The Real Oxford (Sorry, Black Bears)

One cultural aspect that differs between the US and the UK that I find fascinating is transportation. In America, public transportation (not including flight) is almost exclusively for city-dwellers. Here, it’s the norm for any type of traveler. I’ve mentioned it before—I miss driving. But while I miss the roar of my S-10’s engine as I gently press the gas pedal, I must admit that England’s public transportation system is quite efficient. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s smooth.

Today, I took the National Express coach (a bus) to Oxford. So after printing a map with a few sites I plan to see on it, I slung my backpack on my shoulder and hailed a taxi to the bus station. The bus took 3 hours one way. Since I booked my bus ticket in advance, I dodged the high bus fares and managed the entire trip for 14 pounds! Being my 3^rd British city outside Cambridge, I was ecstatic to see the original Oxford.

Oxford University, while currently being slightly less prestigious than Cambridge, is perhaps even more famous globally. As for myself, I think more highly of Oxford, simply because four of my favorite writers attended college there: CS Lewis, TS Eliot, JRR Tolkein, and WH Auden. So I figured if Oxford is good enough for them, it’s good enough for me to spend a Saturday visiting.

And was it ever! My first stop off the coach was the Eagle & Child. This is the historic pub/restaurant where CS Lewis, JRR Tolkein, and several other prominent British writers (a.k.a. “The Inklings”) met regularly. This is the place where worlds like Narnia and Middle Earth were first publicly discussed. Like any good Lewis and Tolkein fan, I had to go.

I showed up a bit before it opened, so I passed the time at the café next door and enjoyed a cup of Americano coffee. But once 12 o’clock struck, I was out the door. I had my first serving of fish and chips since I’ve been here in England, and it was every bit as tasty as its reputation states. There were loads of Narnia and Middle Earth paraphernalia on the walls, including local paintings of the authors and their literary worlds. Dining in the same place that two of the greatest authors of the 20^th century gathered every week for 25 years was quite an experience.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the University of Oxford campus. I saw the History department faculty building before coming to one of my favorite architectural buildings: Lincoln College. This college didn’t have any historical significance for me, but I really enjoyed looking at it. Next, I saw University College (where CS Lewis attended), Exeter College (where Tolkein attended), and Christ Church College (where WH Auden attended, which is also the biggest of the 39 colleges of Oxford, pictured above).

I then proceeded to tour two different colleges. First, I invested in a self-guided tour of Magdalene College (where CS Lewis taught), and it had a stunning chapel from the inside, along with a pretty view of the river that runs just south of the campus. When I got to Merton College (where TS Eliot got his Masters in Philosophy and where JRR Tolkein was a Professor of English), I chose the guided tour. A Merton College grad student toured me around his campus, giving me some rapid statistics. Merton is arguably the oldest and “nerdiest” college of Oxford, and it has the oldest continuously working library in the world! This library also houses the first bookshelves Britain ever saw. I had the pleasure of going in this library and flipped through original printed books from the 16^th century. It was my first medieval library to my knowledge. I also asked my tour guide about Eliot’s stay here, after which his superior looked up Eliot’s biography on Wikipedia to enlighten me. So there you have it... Even Oxford scholars use Wikipedia.

Oxford is a brilliant town, and certainly one I would recommend stopping by if you’re ever in Central England. Now for the 3-hour bus ride back to Cambridge...