Oxford's Hidden Walls

 

When Alison found Priscilla Frost's guide to the old walls of Oxford, we decided to make a start on Friday. However, the rain we expected in the morning duly arrived so we first made our way to the Westgate Shopping Centre and tea at John Lewis. So it was late morning by the time we made our way to Oxford Castle for the start of the route. We actually stayed there quite a long time before heading down New Road and the first part of the walk shown in blue in the map below.

Amazingly, the first part of the route down Bulwark's Lane was closed off so we found our way down New Inn Wall Street. In the end, this was quite fortunate as it took us past the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church where some music was about to start.

It was a concert by a young lady playing violin. There were only two other people in the audience, and we could only stay for three pieces. But what we heard was great. 

Back on the route in the book, we went down St Michael's Street, Ship Street and Turl Street. However, the rain that had held off became much heavier. So we went inside Tourist Information on Broad Street to find a map that would take us to a cafe for a late lunch. Down Cornmarket Street, then the High Street, Magpie Lane, the path past Corpus Christie College and round Christ Church to come out at St Aldates. Not the most direct route but at last we found our destination, The Independent Cafe. 

It was nice to take off our wet coats, found a nice table, and enjoyed some great toasted sandwiches and tea. We had some shopping to do so found our way to Queen Street. By the time we came out of Waterstones it was starting to get dark and headed for the station and the 4.15 train. The day ended up a bit different than what we expected due to the weather. But we have our book of the hidden walls and will be back in the spring/summer to continue our exploration.