Calling all academics

With beautiful autumn weather, Ivan, Belle & I travelled 90km north-west of London to see the spire covered skyline of the 30+ colleges in Oxford. Oxford is delightful with a genuine small town feel. Initially we were quite surprised to see many of the students wearing their full gown including bow ties & caps. Apparently they have to wear the full gown for their exams. I could not imagine having to wearing that uncomfortable outfit during exams!!

There were many points of interest in Oxford including:

• Christ Church College – We wandered through the grounds of the college including the quadrangle, the Cathedral, Tom Tower & the dining hall (one of the locations for the filming of Harry Potter);
  
• The University Church of St Mary’s Virgin – On route to climb the tower of the church with magnificent 360 degree views of the spire skyline (a must for anyone going to Oxford!), we stopped to listen to a practice session of Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi, an all-female ensemble of singers and players of instruments from the violin family. The music was beautiful, almost spine-tingling.
  
• Radcliffe Camera – Built in 1737, the circular building is a grand library and apparently one of the most photographed buildings in the UK.
• The Bear – A weekend in an English town is not complete without some local pub grub. A cider & steak & ale pie filled the hole for us after walking around town all day.

On Sunday, we headed out of Oxford to Blenheim Palace, home to the Dukes of Marlborough (currently the 11th Duke lives there) & the birth place of Winston Churchill. Set in 2100 acres, the palace is surrounded by sweeping lawns, formal gardens and a lake. The grand palace entrance follows a path over a bridge to the victory column on the opposing hillside. Inside, the Palace is full of historical artifacts of the Churchill-Spencer family. The long library was my favourite room with the floor to ceiling books and its view over the water terrace gardens.