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Oxfordshire is Oxford and its colleges, but it is also part of the Cotswolds hills in the west. On the eastern side of the county are the Chiltern hills (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), while the center of the county is home to the Thames (called the Isis inside the city of Oxford) and Cherwell rivers. Walkers can take advantage of the Thames River Path and the Chiltern hills Ridgeway path. Rowers have longed enjoyed punting on the Isis. The river’s Magdalen Bridge is a much-photographed site. Oxford colleges and museums are its main attraction. The colleges are: All Soul’s, Balliol, Brasenose, Christ Church, Exeter, Hertford, Jesus, Lincoln, Magdalen, Merton, New College, Oriel, The Queen’s, St John’s, Trinity, University, and Worcester. To make sense of it all, it’s best to take a guided tour to see the highlights. The most famous attraction of Oxford is Christ Church Cathedral and College. The college was founded by Cardinal Wolsey. The cathedral was built in the 12th century. Don’t miss the chancel vault ceiling. Allow at least two hours for visitng both. The Ashmolean Museum dates from 1683 when it was a private collection of natural and man-made objects. The Victorians separated the two collections, putting the natural objects into a newly created museum, Oxford Museum of Natural History. The Ashmolean acquired archaeological items and grew to include the art collection of the university. A few other Oxford museums are the History of Science Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Pitt Rivers Museum, and University Museum. The Bodleian Library, the UK’s second largest, is another of the town’s famous institutions. It is, like the university, not in one building but in I0 in various locations in the city. The oldest part and the one of most interest to visitors are the buildings (dating from 1488) around Radcliffe Square. Books in the library may only be used on site. The rooms are accessed by tour only. Other Oxford attractions include the 13th century Carfax tower (climb to the top for city views) and the Botanic gardens. Also in the city is Oxford Castle, shown by tours. It’s a grim place, once serving as a royal palace, then later as a prison. It was built by a Norman baron in 1071. A hotel and restaurant have been built within part of the prison. Probably the county’s most famous historic home, Blenheim Palace, is located in Woodstock. It was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, built 1705-1722 for the first Duke of Marlborough as a thank you from Queen Anne for his victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. The house was designed in the baroque style, and although austere from the exterior, has lavish interior state rooms. A five room Churchill Exhibition gives the details of his life. Collections include paintings, furniture, bronzes, and the Marlborough Victories tapestries. ‘Capability’ Brown did the landscaping for the estate—park, gardens, and lake. There are new Pleasure Gardens, a playground, and a tiny train ride. Other Oxfordshire historic homes include baroque Ardington House, a family home and Broughton Castle, another family home on an island surrounded by a moat. Much of the original medieval manor remains. Plaster ceilings, panelling, civil war arms, and fireplaces are highlights. There are gardens and a 14th century church. Buscot Park is home to an 18th century Palladian house with important paintings and furniture. There is a water garden and a walled garden. Chastleton House is one of the country’s best preserved Jacobean houses, dating from 1607. It has been continuously occupied by the same family, and its contents reflect that. Fawley Court was designed by Christopher Wren in 1684 and decorated by Grinling Gibbons. There are military objects, paintings, and arms and armour in the museum. Greys Court has evolved over a number of centuries. Of interest in the grounds is an ice house, well-house, Tudor donkey wheel, and a maze. Kinston Bagpuize House is another family home. Built in the 1660s and remodeled in the 1700s, it has a staircase and panelled rooms. There are gardens, woodlands, and walks. Mapledurham is a late 16th century Elizabethan home. It still has its original plaster ceilings, oak staircase, private chapel and paintings. The watermill dates from the 15th century. Milton Manor House is a brick home designed by Inigo Jones. The Gothick library and Catholic chapel are the special rooms to visit. There is a walled garden, woodland walk, and lakes. Rousham House’s claim to fame is its almost unaltered garden from the early 1700s. Stonor has been lived in by the same family for over 800 years. It sits in a wooded valley and a deer park. Rare furniture and artwork, a 12th century chapel, hillside gardens, and an exhibition on St Edmund Campion make up a visit. The riverside town of of Henley-on-Thames is famous for its yearly rowing regatta. The River and Rowing Museum in the town celebrates the past, the present, and the future of the river Thames, the history of the town, and the international sport of rowing. It’s a great museum with an excellent self-serve restaurant where you can enjoy a lunch beside the river. Day trains go from London. Chipping Norton, Witney, Woodstock, and Burford are Cotswold towns. Woodstock’s museum, the Oxfordshire, has galleries on Roman Oxfordshire, Woodstock, and other permanent displays. Witney was famous for its blankets. West End is one of its well-preserved streets. Witney has a district museum with town information. Woodstock offers an 18th century town hall, a museum housed in a 17th century house, and a church with a Norman doorway. Nearby Bladon village is the final resting place of Sir Winston Churchill. Burford was an important wool town from the 14th to the 17th centuries and its High Street reflects that in its architecture. It’s set up to handle the tourist trade with a number of interesting shops and a great deli. Be sure to visit the church down a side street. The west doorway and central part of the tower are Norman. Chipping Norton was also at the centre of the wool trade. It was a meeting place for merchants and traders, and many of its buildings date from that time. The wool church is one of the Cotswold’s best. Chipping Norton’s museum is strictly local. Of Oxfordshire’s Cotswolds villages, Minster Lovell, near Burford, is of particular interest. The long main street is home to historic houses, and the nearby hall, dovecote, and church make this a scenic and typical English country village. Banbury, Bicester, and Wallingford are market towns. Charlbury’s museum has displays of traditional tools and industry. Oxfordshire Attractions For opening times and full details of attractions see the Attractions section of our website. Abingdon County Hall Museum Old County Hall, Market Place, Abingdon Tel. 0 1235 523 703 Ardington House (HHA) Ardington, 2 miles east of Wantage Tel. 0 1235 821 566 Web: Ardington House Ashmolean Museum Beaumont Street, Oxford Tel. 0 1865 278 000 Web: Ashmolean Museum Banbury Museum Castlekey Shopping Centre Spiceball Park Rd, Banbury Tel. 0 1295 259 855 Blenheim Palace (HHA) Woodstock Tel. 0 1993 811 091 Web: Blenheim Palace Bodleian Library Broad Street, Oxford Tel: 0 1865 277 224 for general enquiries; 01865 277158 for Central Bodleian site; to book a tour phone 01865 277224 For photos and full details see our article at Bodleian Library Web: Bodleian Library Broughton Castle South-west of Banbury Cross Tel. 0 1295 276 070 Web: Broughton Castle Buscot Park (NT) Between Lechlade and Faringdon, on the A417 Tel. 0 845 345 3387 (infoline) Charlbury Museum Margaret St, Charlbury Tel. 0 1608 810 060 Chastleton House (NT) Chastleton, near Moreton-in-Marsh off A436 Tel. 0 1608 674 355 Charlbury Museum Margaret St Tel. 01608 810060 Open: May to Oct, Sun and BH, 2.30-4.30pm Chipping Norton Museum Westgate Centre, High St Tel. 0 1608 643 779 Christ Church Cathedral Oxford, off St Aldates On south side of Christ Church College Tel. 0 1865 276 150; for behind the scenes tour book ahead at 0 1865 276 492 For full details and photos see our article at Christ Church Cathedral and College Web: Christ Church Cathedral Cogges Manor Farm Cogges Manor, Church Lane, Witney Tel. 0 1993 772 602 Open: see website for full details as not given for the entire year Historic farmyard; working farm; 13th century manor house; cooking demonstrations on weekends and BH; Victorian rural life portrayed; play area; farm machinery; farm animals; walled garden; café; shop; parking Web: Cogges Manor Farm Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens Two miles south of Burford, on the A361 Tel. 0 1993 823 006 Web: Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens Didcot Railway Centre Didcot Parkway railway station, Didcot Tel. 0 1235 817 200 Web: Didcot Railway Centre Fawley Court House and Museum One mile north of Henley-on-Thames Tel. 0 1491 57491 Greys Court (NT) Rotherfield Greys, 3 miles west of Henley-on-Thames Tel. 0 1494 755 564 (infoline); 0 1491 628 529 Kingston Bagpuize House (HHA) Kingston Bagpuize, near Abingdon Tel. 0 1865 820 259 Web: Kingston Bagpuize House Mapledurham House and Watermill Mapledurham, 4.5 miles from Reading Tel. 0 1189 723 350 Web: Mapledurham House Minster Lovell Hall and Dovecote (EH) On edge of village of Minster Lovell near town of Witney Tel. 023 9258 1059 For photos and story of the village see our article Minster Lovell North Leigh Roman Villa Two miles north of North Leigh, Oxfordshire 10 miles west of Oxford off the A4095 Oxford Bus Museum Station Yard, Long Hanborough, Witney On A4095, OX29 8LA Tel. 0 1993 883 617 (museum opening hours only) or 0 1296 337 622 (at other times) For more information and photos see our feature at Oxford Bus Museum Web: Oxford Bus Museum Oxford Castle/Old Prison 44 Castle St Tel. 0 1865 201 657 (general enquiries) or 0 1865 260 666 (to book a tour) Open: daily; castle and prison tours from 10am; last tour at 4.20pm Shown by tour only; once a royal palace, but later served as a prison; built by a Norman baron in 1071; hotel and restaurant within part of the old prison Web: Oxford Castle Oxford Museum of the History of Science Broad Street, Oxford Tel. 0 1865 277 280 Web: Oxford Museum of the History of Science Oxford University Natural History Museum Parks Road, off Broad St, central Oxford Tel. 0 1865 272 950 Web: Oxford University Natural History Museum Oxfordshire Museum Fletchers House, Park St, Woodstock Tel. 0 1993 811 456 Pitt Rivers Museum Parks Road, Oxford Tel. 0 1865 270 927 Web: Pitt Rivers Museum River and Rowing Museum Mill Meadows, Henley-on-Thames Tel. 0 1491 415 600 For photos and more information see our article River and Rowing Museum Web: River and Rowing Museum Rollright Stones Near villages of Little Rollright and Long Compton near Chipping Norton, off minor road between A44 and A3400 Rousham House and Garden Near Steeple Aston, Bicester Tel. 0 1869 347 110 Web: Rousham House and Garden Stonor House (HHA) North-west of Henley-on-Thames Tel. 0 1491 638 587 Web: Stoner University of Oxford Botanic Gardens Rose Lane, east end of High St, Oxford Tel. 0 1865 286 690 Web: University Botanic Gardens Waterperry Ornamental Gardens Near Wheatley, OX33 1JZ Tel. office: 0 1844 339 254; garden shop: 0 1844 339 226 Web: Waterperry Ornamental Gardens Witney and District Museum Gloucester Court Mews, High St, Witney Tel. 0 1993 775 915 Web: Witney and District Museum Oxfordshire Tourist Information Centres Abingdon 25 Bridge Street, Abingdon Tel. 0 1235 522 711 Banbury Spiceball Park Road, Banbury Tel. 0 1295 259 855 Bicester Unit 6A, Pingle Drive, Bicester Tel. 0 1869 369 055 Burford The Brewery, Sheep St, Burford Tel. 0 1993 823 558 Cherwell Valley Motorway Service Area, J10/M40 Northampton Road Ardley, Bicester Tel. 0 1869 345 888 Chipping Norton The Guildhall, Chipping Norton Tel. 0 1608 644 379 Didcot The Car Park, Station Road, Didcot Tel. 0 1235 813 243 Faringdon 7a Market Place, Faringdon Tel. 0 1367 242 191 Henley-on-Thames King's Arms Barn, Kings Road, Henley-on-Thames Tel. 01491 578034 Oxford The Old School, Gloucester Green, Oxford Tel. 0 1865 726 871 Thame Market House, North Street, Thame Tel. 0 1844 212 834 Wallingford Town Hall, Market Place, Wallingford Tel. 0 1491 826 972 Wantage Vale and Downland Museum , 19 Church St, Wantage Tel. 0 1235 760 176 Witney 51A Market Square, Witney Tel. 0 1993 775 802 Woodstock Oxfordshire Museum, Part St, Woodstock Tel. 0 1993 813 276 Insider Tip: Try to avoid at all costs driving into Oxford. Stay outside the town at Abbey Guest House at Abingdon. Just across the street is a bus that takes you into the city in 15 minutes. You can also travel from London to Oxford by train.
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Be a Destinations-UK-Ireland Sponsor Some of our Oxfordshire Articles River and Rowing Museum Minster Lovell Christ Church College and Cathedral Bodleian Library Rousham House and Garden Oxford Bus Museum Burford Parish Church St John Other England Articles
Stay at Abbey Guest House, perfect for Oxford visits |