Unwind and Explore in Oxford: A Weekend Escape Filled with History, Culture, and Green Spaces

We stayed in Mercure Oxford Eastgate, located just off the High Street near Magdalen college . This hotel is well situated to explore the City, and is near the Botanical Gardens.

Our first day was spent walking around the city centre which is packed full of historic buildings, libraries, shops, restaurants, museums and green spaces.

We walked up the High Street, which is beautiful in itself- it is lined with colleges, Churches and other historic buildings. The architecture is stunning and there are lots of windy roads and alleys going off the high street that you can explore — for example, you can do a detour down Rose Lane from near Magdalen College to get to the Sheldonian theatre, Radcliffe Camera and Bodleian Library. These are all iconic Oxford buildings that are worth seeing - you usually can’t get in without a student pass, but you can take great pictures and chill at the many cafés and pubs in the area.

There was also an enormous pop-up vintage / second hand sale on in the Exam Schools (right next to the hotel) - this building on the High Street is where students sit their exams during exam season, but at other times of the year it can be home to different events including art and clothing sales.

We then went to the Covered Market — you can access this from the High Street and it js full of independent shops, cafes, hairdressers, florists and more. If you want to shop or have a leisurely browse, I recommend avoiding visiting at lunchtime, especially during term time as a lot of students come here to eat.

We had lunch at Georgina’s, which is upstairs in the Covered Market. This is one of Oxford’s hidden gems (it’s easy to miss the sign!) and a favourite spot for locals and students alike. This is a relaxed restaurant serving amazing Greek food - the food is delicious, the portions are big and the prices are very reasonable.

In the afternoon, we explored some of the University colleges. Every college is different in terms of size, atmosphere and entry cost (if you know a student there, you can get in for free!). We picked Worcester, Christchurch and Magdalen College.  Worcester has large grounds with a great mix of traditional architecture and beautiful landscaping - you can easily spend ages wondering around the gardens looking at the trees, flowers, ponds, wildlife and even areas for growing fruits and vegetables. It reminds me of a large Country estate and the buildings for studying / living are really impressively designed. Christchurch is more central and is most famous for its dining room, which is the filming location for the dining scenes in Harry Potter. It is an enormous college that backs out on Christchurch meadows, a public green space surrounded by the River Cherwell and home to some lovely cows.

We then went to Magdalen College - I recommend getting to Magdalen around an hour before sunset to see it at its best. Magdalen is huge, with the grounds being the most impressive of any Oxford college. It has amazing cloisters, multiple different quads and lawns, a beautiful chapel and so much more to explore. It is also home to the famous Magdalen tower, which is one of the most notable landmarks of the Oxford skyline. It’s biggest attraction, however are it’s two deer parks, home to the college deer. The deer may be in either park depending on the time of year, but the most beautiful part of the college is Addison’s walk, a mile long tree-lined walkway with the River Cherwell on one side and the water meadow (filled with long grass, trees and the deer depending on the time of year) on the other. If you’re there in summer, you’ll probably see people punting along the river as you walk (you can also rent punts from just outside Magdalen if you would like to try it yourself). The loop extends at around the halfway point, where you can cross a bridge and walk around the Fellow’s Garden. If you are there in spring or summer, you can see an amazing array of flowers and wildlife (you can see wild deer, otters and badgers if you are very very lucky!!).

We also went to the Botanical Gardens — these are just across the road from Magdalen and are the oldest in Europe. They were really beautiful , home to a range of tropical plants in their greenhouses and surrounded by people punting on the river

After seeing Magdalen, we had a rest at our hotel just across the road and then walked a few minutes up the Cowley road. This is home to a range of restaurants and independent stores. We went for dinner at Spiced Roots, an amazing Caribbean restaurant and my favourite in Oxford. The food, vibe, and service are all outstanding and I highly recommend it!

We explored the green spaces of Oxford from the same accommodation, but this day offered a contrast from the hustle and bustle of the city centre.

We walked up to Port Meadows along the canal from Pacey’s Bridge. This is a cute canal side walk which takes around 30-40 minutes depending on your pace. The walk is lined by house boats and on the other side of the water you can look into the gardens of beautiful, old houses often complete with decks leading straight onto the water. Some of the houseboats were selling artisanal items, so keep an eye out for this.

We followed the sign to Port Meadows, which is a huge water meadow that stretches out as far as the eye can see straight ahead, with the river on one side and more greenery on the other. The meadow is home to loads of horses, birds, and even rabbits (if you go to Burgess field). This is a favourite spot for locals and students; if the weather is nice you’ll see people lying in the grass and having barbecues.

We spent the day relaxing here, playing music and people watching. There were also a lot of people wild swimming and paddle boarding in the river; we didn’t do this, but bring a swimming costume and towel if you would like.

We crossed the bridge over the river and followed the walk up for around 20-30 minutes to the Perch. This is one of the nicest pubs in Oxford; whilst more on the expensive side, it is definitely worth it. It has a huge, beautiful outdoor seating area filled with trees and fairy lights and it looks out onto the meadow. The food was also delicious, serving a range of dishes so there will be something for everyone. We stayed here as the sunset and the vibe was amazing.

We then walked back to the city centre through Jericho. This is a lovely part of the city with loads of cute houses, bars and restaurants. We stopped at Freud— a stone church that has been converted into a bar / café / event space— for a drink. It’s a really unique building, so I recommend stopping by or seeing if there is an event on whilst you are there. We then headed back to the hotel for a good nights rest.