The first episode of Series 5 of Endeavour, the British detective drama prequel to the long-running Inspector Morse series, is airing this evening on ITV in England. Then what exactly am I doing sitting in my house in Canada? Grrrr!!!!

No word yet on when Series 5 will be available in North America, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled. Meanwhile, I can watch the Series 1-4 discs over again (which I will, no doubt) and I can look at the snaps we took of our visit to Oxford a few years ago.

Traffic getting into the city is always a challenge, so you park where you can and head everywhere on foot or by bike.

There are bikes chained up everywhere around the University, and indeed, Oxford is known as one of the true “bike friendly” cities in England, according to the Oxford University College Website.  No one seems to bother with them

Oxford is probably best known for its University, which rivals Cambridge in fame and list of distinguished alumni, which include Harper Lee, John LeCarré, and Dorothy L. Sayers. for the literary-minded (especially mystery novels)!

Apparently the education in Oxford covers many topics, as The Famous Turf Tavern sign attests.

We stopped for a pint, ourselves, at some point in our travels.

St. Helen’s Passage is quite near the bridge that looks very much like the Bridge of Sighs in Venice.

If you’ve ever seen any aerial photos of Oxford, you’ll notice how the University dominates the city, with its beautiful warm coloured stone buildings.

One of several lovely outdoor spots to enjoy a coffee.

We were enchanted with the famous Radcliffe Camera, built between 1737 and 1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library, and now used as library reading rooms.  We attempted to see the inside, but found that tours had to be pre-arranged. So we contented ourselves with viewing the outside. It was a glorious sunny day.

 

The University Church of St Mary the Virgin is another famous site. You can see the tower and part of the church proper in the background here.

We were able to get inside the church. It was incredible light and airy.

And once again I was reminded of the price paid by so many people during the religious disputes. It was a grim reminder.

Back outside, we continued our tour around the picturesque streets.

On the way back to the car we were once again captivated by the beauty of the gardens and buildings.

The houses on the residential streets are just charming.

And imposing!

Oxford is a very friendly city, and we very much enjoyed our day there. We just scratched the surface of things to see; the list is long and includes museums, gardens, walks along the river, a covered market, towers for aerial views, several other churches and perhaps we can get inside the Bodleain Library. Definitely worth a trip back.

We’ve yet to visit Cambridge properly, but it’s on my list.  We’ve gone into Cambridge several times to dine or shop, but it’s always been bucketing with rain, and touring for pictures has been problematic. Fingers crossed that the weather cooperates next time.

I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.