I’ve not been to Oxford for… um… since I was seventeen and applying to various universities around the UK. I remember having a fun trip last time but I have zero recollection of where we went and have no photos.

At first I thought that might happen again. Not because I’m suffering from amnesia but because when I arrived it was raining pretty heavily and, for a while, it seemed that the hotel might be a better option than trudging around in the rain.

Fortunately the next morning things looked very different. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the sun was shining but it was (relatively) warm and fine; you can’t really ask for much better around Easter ((Well, three year ago in Knaresborough I got better but you shouldn’t expect better.)).

I started wandering around the University Park, watching the ducks and the little kids running after them and almost falling in.

Wandering further south I stumbled across a building with the following message inscribed: “To Truth; To Liberty; To Religion.” I can’t help but think that the first two parts and the last conflict.

In a similar vein, I thought that the message that churches are open for all to worship together was at odds with the pass-coded security gate. The pictured lady tried to helpfully shift out of frame. I guess she wasn’t to know that I was trying to get her in it!

After that I wandered around the various old colleges in the centre of town.

Down the cobbled streets…

…and over Magdalen Bridge. (Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think in Oxford that’s pronounced “maudlin.”) Here I noticed the punts all tied up. Presumably it’s too cold or there are too few tourists to rent them out at this time of year.

Almost the last stop was for the Radcliffe Camera which, while it couldn’t help me decide which new lens to get for my Canon, was quite grand.

I’m glad I got to see more than just the hotel. I’m puzzled by how little I can remember from my previous trip which makes me happy that I have evidence of this one.