We arrived in Oxford on Friday morning of Easter weekend. Expecting the city to be packed with people for the holiday weekend, we were pleasantly surprised to find that after Friday, we practically had the whole place to ourselves. Without realizing it, we had also arrived in Oxford in between terms at the university, which meant most students weren’t in Oxford either. While it was a little eerie touring empty colleges devoid of any activity other than a handful of other tourists walking about, the lack of crowds and quiet atmosphere in the city was completely in tune with the easygoing weekend getaway we’d planned for ourselves.
Other than touring a few colleges and visiting the city’s many Harry Potter filming locations, we had a pretty light sightseeing schedule. A couple museums here, a pub or two there, but mostly we just wandered around admiring the architecture and early spring blooms. When it wasn’t raining, that is.
England’s weather is notoriously difficult to predict at any time of year, but it’s increasingly fickle in that period between winter and spring, which is when we happened to be visiting Oxford. Would it be warm enough for cafe patio sitting? Or would we be walking the streets in six layers, bracing ourselves against the wind? We didn’t have a clue, so we packed for both, and as it turned out, we needed both. It rained a lot while we were in Oxford, but when the sun did come out, it was glorious.
Between the blooming magnolia trees, the sun casting its warm glow over all the honey-colored colleges in the university, and the general loveliness of Oxford at any time of year and in any kind of weather, there were photo opportunities around every corner. As usual, before I close this series, I have one last post to share – a collection of my favorite snapshots of Oxford. (FYI: I had a really hard time limiting myself on this one. I’d have included double the photos if it wouldn’t slow my site down to turtle speed.) For lots of tips on how to spend a weekend in Oxford, check out the guide below!
Related Post: A Weekend In Oxford: 10 Things To Do + Travel Tips
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Tanja/The Red Phone Box travels
May 3, 2018 at 11:38 AMI’ve visited it in the winter, it was still magical:)
Natalia
April 22, 2018 at 12:36 AMOxford looks beautiful in the spring!
Ashley
April 20, 2018 at 8:19 AMSo gorgeous! I love how you edit your photos.
Sarah Shumate
April 21, 2018 at 7:57 PMThanks so much, Ashley! I feel like the most inconsistent photo-editor ever, so I appreciate that! :)