Highlights of Oxford, England, Oxford, England

Oxford is one of two historic university towns in England, the other being Cambridge. We chose to visit Oxford as we have a cousin that earned his masters there and met his lovely wife. She helped us plan this visit and we think what we have to share would be helpful for a first time visit. This post includes, a charming boat ride along the Thames, hoping on the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus, touring Christ Church, a stop at the oldest botanical gardens in the UK, and enjoying one of the best meals of our lives at La Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.

A nice way to start a visit to Oxford is to take a river cruise. Oxford River Cruises was recommended to us and it was perfect. If you’d like to splurge, choose to have tea in the afternoon while on the river.

These boats run several times throughout the day. We chose a 3:00PM cruise and were so fortunate as it was a beautiful day. Everything from the tea sandwiches to the scones to the petit fours was delicious.

Along the river are the famous boat houses for the college crew teams. This warm Sunday afternoon was just before the big regatta so the teams were all out practicing.

Did you know there are 45 locks along the Thames River? Most of the locks in use today were put in place in the early 1900’s. Everything along this part of the river is so picturesque. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).