Checking out Oxford for Thom and Laura

Looking straight ahead at the gates-units 1-30 are straight ahead and around to the right at the end.

First priority is to get this post up for Thom and Laura. Part of our reason for coming here was to see where they will be in the coming years and have a bit of a feel for Oxford.
I wanted to be able to picture the city and area when thinking of them so far away....

So last night after we arrived and found some tea we took a drive into the city and out to the area where they may well be living come the end of September.

The area has lots of joined units /duplexes which seem to be fairly well maintained. (Not fussily) as though normal families of mid type income live there. No rubbish in the streets and junkies.
There are local shops with a supermarket , fast food, etc on the bus route and easy walking distance from home (maybe a km from your place if you walk on the roads. ) we didn't find a cut through, but there may be one.

Bus ride took about 20 min from centre of town (number 3 bus) and the buses go about every 6 minutes during the main hours,  then 15 mins later till about 10 and less frequently after that.

The house is in a gated area with all places of similar structure and type.  There are about 50 units all put together in pairs (joining one other).

As you enter the gated area you turn sharply to your left to find number 32.

Gates in from the road

You can just see your place coming into view down the back.The first wall as you head down there.

The place is empty we realised,  so we put our faces up to the window and then took a couple of pics inside. (How snoopy are we??)

The back loung/dining area is pretty small, but has room for a small table to seat 4 (currently in it) and a 2 seater sofa, with room for another 2 seater or a desk or 2 singles by the window.  There is also a basic shelf/small bookcase in place on the end by the entrance. 

So I'm looking in the back window. That is the table on the right side (pine) . The entrance is visible on the far left . You can't see the shelf/bookcase at all.  Sorry. There is still some reflection despite my best efforts. 

The kitchen window (at the front)revealed a single sink. If you stand in the kitchen, looking out the window from the sink there appears to be a washing machine(floor) and dryer (mounted above bench)on your right. To the left is some bench space and then a stove top. (Looks probably electric) and I'm assuming an oven under that. The kitchen is pretty skinny,  but there are 6 overhead cupboards on the back of the lounge room wall, as well as bench space all along there, and also 4 under bench cupboards and a deck of drawers plus the fridge.  I'm guessing there are also a couple of under bench/sink cupboards on the other side. Lots of power points and not ugly.

We can only guess that upstairs there are a bathroom (you can see the smaller window at the front )and  probably 2 bedrooms.

There is a clothesline just out the back which had clothes on it today.

This is looking at the back of the house.  Lounge room window and upstairs bedroom window visible.

As you look from the clothesline or lounge window backwards into the yard there is grass and trees like a park.  Something (maybe moles?) Is digging in the lawn.

This path leads down to the back of the property. Walk down it a little way and look towards the left and you see the view below. 

We followed the path around to the right to the T junction at the end and it curved around and finally came to a wrought iron gate which has a sign on it "keep locked at all times" which was hanging open, so we went through.  We saw this gate last night from the other side, so we then knew that we could follow the path down to the lock and could get across the river there.  On a bike you can do it too (you have to wheel the bike across the lock)

We took the bus out to your suburb from the centre of town.  It took about 20 minutes max. The road(Iffley Rd)  is 2 lanes and fairly busy but has bike lanes on either side marked. Sometimes cars are parked in them.

The student who gave us our Oxford tour said the spot is good for the hospitals, as it is "up the hill". We didn't particularly notice it, but the city of Oxford is down hill, and your place and the hospitals area are both up hill, so you avoid effort by riding your bike around to them at about the same height instead of dropping and then climbing again. It is only about 3-4 miles into town max too, so very doable on a bike. About the same to the hospitals.

We followed the bike track across the locks and part way into town,  taking lots of photos (it is lovely) of canal boats, rowers, and stopping for a cup of tea at a farmhouse tea rooms and pub  (the isis farmhouse) before reluctantly leaving the delicious smell of roasting pork, and heading out of there and over the bridge and getting a bus back into town before it started to rain any more. (Only got a bit wet)

Brasenose
We got a look at this as a special concession from the kind man looking after the entrance today after hearing our story. We could only see the quads but they are lovely.

 Chapel under repair looking over the "deer park"

Looking from the formal quad back towards the main entrance and the Radcliffe Camera (apparently an amazing round library that you can study in) 

Brasenose is right in the centre of town so very convenient that way.


I have lots of photos of the river etc, but they take forever to upload. I hope this gives a bit of an idea.

We had a good tour walking, and picking the student's brain,  and then a bus trip around on the tourist double decker. So many amazing places and amazing history.  It will be an incredible place to be.

We also saw old documents in the library-Magna Carta,  old bibles, original score for the Messiah,  wind in the willows, Shakespeare's first bound volume of all works in one. Etc.  Too much to handle in one go.


I've never covered off on the trip to here from Devon. Sorry, but need to head for bed as we need to be up early driving to Wales tomorrow.