Orienteering in Oxford

[davieddy]

My beloved father got a Scholarship to Exeter College in 1921.
(80 quid a term went quite a long way in those days).
He referred to his years there as the best of his life.

In Decenber 1967, I had done well enough in the entrance exam
to be offered an interwiew.
Having worked out the (post Beeching) train journey thereto, I casually
asked him how I should get to Exeter from the station.

Remembering that I had never been near the place in my life,
he immediately grabbed pen and paper.
Starting at the bottom of the page he placed the station.
Queen St led to Carfax. The High straight ahead, the Corn left.
Market Street , Ship Street and Exeter is there on the Turl.

I relied on this map to get there. Went via Ship Street and spied the
spire of Exeter College Chapel.

Ever since, I have thought East was North etc. (the station being
to the west, not south).

David

[Flatlander]

Fit a compass to your remote?

[xilman]

Originally Posted by davieddy

My beloved father got a Scholarship to Exeter College in 1921.
(80 quid a term went quite a long way in those days).
He referred to his years there as the best of his life.

In Decenber 1967, I had done well enough in the entrance exam
to be offered an interwiew.
Having worked out the (post Beeching) train journey thereto, I casually
asked him how I should get to Exeter from the station.

Remembering that I had never been near the place in my life,
he immediately grabbed pen and paper.
Starting at the bottom of the page he placed the station.
Queen St led to Carfax. The High straight ahead, the Corn left.
Market Street , Ship Street and Exeter is there on the Turl.

I relied on this map to get there. Went via Ship Street and spied the
spire of Exeter College Chapel.

Ever since, I have thought East was North etc. (the station being
to the west, not south).

David

Almost all but the locals, and a good number of them, don't understand why North Parade lies to the south of South Parade.

(David: don't spoil it for the uninitiated by revealing the answer. Let them find out for themselves)

In a future posting I may describe the history and, especially, the sociological curiosity of St Giles cathedral in Oxford.


Paul

[davieddy]

Originally Posted by xilman

(David: don't spoil it for the uninitiated by revealing the answer. Let them find out for themselves)
Paul

Aha.
That's why I got confused while punting in North Oxford.

David

[Spherical Cow]

Somewhat off-topic, but still in the right country- I will have one day off to be a tourist in London next month. For those of you who live there, or have been there often, how should I use that day? What's the one thing I shouldn't miss on a trip to London? I enjoy science, history, math, and am always up for a good museum. What are the must-see things or places for folk like me (us?).

Norm

[davieddy]

Originally Posted by Spherical Cow

Somewhat off-topic, but still in the right country- I will have one day off to be a tourist in London next month. For those of you who live there, or have been there often, how should I use that day? What's the one thing I shouldn't miss on a trip to London? I enjoy science, history, math, and am always up for a good museum. What are the must-see things or places for folk like me (us?).

Norm

William may beg to differ, but I would suggest "The Flask" in Hanpstead.

David

[Spherical Cow]

Originally Posted by davieddy

William may beg to differ, but I would suggest "The Flask" in Hanpstead.

David

Thanks; just googled that-sounds quite nice. Added to my list...

How about the touristy places- Westminister Abbey? Worth the trip, or too touristy? Any particular museums that are especially interesting?

Norm

[davieddy]

Originally Posted by Spherical Cow

Thanks; just googled that-sounds quite nice. Added to my list...

How about the touristy places- Westminister Abbey? Worth the trip, or too touristy? Any particular museums that are especially interesting?

Norm

Just don't tell them you are a terrorist.
Things a bit touchy here right now.

David

PS Don't touch that Beach Volleyball.

[wblipp]

Originally Posted by davieddy

William may beg to differ, but I would suggest "The Flask" in Hampstead.

For 2010 I lived in Hampstead, and David and I toured the local pubs, including The Flask. But with only one day, you don't want to go to Hampstead. If for some reason you do go to Hampstead, both the Holly Bush and the Spaniard's Inn have better atmosphere and better food.

London has many great museums - but with one day you need to pick. The leading choices, in my opinion, are the National Gallery, the Portrait Gallery, Victoria and Albert, Tate Modern, and Tate Britain, the British Museum, and the Wallace Collection. I visited all of these multiple times in our year. If you have a particular passion, go with it. For me, the one "must not miss" thing would be the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. The Elgin Marbles are the sculptures from the top of the Acropolis, wonderfully displayed and worthy of 90 minutes all by themselves.

Do the London Eye around sunset.

Take in a show - I liked the National Theater and the Old Vic best, but there is always lots of good theater.

See if you can work in a ride on a double decker bus. I don't know how long it takes for sitting on the top front to get tired, but I can vouch that it takes more than a year. We had the advantage of Hampstead being the end of line for two such lines, so we often did that going home at the end of a day in London.

Plan on just walking around. Trafalgar Square to Leicester Square to Picadilly Circus is short and easy - Covent Gardens and the South Bank if you are near either.

I'd do Saint Pauls instead of Westminster Abbey, but they each have their attractions and you don't have time for both.

I'd skip the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and the Royal Jewels. I did those on previous short trips to London, and did not repeat them in our year. But they are classic, typical tourist things to do, so maybe you want to be able to check them off your list.

[cmd]

Originally Posted by Spherical Cow

Somewhat off-topic, but still in the right country- I will have one day off to be a tourist in London next month. For those of you who live there, or have been there often, how should I use that day? What's the one thing I shouldn't miss on a trip to London? I enjoy science, history, math, and am always up for a good museum. What are the must-see things or places for folk like me (us?).

Norm

make available to "farmers Basilicata" ( factor of power ) for milking the basil ?

wb : M_fn(u)it

[davieddy]

Originally Posted by wblipp

Take in a show - I liked the National Theater and the Old Vic best, but there is always lots of good theater.
I'd skip the Royal Jewels.

And don't decide to fit a quick trip to Liverpool into your schedule.
Trust me!

David

PS I'd recommend Kew rather than Covent Gardens(sic).
(Sorry William)