Gallivanting through Oxford

 Today's adventure included some driving, some train travel, as well as a Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus and a LOT of walking!  Marty did an excellent job setting up the train details (after I told him the nearest town with a direct line to Oxford), and he also arranged the bus transportation that made the visit not only entertaining, but much easier on the legs!

We were up and out early and made it to the Princes Risborough train station in plenty of time to catch the 8:57 AM train to Oxford. 

An hour later we were sitting comfortably in the top of the tour bus, ready to enjoy our adventure!

And an adventure it was!

Our ride took us past Christ Church

Alice in Wonderland Sweet  Shop

A war memorial

and an unbelievable array of architecture that captured our attention nearly everywhere we looked. 

Are you amazed yet?

We popped into the library and spotted some interesting displays.  I found these ancient books of psalms to be quite fascinating.  Some dated back as early as the mid 1400's. 

And, of course, there were books. Many were featured on a wrap around second level where one could spy them through the glass from the first floor. 

Across the street is the History of Science museum, which was quite fascinating. Here are just a few of the items I found to be interesting:

This astrolobe was gifted to Queen Elizabeth I in 1559 by Sir Robert Dudley 

A compound microscope created by John Marshall in 1704.

A microscope used by King George III to teach his children.  Look closely, and you'll see someone smiling on the other side. 

Here is a photo of Lewis Evans, co founder of this museum.  He is holding an ivory sundial, known as a Diptych dial. . 

And here is the beautiful item that he is holding in that painting.  

I'd never seen anything like it and was quite intrigued.  Information showed that it had been made in Germany from Ivory and gilt brass in 1612.   There were a number in the collection, most dating from an earlier time than this one!

On the wall is a preserved chalkboard that was used by Albert Einstein.  It is mounted behind glass presumably, to prevent someone from erasing the equation. 

The museum had a section on medical advances, particularly identifying and treating typhoid.  Were you aware that oysters were a main source of typhoid during Victorian Times? They were an inexpensive, easy to grow food source, but the medium in which they thrived also was a breeding ground for typhoid. 

This section explained the various developments that helped to contain future outbreaks. 

We also learned that although Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin, he was unable to purify it. It took 10 years for an international team to produce a successful product.  Those advances took place in Oxford. 

We didn't spend much time in the museum, but we were fascinated by what we did see there.  It was a glorious day, and it didn't make much sense to stay inside when we could walk around and enjoy the beauty of our surroundings. 

We headed to Christ Church and the grounds surrounding it.

I was surprised to find Longhorn Cattle roaming the field across the street from the church. 

It seemed that every corner we turned had something amazing to view.

Here you see Marty standing on the corner of Magpie Lane

We walked along until we came to the Bridge of Sighs, a replica to the one that stands in Venice.  (Plus there's no water under it here in Oxford.)

When we first hopped on the bus in the morning, one of the fellow visitors who was familiar with Oxford, had mentioned that we could go to the top floor of the shopping center in Oxford and enjoy a beautiful vista from the top. 

And, so we did!

From here we decided to head to stop #5 where we could take a one hour walking tour that was included in the price of the hop on/hop off.  Our guide was named Richard and he was quite informative.  

He took us to the oldest building of the colleges, which features King James in the center. The King James' Bible would have been translated here in Oxford. 

Richard had a somewhat cheeky disposition, and he thought we would enjoy the story of Bill Clinton, a Rhodes Scholar who would have studied in Oxford.  If you recall, there was a question regarding whether President Clinton had smoked a questionable substance while studying here in Oxford.  His response had been that he did not inhale.  

Well, Richard took us to the pub where the incident is believed to have occurred, and there on the wall hangs this plaque.

How's that for a tribute? 

Before I sign off, let me leave you with three interesting things that I learned while visiting Oxford. 

We were told that there are 39 different colleges in Oxford. The colleges supply 95% of the revenue for the city.

The patron saint of Oxford is Saint Frideswide who lived from 659-720.  Her Abbey was where Christ Church stands today. 

And, finally, here is the crest of the city that hangs in the town hall. It is an Ox, crossing a Fjord. 

And, there you have it:  Oxford!

I hope you enjoyed our speed tour of Oxford in a day.  I know that we did!  

Until next time...

Gallivanting in Buckinghamshire

Today's adventures found us visiting Cliveden, a National Trust Property that stands along the Thames River northwest of London.  It was about a 45 minute drive from the inn where we are staying, and we found ourselves traveling through lovely, but very busy, villages en route. 

We arrived around 10:15 and were quite surprised to find the parking lot full, requiring us to drive to the overflow parking.  We checked in at the visitor center and secured tickets for entry into the manor house for 11:50 which was the first time slot open.  It turned out that only 10 or 12 people were included in the tours,  but that certainly adds up in a few hours.

Since we had plenty of time to spare, we walked through the border walls of the estate and explored this magnificent fountain. 

From the front, it resembled a large sea shell. 

It is called the Fountain of Love and was sculpted in Rome in 1897 by Thomas Waldo, and American who was commissioned by Lord Astor to create the sculpture for Cliveden. 

It stands at the end of the grand avenue that leads to the manor which is used today as an exclusive hotel that is run by Iconic Luxury Hotels.  

Some of the celebrities known to have stayed there are Charlie Chaplin, Rudyard Kipling, George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt.  Michael Jackson managed to stay there for several weeks without the public knowing.  And the Beatles stayed there while they filmed HELP as some of the scenes were filmed on the grounds of the estate. 

The tour permitted us entry to the bottom floor, but consisted primarily of learning the history of the estate and the various occupants over the years.  No photos were permitted and there was actually only one grand room that we were able to view.

But the commentary was certainly entertaining as it seemed that the guide loved to tell the juicy stories associated with Cliveden, and the majority of the tour members were captivated.  There was a political scandal that occurred in 196 and our fellow tourists all nodded their heads and commented on how tragic the results were.  Marty and I were obviously out of the loop, but learned the saga later. (It was entitled the Profumo Affair. Let's just say that it involved the Secretary of War, a model, and a Russian Spy.)  

The manor house standing, is actually the third to have stood on this site. The first two houses were destroyed by fire in 1795 and 1849, respectively.  As a result, a water tower was built on site to safeguard the rebuilt manor house from any future fires. 

We soon learned that what appeared to be a clock tower, is actually the water tower. Another piece of trivia for you: The water tower features an ornamental clock on all four sides, and we were told that the chime was used to ring out midnight in the latest movie version of Cinderella.  (How many fascinating tips can one learn in a day?) 

Walking around the grounds, one can't help but be impressed with the magnificent layout of the gardens. The floral blooms were a delight!

We had decided yesterday, to take advantage of the glorious weather and book a boat tour on the Thames that the National Trust offers as one of its programs.  

We soon learned that to get to the dock, one had to walk down these 172 steps. 

Normally, this wouldn't bother me, but the design and the depth of the steps made the trip down a bit challenging. I might be feeling this tomorrow.  But once at the bottom it was easy getting to the boat dock where we met Gary, who was our boat driver and guide. 

He welcomed us as well as two other women who were quite the characters themselves.  

We traveled through locks

passed by some expensive river homes

saw some canal boats

were surprised to see a giant lion and giraffe

and even spied a kingfisher hanging out on this stump of a tree along the river. 

Now, THAT was exciting! 

Near the dock stands a natural spring with a bridge over it

and these steps to the river were built for Queen Victoria to use when she visited, for easy access to the river. 

Just look at this view from the front of the boat as we came to the end of our river cruise. 

Pretty amazing, don't you think?

 

The tour ended up running over the two hours, so it was getting close to the time when the trust site would be closed.  But since a hotel stands on the grounds, one doesn't have to worry about being locked in!

So, we decided to hunt down the War Memorial Garden on the grounds, which I do have to admit, was pretty difficult to find. 

During World War I, Cliveden hosted a hospital for the Canadian Red Cross.  In 1918, the original sunken garden was adapted to create a memorial garden for those who had deceased.  

There are 42 war graves here, two of which are American. 

Time was getting short, so we headed from the Memorial Garden to the car part, but as luck would have it, we could pass through the Long Garden on the way.

And that was just amazing!

I was particularly entertained by these pruned shrubs. 

It kind of reminded me of a creature from a Dr. Seuss book. 

As you can see, we had a glorious day.  We headed back to The Bell Inn, enjoyed a delicious dinner, and relaxed in our room in preparation for tomorrow's adventure. 

We're off to Oxford, and I've put Marty in charge of the planning.  How's that for excitement? (He left his fishing gear at home, so at least I know that won't be in the agenda.) 

I'll keep you posted. Until next time....

When the 350 acre estate was gifted to the National Trust in 1946,  the standing manor house stood as an exclusive hotel, and one of the contingencies was that any profit would go exclusively back into maintaining and preserving Cliveden rather being shared with the other National Trust properties. As a result, the exclusive hotel still stands, and was quite busy with patronage today.  

We began our day with breakfast at the inn, then headed south to a National Trust Property called Cliveden.  This is a 350 acre estate which is bordered on one side by the Thames River.  

It's a very busy place since the manor house stands as an exclusive hotel attracting numerous celebrities (although we didn't personally see any), and we were told that Megan Markel slept there the night prior to her wedding to Prince Harry.  

When the estate was gifted to the National Trust in 1946, one of the contingencies was that any proceeds collected at Cliveden would go directly to Cliveden rather into the general fund for the National Trust.  Although the hotel is run by an independent agency, a portion of the profits go directly to upkeeping the grounds and buildings on the estate. 

When we arrived we were surprised to see so many cars in the lot and we actually had to drive to the overflow in order to secure a spot!  But the place is so vast, that the crowd wasn't even noticeable.  We were able to obtain a ticket to tour the manor house, as they were offered every 10 minutes.  Our scheduled time was 11:50, and by the time we met the group and the guide, there was a sign stating that all tours had been booked.