Oxford, The City of Dreaming Spires, is famous the world over for its University and place in history. The centre of Oxford is dominated by the University colleges, the most famous being Christ Church, Trinity and Balliol (from a total of 36).
Oxford City is a bustling cosmopolitan town, with its mix of ancient and modern, there is plenty to do for all tastes. Whether it’s visiting one of the many historic buildings, colleges or museums, going out for a meal or a drink, going ice-skating, taking in a show or shopping till you drop, Oxford has it all! Some of the more popular activities for visitors to Oxford include punting on the river, watching an outdoor Shakespeare Play, taking a walking tour of the famous Oxford Colleges that form Oxford University, visits to the famous Bodleian Library, Ashmolean Museum, Natural History and Pitts Rivers Museum, Oxford Castle Tour, Open Top Bus Tour and of course Blenheim Palace in Woodstock as well as a shopping trip to the retail outlet centre in Bicester Village.
If you need a relaxing and leisurely programme Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds has a long history with some of the most beautiful historic towns and villages in the UK. It's famous for its beautiful green countryside, stunning landscapes and picturesque villages. So, there are some beautiful places to explore in your own time.
Bicester village/town
Situated only 6 miles north of Oxford. Bicester has a traceable history of over a thousand years and was recorded in the Domesday book. It is a busy market town and now home to Bicester Village – the factory designer outlet shopping village, housing famous names such as Burberry, Diesel, Donna Karan, Elle, Fat Face, Fred Perry, Helly Hansen, Jaeger, Karen Millen, Lacoste, Max Mara, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ted Baker, Tommy Hilfiger Denim and Versace – to name but a few!
Woodstock
8 miles North of Oxford and only 5 miles from Islip, is often visited for two reasons; Blenheim Palace and Sir Winston Churchill's grave in nearby Bladon. But Woodstock has much more to offer.
Before the Norman Conquest, when the Wychwood Forest stretched from the Cotswolds to London, English Kings had lodges in Woodstock – ‘a clearing in the woods' giving a possible derivation of its name. King Alfred is reputed to have stayed at Woodstock in 890. Ethelred the Unready held a council in the town suggesting its size had grown fit to accommodate a king. In 1279, Henry II established a market and by the 13th century it had grown to the status of a Borough.