Oxford – streets and riverside meadow

Likened by Thomas Hardy’s Jude to ‘the heavenly Jerusalem’, Oxford’s history, beauty and tradition are admired throughout the world, ranking in importance alongside Rome, Athens and Paris. Even when its scholars have moved on, they return time after time to embrace and savour that curiously indefinable ‘spirit of Oxford’.

From the top of its highest buildings you begin to realise that Oxford, like Florence, lies at the bottom of a shallow bowl encircled by gentle, protective hills. Originally known as Oxnaforda, Oxford was a settlement of some importance long before the university came into being. It began with the foundation of St Frideswide’s nunnery in the 8th century and was first mentioned by name in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 912, which records that King Edward the Elder had made it a fortified frontier position in his defence of Wessex.

The settlement grew and, after the Norman Conquest in 1066, King William appointed his comrade in arms, Robert d’Oilly, to be Oxford’s governor. However, it was at the end of the 12th century, when Henry II prevented English clerks from attending the University of Paris, that scholars looked upon Oxford, by then one of the nine most important towns in the country, as somewhere suitable to continue their studies.

Oxford University does not exist as such. Each college is virtually autonomous, with its own rules and administration. It is the treasured and world-famous landmarks that form the real core of the university – in the compact heart of the city you’ll find a hugely varied assortment of ancient buildings and monuments, among them the Radcliffe Camera, the Sheldonian Theatre, the Divinity School and the Bodleian Library.

Millions of pounds have been spent on restoring and cleaning the stonework of the colleges and university buildings. A stroll through Oxford’s streets reveals much of the city’s history, not least its role in the English Civil War. Oxford was the Royalist headquarters as well as the seat of Charles I’s parliament. Even Hitler is associated with Oxford. He was so impressed by his interpretation of its tradition that he planned to make it his capital once he had successfully invaded Britain.

Start at the Carfax, where four streets converge – Carfax comes from the Latin quadrifurcus, for ‘four-forked’. Carfax Tower is where Charles II was proclaimed King in 1660. Walk ahead into St Aldates and head for the visitor entrance to Christ Church, Oxford’s largest college, founded in 1525 by Cardinal Wolsey. When he was disgraced it was refounded as King Henry VIII’s College. It became known as Christ Church when the college and the cathedral became one. Christ Church has had many notable students, including thirteen Prime Ministers and others including John Wesley, Lewis Carroll and W H Auden. Go left through the gates and walk down the tree-lined walk. On the left is the visitor entrance to Christ Church, or keep ahead to the green expanse of Christ Church Meadow.

On reaching the Thames towpath, swing left and follow the riverbank. Keep ahead until you reach the confluence of the Thames and the River Cherwell. There is a steeply arched footbridge here. Avoid it and keep alongside the Cherwell. The river meanders between the meadows and sports fields. Leave the river bank and pass through wrought-iron gates to walk up Rose Lane.

With Magdalen Bridge and Magdalen College bell tower on your right, turn left at the High Street or ‘the High’, as it is known in Oxford. Cross Longwall Street and turn right into Queen’s Lane. The high perimeter wall of Queen’s College is on the left and on the right are St Edmund Hall and the former parish church of St Peter-in-the-East. Continue into New College Lane and on the right, beyond the arch, is the entrance to New College. Keep along New College Lane to the Bridge of Sighs, a 1913 replica of its Venice namesake, and in front of you is the Sheldonian Theatre.

Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and completed in 1669, the theatre was built to hold important university meetings and ceremonies. Turn left here for the Radcliffe Camera and cross Radcliffe Square towards Brasenose College, which probably took its name from a brazen door-knocker in the shape of a nose. Turn right into Brasenose Lane, then right again into Turl Street, cutting between Jesus College and Exeter College. Make for Broad Street and on the right is St Giles, where Charles I drilled his men during the Civil War. Turn left into Cornmarket Street, passing the Church of St Michael at the North Gate. Its Saxon tower is the oldest building in Oxford and originally linked the city wall and the North Gate. Return to the Carfax Tower.