Travel: Oxford Part Two

Favourite Bookshops

I absolutely love bookshops. Even if I have no money to spend, I love walking round a bookshop looking at all the different editions, reading blurbs and looking for books I have never heard of before. I know I have so many books to read but I can’t stop myself from buying new ones!

I thought I would tell you my three favourite places to get books in Oxford and show you a few photos of them.

The Last Bookshop, New Inn Hall Street

The Last Bookshop isn't the prettiest of bookshops to visit but it is definitely the best discount bookshop I have ever been to. Every book in the shop is £3 and you can get two for £5. This has gone up from the £2 a book it used to be, but that’s still a pretty good deal. For a discount bookshop, this has an amazing range of both paperbacks and hardbacks. Their stock changes all the time and I have found some really good bargains in here before.

Arcadia, St. Michael's Street

Whenever I go back to Oxford I cannot resist going to Arcadia and seeing what they have in there. It doesn't look particularly impressive from the outside, but it has a really great selection of vintage Penguin classics, post cards, stationary, scented candles and other exciting trinkets. The people who own the shop are absolutely lovely and really helpful if there is anything in particular you want, and every time I go in there I spot something different to spend my money on! If you’re the sort of person who loves their books to be new and in pristine condition then this definitely isn't the place for you. If you’re anything like me however, and you love old beaten up vintage books as much as new ones, then you wouldn't want to miss this little gem.

Blackwell's, Broad Street

Finally, no list of bookshops in Oxford would be complete without mentioning Blackwell’s. The shop is spread over four levels and has a separate shop across the road for art books, music and posters. The star of this shop is The Norrington Room which extends underneath the quad of Trinity College and contains over three miles of bookshelves. While it’s not the cheapest of places to find your books, it is a really good place to have a browse and find some new books to add to your to-read lists. Also it has started selling more book related merchandise and stationary recently so it’s worth a look for that too.

That’s all for now! What are your favourite bookshops? Do you have any recommendations? I have a few favourites in London I might post about at a later date :)

Beth x

Travel: Oxford Part One

Dreaming Spires.

This week I went to the city of dreaming spires to see my boyfriend who is studying there, and also to explore some of my favourite spots. I lived here for three years during my time at university, so got to know central Oxford pretty well and can honestly say it is one of my favourite places. It has several lovely museums (my favourite of which is The Ashmolean, a history and archaeology museum), a really wide range of restaurants and shops, incredible architecture wherever you look and a ridiculous number of bookshops and libraries. I think one of the things I have missed most about Oxford is the ability to walk out of my front door into libraries and bookshops – yes, London has some great bookshops and libraries too, but they are always a tube journey away! 

I have broken down a few things about Oxford to keep in mind if you fancy a visit!

Favourite things about Oxford:

- Being able to see the colleges has to be my favourite thing about visiting Oxford. Most of them are beautiful architecturally, and have really interesting histories. My favourite colleges to see are Brasenose, Christ Church, Magdalen, New College and Hertford, but everyone seems to have their own favourites and disagree on which are prettiest. Also if you ask Oxford students every single one will tell you their own college is the best (college rivalries are fierce here!). The colleges are also great to explore if you are a Harry Potter fan as much of it was filmed here.
- Everything is within walking distance!

- Really easy and cheap to get to from London if you use the Oxford Tube.

- Amazing range of independent bookshops and boutiques to explore – I will be doing a separate post on my favourite bookshops so look out for that.

- A really nice selection of cocktail bars if that’s your thing. Favourites include the Duke of Cambridge, Freuds, Raouls, Angels and House Bar.

- Also an incredible range of independent coffee shops to try out if you fancy a hot drink. I love Turl Street Kitchen, The Missing Bean, Combibos, Queen’s Café and Java & Co, but there are so many more. If you’re someone who doesn’t like to drink in Starbucks or Costa but love coffee drinking, visiting Oxford would be lovely.

- I should probably stop here because I could honestly go on forever with how much I love this place!

Things to watch out for:

- Oxford is the second most expensive city in the UK, after London, so not the cheapest day out. In saying that the museums and many of the colleges are free to look around so that’s not too bad. Food and drink however are pretty pricey, particularly in some of the more touristy pubs.

- If you’re driving to Oxford, there aren’t too many places to park, the places that exist are a bit pricey and there is a really irritating one way system that goes around the whole city! Try to avoid taxis because even if you seem close to somewhere you might end up having to pay to go round all of Oxford!

- It is quite a touristy destination in the summer so some of the attractions tend to get a bit busy!  If you’re someone who doesn’t like a place to be crowded then think about what time of year you want to visit. On the other hand Oxford is beautiful in the summer as all the college quads and gardens look beautiful.

- Finally, there are some ‘attractions’ such as the Radcliffe Camera (part of the Bodleian Library) and some parts of certain colleges that you simply will not be able to go into unless you are an Oxford student. You can go and see the outside and maybe even peek in, but I have seen quite a few people tourists really disappointed in Radcliffe Square when realising they could not see inside the libraries before.

That’s all I can think of for now! If you have any questions please ask, I would be more than happy to answer. Look out for my post (with lots of pictures) on my favourite bookshops! I also have loads of nice photos I may share at some point if anyone is interested - as you might be able to tell from the photo above, my boyfriend is really into photography! :)

Beth x