Fountains and Gardens behind Blenheim Palace

We walked back to the car, plugged in our new destination into the SatNav and headed southward to Oxford about ten miles to the south. We found a public parking lot and figured out to use the pay and display. Instructions weren’t very clear and other people had trouble as well. We dropped in our pounds, placed the ticket on the dash and wrote down our location so we culd find our way back. 

A red, double decker Oxford tour bus stopped on the street so we walked up to and began to enter. He asked if we had tickets and we said no. He started to explain where to get tickets but suddenly had to move because of traffic behind him.We akwardly exited the bus but it pulled ahead twenty feet or so and stopped again for a stop light. He opened the door, we e re-entered again and he finished his conversation saying he would take us to the ticket booth up ahead. Pulling into a bus parking lot, called to the attendent at the booth, we paid our fare and he handed us a tour map and some ear buds. He explained that you could ride the bus all day and get on and off as you wished and to plug the earbuds into a panel at your seat for a pre-recorded tour in different languages on several channels or choose the channel that provided a live presentation. We told him that we would like to get off at the Christ Church stop and he said he would call it out when we arrived. We meandered through the city streets and listened as a gentleman pointed out all the historical buildings along the way. The driver called out “Christ Church”, we exited and followed the signs to the entrance gate.

We couldn’t get in the “Tom Gate” entrance so we walked around to “Meadow Gate” which opened into a well-groomed lawn flanked by stone walls planted with flowers. The stone walked led to a wide open area of crushed yellow limestone and to our surprise, cows were grazing in a field to our right. We followed other groups of people to the ticket booth and entered the complex.

Christ Church was part of our Harry Potter tour. Many scenes were shot at various locations here in the ancient (1000 years old) cloisters, rooms and quadrangles. No scenes were actually shot in the Great Hall as it was replicated through C.G. in the studios. A small gray-haired gentleman guide with a booler hat, recounted an anecdote of a child who said that this couldn’t be the real Hogwarts Hall because it only had three rows of tables, the pictures moved and there was no ceiling.

 Some interesting facts:

• The intriguing 16th century vaulted staircase leading up to the Great Hall was added 150 after years after it was built.
• Alice in Wonderland was inspired and written here by Lewis Carroll in 1865.

We continued our tour through the beautiful rounded arches and pillars and of Christ Church. The lacework patterns of lightly colored stone in the vaulted ceilings were supported by tapered fluted arches that appeared light and lofty. Ceilings of the nave were supported in rich dark wood dotted with Gold ornaments at the peak.

We hopped the bus and climbed to the upper deck to get a better view of the the sights. Along the way, the live tour guide pointed out a line of shops marking the perimeter of old city walls. A cobbled cross in the road opposite Balliol College marks the location where the Protestant Oxford martyrs were burnt at the stake. We also passed St Giles’, where streets were closed off and filled with vendor’s tents for an annual commemoration of the event. We also passed the old Morriss Automotive plant and Queen’s College where Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) received a degree in Electrical Engineering. (I changed the vehicle icon in the SatNav from a Nimbus 2000 broom stick to a green Mr. Bean Mini later in the trip).

Abbots Grange

The Swan at Abbots Grange

We finished our bus tour, found the parking lot, plugged in the SatNav and entered Broadway to Abbots Grange for our next destination. On the way out of Oxford we passed by the train station that had a huge lot of bicycles which were used by students and out of town commuters. The SatNav kept pushing us back into the city but Cindi’s genetically embedded compass kicked in, overrode the silicon box and started calling out directions despite the laments of “recalculating” from the Garmin. We made it onto the A40 heading due west and then northward on the A424 at Burford. The trip to Broadway was about 50 miles or so and we arrived at town centre around 5:30. The destination in the SatNav was general so I pulled into a restaurant’s parking lot and Cindi pulled her written directions from the website. It took a few minutes to get our NSEW bearings and it turned out that we were in the Swan’s parking lot which was directly across from Church street, about 50 yards from Abbots Grange.

Fay greeted us the front door and Tess, the brown lab worked her way between our feet as we made our acquaintances. Cindi followed Fay up to the room as I dragged bags out of the car. I dropped the smaller bag (37 lbs.) in the entry way and by the time I got the large bag (47 lbs.) through the door, the other was gone. I called out, “She didn’t carry that bag up the stairs, did she?!”

The Window Seat at Abbots Grange

From the second floor I heard Cindi reply “Yes, I couldn’t stop her.” Somewhat embarrassed, I made it clear that no one else was going to tackle the bags other than myself. The room was directly above the overhanging entryway. Light filled the room from two side windows and a bay window with cushioned seat in the front. The four poster bed was nestled under the barrel vaulted ceiling and between a stone fireplace and vanity. The 600 year old room was fresh, clean and tastefully decorated with all the modern conveniences (TV and plumbing).

The Barn behind Abbots Grange

Outside and across the white gravel parking lot was a barn-like structure wrapped in roughly hewn clapboards. The clapboards were cut from radial sections of large trees and nailed to the building frame so that the lower edge of each board was the outer perimeter of the tree. This presented a natural wavy line that preserved all the burls, scars and branch knots. Front and center to the barn was a gable that had of all things, a clock. The face was contructed of welded rod and punched steel stock and was probably four feet in diameter and was lit by a nearby flood light during the evening hours. Walking anti-clockwise around the building, I found a large, tidy kennel with two, young loveable black Labrador pups eager for some attention.

Rear View of Abbots Grange

There were about two acres of field behind the barn.The perimeter was mowed grass and the interior was allowed to grow naturally. A few apple trees, heavy with fruit, dotted the landscape and a table with chairs were placed at its center offering a retreat for those who strolled the one hundred yards or so. Looking back, the dark gray slate roof of the abbey cut crisp lines against flat gray skies. Yellow limestone walls glowed in the dimming light. Lush green lawns, brilliant red roses and climbing vines rose up from the foundation and framed a courtyard adorned with a bright marble statue of St. Francis of Assisi at its centre. I concluded my quick tour of the grounds and rejoined Cindi in the room to make plans for dinner.

Thatched Cottage on the way from Abbots Grange to the Swan

The obvious choice was The Swan which was a close walk down Church Street. The camera was stilled tucked under my trusty 26 pocketed vest so I took a few shots along the way that included a traditional thatched-roof cottage that could only be described as a “really cute”. The owner appeared through the front door and called out, “I’m glad you like it. It really needs some work.” We assured her that it was simpy perfect. We entered The Swan and after getting conflicting intructions from several hurried staff members, made out way to the back dining area and were soon seated. It was warm. Large candles on the window sills glowed against the diminshing daylight outside and soot stained walls. The waitress came to our table and offered the evening specials but we were both already set on a plate of fish and chips. I pulled the camera from my vest and we went throught the day’s pictures until the food arrived. The waitress apologized to Cindi for the extra large portion of fish on my plate and we assured her that there were more than ample portions to go around. We walked back to Abbots Grange and settled into the Great Hall. Fay came in and offered comlimentary drinks in decanters. Cindi poured herself a Port an I a Whiskey. We read for a while and then went up to the room. We needed to fill out breakfast card so I made our choices and laid it on the table near the Dining room downstairs. BBC had more bad programming. Cindi was warm because there were no sheets. Instead, the duveé was covered in removable linen. She found a wrap at the foot of the bed and opened some windows and drifted off to sleep while I flipped channels for a while before doing the same.