Oxford outdoors in October 2011: the Radcliffe Camera at street level, then the long climb up the University Church tower for All Souls and a city of spires.
Our first Oxford day was an outdoor one. October gave us storm light and a dry afternoon, so we didn't go near a museum: just the streets, the college gates, and then the long climb up the tower of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, which is where Oxford stops being a town and turns into a skyline.
Ground level: the Radcliffe Camera
The Radcliffe Camera, Oxford's great round reading room, with Inga and an obligatory bicycle in attendance.
Up the tower
It's a narrow, winding staircase and there's no polite way past anyone coming down. Worth every step.
From the tower of the University Church: the Camera's dome up close, All Souls laid out next door.All Souls and its twin towers collecting a bit of storm light. Spires as far as the eye can be bothered to count.The other side of the tower: quads, chimneys and gargoyle-height Oxford, best enjoyed while getting your breath back.
Back down on the High Street
One of the great carved gatehouses on the High Street, coat of arms included. In Oxford even the front doors have front doors.
We didn't get inside a single museum on this trip, which we fixed four years later on a much colder day: that one's over at Oxford, November 2015.
