Springtime in England

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They say that heaven is an English day in springtime. If that's true, spring for us began on May 1st biking over the rolling Lanbourn downs, home to English horse lovers for thousands of years at least since prehistoric people carved horses into the chalk soil by removing the overlying soil. The oldest of the white clay white horses is so big that the best place to view it is from the air.

As we cycle through the Vale of the White Horse on our way to Oxford we encounter riders, trainers and horses of varied hues and sizes. The skies are blue, the hills are gentle and our smiles are everpresent. As we roll into the city it doesn't take long before another version of heaven engulfs us. Oh to be student in this bastion of learning that goes back almost a thousand years. The scholarship of the place lives in the air you breathe. The ancient buildings speak to the timeless search for truth and knowledge. It is impossible to resist the seduction of the place.

Oh to be able to camp in the historic Blackwell's bookstore where it is as easy to find a map of the Texas hill country as the history of the city's beautiful cathedrals.

But it is, after all, a spring day so a trip to the botanic garden along the canal is the obvious way to spend the morning. The gardens have been a storage house for plant collections for 600 years. The medicinal gardens are arranged by ailment. So you can visit the lung bed or the heart bed to find the plant to cure what ails you. Sitting on a bench taking in the fragrance of the plants you can see Oxford's version of Viennese boatman punting along the canal. To punt is to push a flat bottomed boat along the canal with a long pole while standing on the back of the boat while your passengers bask in the sun.

There are enough things to do and see in Oxford that we all began to think of house trades. But on this trip we climbed the tower of the chapel of the Virgin Mary for its spectacular 360 degree views which reassured us that the country ahead was FLAT. We attended a choral service at New College and visited the ground of Magdalen College.

And then lest you think our heads were too much in the clouds -which they certainly were - we had dinner at the Turf Pub where Bill Clinton did NOT inhale. We didn't inhale either, but we had ale and shandies and good pub food before calling it a day and preparing ourselves for the coming days of sunshine riding over the lovely rolling hills of Oxfordshire on to the midlands and Lincolnshire.

-- Karen

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Photos

Hertford College quad and sundial
Taken from tower of St Mary the Virgin church

Surveying the goodies in store window on Queen Street
We got some particularly good flapjacks here. (Note that flapjacks are not the same thing in England that they are in the US.)

Comments

[Kirsten]

Springtime on the Island
76.6 degrees today. Picnicked at Lime Kiln last evening. We miss you guys. What great adventures you are having. I would have stayed in the horse country. Take care. Kirsten

[Nancy Grover]

Favorite blog
Loved this description of Oxford, really made me want to be there with you. The description of the medicinal gardens organized by ailment was intriguing, as was the climb to the tower with the visage. Did you ever read the Mary Russell mysteries?

[Joe Gaydos]

Oxford
Olivia (our 12 year old) was in Oxford for a week last summer with her Grandma. We spent the day there on a private tour when we picked them up - beautiful place - wish I had been smart enough to study there! Keep up the good times!

[Holly and Brian]

We love the KitKats and Friends!
We're loving our vicarious journeying with you! Such fun! Hope you got our communication about Cousin Mikko and Douglas in Edinborough. Let us know if you need further contact info. They would love to connect with you in whatever way works for you. Wonderful fellows!

[KitKats]

Thanks, Holly. I received and email from Mikko and replied today. We hope to hook up in Edinburgh, in a week or two, hopefully. We arrive in York tomorrow.

[Amy Seiders]

Thank you for the wonderful photos!
We will be in Oxford on September 18, 2013 - thanks for whetting my appetite!! I am loving following along via your blog entries and photos. And since I am once again in bike commuting mode here at home, am having visceral responses to your days' biking conditions posts! Thank you, thank you!!