Soaking in Oxford, then Home Again, Home Again

I recently made a trip to England. A few years ago, my only son went to graduate school in Wales, met his future wife there, and later got a job with Osprey Press in Oxford. Two months ago, he and his wife welcomed a new member to the family, a baby daughter, so of course we had head over there to meet her. We had a great visit, enjoyed being with them, and delighted in getting to hold and cuddle the new grandchild.

Oxford, U.K.

Oxford is an interesting place to visit. Millions of tourists can’t be wrong—and they’re not. Despite the crowds of tour groups and visitors that pack the city in summer, it’s fun just to walk the streets and soak in the history, but there’s also the wonderful Ashmolean Museum, the Sheldonian Theatre, the Museum of Science, the Children’s Story Museum, and all the various colleges, some of which are open for tours at various times. For a writer, there’s all sorts of inspiration.

As a bonus, there are a number of interesting things in fairly easy driving.  This time we did Stonehenge, which is a ninety-minute or so drive from Oxford, and Highclere Castle, better known to TV viewers as Downton Abbey.

Highclere Castle from the back seen through the
wildflower meadow

We had lunch at a lovely pub on the Thames, the Sunday roast at one of the nicest inn/restaurants in Oxford, and high tea.  I’ve become a fan of scones with clotted cream. Fortunately, we did a lot of walking or I would probably have gained a lot more weight than the three pounds I added while there. Despite its reputation for bad weather, we only had one really rainy day of the ten days we spent there. The rest of the time it was darn near perfect. Sunny and warm, but not hot.

I did a series of blog posts on the trip and my observations and commentary on various things we did and experienced. The first of the series is here: http://kmccullough.com/kblog/heading-for-england-day-one/   (They’re not all posted yet. I’ll be putting up a few more in days to come.)

It was a great trip and I enjoyed every minute of it. Getting to hug and cuddle my delightful new grand-daughter was the most wonderful feature of the trip, but I’m always fascinated at experiencing the similarities and differences of the culture when I travel.

Still, there’s nothing like coming home. No matter how much I enjoy the travels, it’s good to sleep in my own bed, fix my favorite foods, drink my own coffee, and settle into my own armchair for reading.