After a quick bus ride from London Heathrow, my first 24 hours on English soil were spent in Oxford. The Air B&B that I booked was so charming! The window was open when I arrived (thanks to the lovely 65-degree sunny weather) and overlooked a very sweet garden. My host had white laundry drying at the bottom of the garden, which somehow made it even more charming. I arrived around 2:00 pm (which felt like 7:00 pm because of the time difference, after not having slept on the plane the night before). Though I would have been happy to curl up and take a nap right then, to fight off the jetlag, I opted to walk around to wake up a bit and instead went to bed "early". No jetlag problems this trip!
The open window was to my room.
As I began to walk around, what most excited me were the architecture and the flowers. This is what normally catches my attention even in the states, but here, the architecture was even older, and the flowers were particularly beautiful. Some of the interesting architectural buildings included the Radcliffe Camera, the Ashmolean Museum, the Bridge of Sighs, and numerous pubs and churches.
I walked until I reached the birthplace of Dorothy Sayers. Directly across from her house was a beautiful old stone wall with wildflowers growing in it, and from the upper windows, I'm sure there were views of spires beyond.
Dorothy Sayer's door and the view from it
At this point, I was really tired. I walked back to by Air B&B to rest a little. When I went back out, I took my journal with me and planned to go the Lamb & Flag pub where the Inklings sometimes met. This pub is across from the Eagle & Child (which is currently closed for renovations). On my way, I heard a beautiful chorus of tolling bells and remembered it was Sunday. I was walking by St. Giles church at 6:30, right as they were starting Evensong, so I joined the service. It always amazes me that the Book of Common Prayer and the passages of Scripture read in an Anglican church are preset for the year, and yet they always seem to be the right ones I need to hear.
When the service ended, I continued my walk to the Lamb & Flag. I would really have preferred to order a light dinner but found out they only served drinks and light bar snacks. I went straight to a table, tucked in a small room with Lewis' and Tolkien's portraits on the wall. I journaled for a while and wondered what on earth I could order that was nonalcoholic and wouldn't have caffeine in it. I finally remembered I could ask for a club soda and sheepishly went up to the bar to ask for one. They very kindly put up with my nonsense and got me a club soda with lime and a pretzel to snack on while I finished journaling.
I also noticed this just a few doors down from the Eagle and the Child pub, a large door with the doorknob directly in the middle. It immediately made me think of the hobbit doors, which had always seemed nonsensical to me. I actually saw quite a number of these kinds of doorknobs during my time in England, but I never found out if they are functional or merely decorative.
The next morning, my host offered breakfast to me and an English couple staying with her. It was such a lovely spread on blue and white glazed earthenware pottery, with tea, of course. After we had eaten and chatted together, I had half a day to continue adventuring before my train departed for Stroud.
Oxford University (founded in 1096 and the oldest English-speaking university in continuous operation) is made up of 43 colleges. I purchased a ticket to go into Magdalen College, where Lewis taught. Oscar Wilde and Seamus Heaney studied there at different times. The college has very lovely architecture. It made me laugh that their medieval hall is still used as a dining hall today.
I also had time to enjoy a leisurely stroll around Addison's Walk. Lewis' faith was significantly shaped by a conversation he had with Tolkien and another Christian friend along this walk. He wrote a short, powerful poem mentioning Addison's Walk, which is engraved on one of the walls. A good article about the significance of the walk to Lewis is here.
What the Bird Said Early in the Year
by C.S. Lewis
I heard in Addison's Walk a bird sing clear:
This year the summer will come true. This year. This year.
Winds will not strip the blossom from the apple trees
This year, nor want of rain destroy the peas.
This year time's nature will no more defeat you,
Nor all the promised moments in their passing cheat you.
This time they will not lead you round and back
To Autumn, one year older, by the well-worn track.
This year, this year, as all these flowers foretell,
We shall escape the circle and undo the spell.
Often deceived, yet open once again your heart,
Quick, quick, quick, quick!—the gates are drawn apart.
After leaving the college, I went across the street to the Oxford University Botanical Gardens, where many authors would have found refreshment and inspiration, including Oscar Wilde, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Lewis Carrol.
Haha!
Oxford was a sweet time, whetting my appetite for the days to come!
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