A Winter Weekend Break in Oxford

I think I’m going to let the images do the talking in this post.  I have no words to describe how much I adore Oxford, so our fleeting visit wasn’t long enough I needed more time, days, weeks, years!!

We treated ourselves and stayed in a pretty cool pub for the two days of our whistle stop visit, I would highly recommend The Head of the River perfectly placed beside the Thames and walking distance into the city.  The rooms are designed well with all the extra touches to make your stay feel like home.  The bar and food are superb too, I can’t fault the attention to detail and didn’t want to leave.

The weather was a bit brisk but we wrapped up warm and crammed in as many of the sights we possibly could muster.  We spent twilight listening to a choir singing in Christ Church Cathedral, wandered around Balliol College, went up the tower of St Mary’s to take in the aerial view of the dreaming spires and spent a couple of hours indulging in art and history in the Ashmolean.  We wandered through Jericho and visited Illyria Pottery  it was also joy to finally meet Katie the owner who let me go down to look at where the pottery magic happens in her studio below the store.  It’s a must visit if you are ever in Oxford.  Of course I indulged in a little retail therapy, a beautiful bowl from Illyria and a few purchases from Object of Use, the unique independent store that is a must visit. Also I couldn’t leave without a browse in Toast and treated myself to a new early Spring dress.

You are never very far away from some rather cool independent coffee shops and restaurants, the best coffee to be had at Society Cafe and the most delicious sourdough pizza at Franco Manca.

Apart from all of that there is still so much to see and do, we didn’t even scratch the surface but one thing you do get to see everywhere you go is the stunning rich warm tones of the sandstone architecture which takes your breath away.

I didn’t want to come home but alas I had to but until next time, Oxford you were a blast.

Jx