Some ideas for days out for adults
With
so many well-known attractions in Oxford we have mainly concentrated on places
outside the usual tourist circuit. Let
us know of other ideas. It is advisable to check details beforehand – please tell
us of any errors.
WITHIN A 6 MILE RADIUS:
STATELY HOMES and other buildings
Kingston Bagpuize House and garden Kingston Bagpuize, OX13 5AY. Tel:
01865 820 259
Beautiful Charles II manor house and family home with cantilevered
staircase and well-proportioned panelled rooms with some good furniture and
pictures. Set in mature parkland, the garden contains a notable
collection of unusual trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs. Tea-room,
small gift shop and free car park.
Opening hours – phone or use website - see side panel for
details.
Venn Watermill, Garford Oxon OX13 5PA on A338 Tel: 01367 718888
A 200 year old working watermill in wildlife friendly
surroundings, powered by the Childrey brook. Wholemeal flour from the local wheat is on sale.
Open Apr-Oct, 2nd Sun in month, 10am-5pm Adults £1, children 50p.
Bothy Vineyard Frilford Heath Sian and Richard
Liwicki Telephone 01865 390 067. Tours, talks and wine-tasting at this
award winning vineyard. Contact: e-mail
office@bothyvineyard.co.uk Website: http://www.bothy-vineyard.co.uk/
LOCAL WALKS
1. Local village walks - using booklet (£2.95 from KBS Post Office or through www.thematic-trails.org)
·
Kingston
Bagpuize with Southmoor: a sense of place
·
Longworth: a
sense of place
·
The Parish
of Hinton Waldrist: a sense of place
2. Local footpath walks – full colour maps from KBS Post
Office 10p. Accompanying booklets 50p each or £4 complete pack in case or via www.thematic-trails.org
FIVE CIRCULAR COUNTRY WALKS
1. GREEN
WALK Start: Longworth Square - Longworth -
Harrowdown Hill - Hall Ham - Newbridge - Common Lane - return to Longworth.
Full circuit 4 miles (6.5 km).
2. YELLOW
WALK Start: Kingston
Bagpuize green - old airfield - Swannybrook Farm - Sheephouse farm -
Bullockspit Lane - Little London - Longworth - Draycott Moor - Southmoor -
return to Kingston. Full circuit 7 miles (11 km) or shorter loops.
3. RED
WALK Start: Hinton
Waldrist Church Duxford - Ten Foot Bridge - Thames path to Tadpole Bridge -
Buckland - Pusey - Charney Bassett - Cherbury Camp - return to Hinton Waldrist
13 miles (21 km) or shorter loops indicated.
4. PURPLE
WALK Start: Longworth
Square - Hinton Waldrist - Duxford - Thames path to Hall Ham - Harrowdown Hill
- return to Longworth. 5.5 miles (8 km).
5. ORANGE
WALK Southmoor
crossroads - Kingston Bagpuize - Millennium Green - Fyfield - Rainbow Bridge
(Hart's Weir Bridge) - Thames path to Newbridge - Draycott Moor - return to
Southmoor. 5.5 miles (8km).
3. Thames Path (184 miles) Follows the River Thames from its source in
the Cotswolds to the Thames Barrier near Greenwich. Riverside pubs. See sections
of walks 1, 3, 4 and 5 above.
Contact for all information and advice: National Trails Office, Environment
and Economy, Holton, Oxford, OX33 1QQ.
Telephone: 01865 810224. Website: www.nationaltrail.co.uk
NATURE
RESERVES
BBOWT reserves for details of these and other
sites contact the Local Wildlife Trust BBOWT 01865 775476 website www.bbowt.org.uk
Lashford
Lane Fen, Wootton SU 468 011 - fenland and
reed-beds.
Dry Sandford Pit, Cothill SU 467
997 - fossil-rich cliffs, fenland with pond and streams, woodland
Hitchcopse Pit, near Cothill SU 452 996 - long-disused
sandpit now full of wildlife.
Chimney Farm (SP
360010) From Tadpole Bridge drive a short distance north on the Bampton Road,
then turn right and right again to Chimney or from Tadpole Bridge pass the
meadows on the RED WALK above.
- waders and wildflower meadows.
Standlake Common -
two bird hides with access
from the Windrush Path at Newbridge or Standlake village. Keys available
from AlisonH@oxfordshire.gov.uk
(parking restricted) – good for birds on lakes.
Also:
Iffley Meadows, Oxey Meads and others see the Local Wildlife Trust BBOWT 01865 775476
website: www.bbowt.org.uk
HISTORIC
SITES
Aefrith’s
Dyke – Anglo-Saxon boundary, a remnant borders east side of Millennium Green.
Cherbury
Camp - see RED WALK above - an Iron Age fort.
WITHIN A 12 MILE RADIUS:
WALKS and
HISTORIC SITES – FREE
Badbury
Clump Faringdon to Highworth road. A circular walk. An iron age fort, it is
strategically placed on the highest ground in the area. Early in the 19th
Century the banks were levelled leaving little but vestiges of the fosse on the
south side and a faint escarpment on the other sides. Beautiful bluebell wood in May.
The Ridgeway (85 miles) Highest point: Uffington Castle 261m (857ft) Iron Age hill fort with a long barrow.
Highlights: B4507 - White
Horse Hill with 374 ft horse carved in
the chalk of the downs overlooking the valley, possibly 3000 years old, Dragon
Hill where St George killed the dragon(?) Wayland Smithy and, further on, Avebury
– stone circle World Heritage Site and Silbury Hill.
Contact for all information and advice: National Trails Office, Environment and
Economy, Holton, Oxford, OX33 1QQ. Telephone: 01865 810224.
Website: www.nationaltrail.co.uk
Also: Blowing
Stone to south
of Kingston Lisle a perforated Sarsen stone described in Tom Brown’s
Schooldays.
Coleshill Park National
Trust
Wittenham Clumps near Dorchester. A group of
trees visible for many miles above Castle Hill (an Iron Age fort). Below, on
the Thames, lies Thames and Day's lock - scene of the annual Pooh Sticks world
championship.
Why not use
public transport for an outing?
ABINGDON TO OXFORD BY
BOAT 7 days a week in summer
Salter's
Steamers Ltd, Folly
Bridge, OXFORD, OX1 4LA. Tel: (01865) 243421 Fax: (01865)48185
http://www.salterssteamers.co.uk
See bus
timetables to go to Abingdon by bus and return from Oxford or vice versa
River trips: Salters 7 days a week in season May to September contact for new schedule 01865) 243421 or
email info@salterssteamers.co.uk
Hire of punts, day-boats and other
small craft (from Oxford only)
MUSEUMS
FREE
Abingdon
Museum, County
Hall, Market Place 01235 523 703 www.abingdon.gov.uk
In
17th century building, local history displays, exhibitions, houses a collection
of contemporary craftwork which is seen by appointment. Open daily 10.30am-4.pm check for
bank holiday and roof visits.
Ashmolean Museum 01865 278000 www.ashmolean.org
Mon closed, Tues-Sat 10am - 5pm,
Sun 12–5pm. Closes
for St Giles Fair. Egyptian,
Greek and Roman treasures.
Modern Art Oxford 30 Pembroke Street, Oxford, OX1 1BP, Tel: 01865 722733 www.modernartoxford.org.uk Tuesday
to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 12pm to 5pm, closed Mondays. Please phone 01865
813830 for recorded information.
Museum
of the History of Science 01865 277280 www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/events
Tuesday to Friday12 to 4 p.m., Saturday
10am to 5 pm and Sunday 2 to 5 pm. Admission free.
Museum
of Oxford, St
Aldates, Oxford, 01865 252 761, www.oxford.gov.uk/museum
local history exhibits and the story of Oxford, reconstructed Oxford
interiors, shop, etc. Now entrance Free
to galleries Mon closed, Tues-Fri 10am–5pm, Sat-Sun 12 – 5pm.
Oxfordshire
Museum, Park St,
Woodstock, 01993 811456 www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/the_oxfordshire_museum Tues-Sat 10am-5 pm Sun 2-5pm. Free. Interactive exhibits.
The Oxfordshire Museum, Park St, Woodstock, 01993 811 456, email oxon.museum@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Pitt
Rivers Museum,
01865 270 927, Parks Road, Oxford. Tuesday to Sunday (and Bank Holiday Mondays) 10am -
4.30pm, Mondays 12 - 4.30pm www.prm.ox.ac.uk
Shrunken heads and other curiosities.
Tom Brown’s School Museum www.museum.uffington.net Broad Street, Uffington,
SN7 7RA Tel: 01367 820259 2pm to 5pm each Saturday, Sunday
and Bank Holiday Monday from Easter until the end of October.
University
Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, 01865 272 950 www.oum.ox.ac.uk
10-5
p.m. daily. Dinosaurs, living
insects, activities. Admission free. No 1 Family Friendly Museum Awards
2005
ADMISSION CHARGE
Vale
and Downland Museum,
Church Street, Wantage 01235 771 447 www.wantage.com/museum
Mon-Sat 10am-4.30pm (closed
on bank holidays). Adults £2.50 or family ticket £7, OAP £2,
Children £1. All tickets valid for 1 year.
Also see: Roman
Villa at North Leigh
Cogges Manor Farm Museum
(in Children’s section)
STATELY HOMES and other places of
interest
Abbey
Buildings, Thames
Street, Abingdon. Tel: 01235 525339.
Parts of the original abbey, granary, exchequer and long
gallery.
Bodleian Library Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BG. Tel:
01865 277 216 email sales@bodley.ox.ac.uk Contact for opening times www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/openhours.htm
Copyright deposit library and its collections are used by scholars from
around the world. The central buildings include Duke Humfrey's Library above
the Divinity School, the Old Schools Quadrangle with its Great Gate and Tower,
the Radcliffe Camera, Britain’s first circular library, and the Clarendon
Building.
Blenheim
Palace, Woodstock –
08700 60 20 80 http://www.blenheimpalace.com
Admission tickets to the Palace include the house, the
Winston Churchill Exhibition, Gardens, Park, Butterfly House, Marlborough Maze,
Adventure Play Area and rides on the train.
Blenheim Palace opens from 10.30am to 5.30pm (last
admission 4.45pm) from February 10th until December 9th 2007. It is open daily
until October 28th, and from October 31st to December 9th the Palace and Formal
Gardens open from Wednesday to Sunday.
The Park is open all year round from 9am
(last admission 4.45pm or dusk) except Christmas Day.
Palace, Park and Gardens: Adult £16, Concessions £13.50, Child £9.75, Family
£43
Park and Gardens only: Adult £9.30, Concessions £7.30, Child £4.70 Family £24.
Buscot Park Faringdon SN7 8BU Tel: Mon-Fri 01367
240 786 Information Line: 0845 3453387 www.buscot-park.com
National Trust late 18th Century house and contains the
Faringdon Collection of paintings, (including works by Rembrandt, Reynolds,
Murillo, Rossetti and the famous 'Briar Rose' series by Burne-Jones) and fine
furniture. April -
September House & Grounds Adults: £7 Open 2-6pm but check which days they
are open first.. Grounds only - Adults: £5, Children half price, National Trust
members: Free. Closed in winter
Also: Buscot Old Parsonage 01793 762209
Great Coxwell Tithe
Barn (1 mile southwest of Faringdon) Monastic stone tithe barn. 152 feet
long by 44 feet wide and 48 feet high with four feet thick walls in Cotswold
stone and with original timber. Open: Until dusk each day. Admission:
50p. Tel: 01793 762209
Kelmscott Manor, Kelmscott, Lechlade,
Glos. GL7 3HJ Tel: 01367 252486 http://www.kelmscottmanor.co.uk Elizabethan Manor once home to designer, craftsman and
artist William Morris. Open April - September Every Wednesday, 11.00am - 5.00pm. In
summer open on some Saturdays. Adults £8.50, Students/children 8-16 £4.25.
Gardens only Adults £2; Children/Students free.
Milton Manor House, at Milton, A34, 17th-century,
Inigo Jones building, chapel, displays of porcelain and teapots, gardens,
etc. Please contact for opening times and
admission prices. Tel: 01235 862321
University of Oxford Botanic Garden
Rose Lane, Oxford, OX1 4AZ, Tel: 01865 286690 www.botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk
The oldest botanic garden in the UK displaying over 7,000
different species in a walled, family-ordered garden, exotic glasshouses, water
and rock gardens and beautiful borders.
Adults: £2.70, £2 Senior citizens and students. Children in full time
education: Free.
Open: October 9.00am until
5.00pm. Last admission 4.15pm
November and December, January,
February Open
daily 9.00am until 4.30pm Entry: Admission charges apply during the
weekends. Weekdays by donation..
Oxford
Colleges see individual colleges in phone book or websites www.visitoxford.org
SPORTS (see also Children’s
activity section) www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/
Holiday
Sport Schemes Ring
and reserve, Sports Development Team by telephone on 01235 547646 or by email
on sportsdevelopment@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
or ring 01235 547646.
Abingdon:
Tilsley Park Dunmore
Road, Abingdon (01235) 524 524
Email: tilsley.park@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Swimming, badminton etc
Abingdon:
White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre Audlett Drive (01235) 540705
Wantage
Leisure Centre
Portway, Wantage (01235) 766201/2/3
Faringdon
Leisure Centre
Fernham Road, Faringdon (01367) 241755
Oxford
Ice Rink: Oxpens Road, Oxford 01865 467000
http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/CountrysideEvents/default.asp