile, will delight in nearby Bicester Village’s attractive powder blue chalet shops and Instagrammable snack stalls such as Doughnut Time and Pierre Marcolini.
There are 160 cut-price stores including Burberry, Coach, Kate Spade, Dolce & Gabbana, Lululemon and Tommy Hilfiger.
Look out for The Maiyet Collective pop-up, featuring skincare plus artisanal jewellery, clothes and hair accessories from 40 eco-conscious designers, until 23 December.
Make sure you wrap up warm as there are no covered areas between shops.
You can get a direct train to Bicester Village from Oxford – the journey is about 15 minutes, or direct from London Marylebone it’s 45 minutes.
Bicester Village is also hosting a series of talks on how to develop your style.
The shows
The New Theatre, with its bright red and gold art deco interior, hosts everything from opera to stand up. You can currently buy tickets for shows including Motown The Musical, which runs from December 17 to January 4.
The Oxford Playhouse, with a more modern look and fun multi-coloured seats, presents its Beauty And The Beast panto from now until 12 January and organises an impressive collection of workshops for all ages.
O2 Academy Oxford welcomes artists performing everything from hip hop to drag. Little Simz is performing on 14 December.
Where to stay and how to get there
I stayed at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, the progeny of Raymond Blanc and only country house hotel in the land to keep two Michelin stars for more than 30 years.
With credentials like this, I thought I might feel intimidated.
I was pleasantly surprised, then, by the genuine welcome and quietly celebratory atmosphere of the restaurant – couples toasting anniversaries, old friends reuniting for pre-Christmas feasts, all smiles but no great din.
As for the stay, the rooms and suites in the 15th-century manor and its outbuildings are all unique – one with a Botticelli-inspired bathroom, another with striking black and red décor.
I stayed in L’Orangerie, a beautiful, light and airy suite with heated floors and artistically worn mirrors.
Heading down the little path into the building felt like discovering my own fairy palace in the garden, complete with wafts of classical music, citrus scents, sugared almonds and the most fanciful hotel sewing kit I have ever seen.
The soft green and gold tones were very restful, and the mod cons (a flat screen in the living room, another that came down from the ceiling in the four-poster bed, a third you could watch in the bath) didn’t stick out like a sore thumb.
My dinner of chargrilled Scottish langoustine with leek, Angus beef and pistachio soufflé with cocoa sorbet was lovely, although I coveted the seared duck liver starter my dining partner (my Mum) chose.
Dinner was perfectly-sized – the courses not so small you’d feel the need to stop in at McDonald’s on the way home, not so overwhelming you’d have to be rolled away after.
Mum was very well-served by a fastidious kitchen. She can’t eat onions, something that 99% of restaurants can’t seem to get their heads or their menus round. Here, even her entrees were onion-free.
The rich palette of flavours based around seasonal, freshly-picked produce from the hotel gardens was paired with a dash of visual flair, as seen in Le Café Crème – an adorable little coffee cup made of chocolate, complete with chocolate ‘sugar cube.’
After a breakfast of impeccably poached eggs and delicious homegrown apple juice, I explored the gardens.
Whatever the weather (and it was tipping it down when I stayed), if you visit be sure to take a look – reception can lend you wellies and brollies.
The orchards and gardens include ponds, statues and a look at tomorrow’s dinner.
Rooms at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons cost from £538 per night, including breakfast. The three-course menu costs £175 per person.
You can get to Oxford by train direct from Paddington or Marylebone. The trip takes just over an hour and off-peak return tickets cost £29.90. A taxi from central Oxford to the hotel costs about £50.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/07/oxford-makes-marvellous-weekend-break-11406559/
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