I remember being taken on a tour of Oxford as part of my post-offer visit day early in 2023. A first-year Classics student (who coincidentally was assigned as my college parent a few months later) took us through Gloucester Green, past Waterstones and Blackwells, round the RadCam, and down High Street to look out over the river Cherwell from Magdalen Bridge. My 18-year-old self was enthralled by the beauty and the sheer size of the buildings, and all I could think to ask my tour guide was how he managed to not get lost, what it was like to live in Oxford, and where I could borrow my course books. With all the uncertain knowledge of someone in their second term, he assured me that I would be just fine. He told me about the infamous ‘Tescalator’, the importance of meal deals, his favourite libraries, and the best pubs near our college. He gave me an insight into what lies beyond the normal Oxford tour organised by colleges and diluted down into historical anecdotes, notable alumni, and impressive architecture.
However, as I drafted this article, I realised that all tours are fundamentally flawed. However detailed and student-focused they may be, tours are something you experience before you know a place. They are therefore utterly incapable of expressing what it is like to love and to leave Oxford. So, as I prepare to face a fourth, far quieter year, I have decided to write my Oxford exploration as a love letter to the places which have been shaped by my favourite people.
There is no better place to start than by honouring the bond of college spouses, and therefore the first stop on our ‘Not on the tour’ tour shall be the OURFC audience stands. I firmly believe that women’s rugby at Oxford (and in general) is chronically under-watched – and I’m not just saying this as a self-proclaimed ‘ultimate college WAG’. Our women’s Blues team are incredibly talented, and although I have managed to go over two years without remembering a single rule, I enjoy attempting to re-learn them each term, huddled up in those stands every other week. There is nothing quite like screaming at the top of your lungs and hearing the entire crowd gasp as your wife tackles player after player until the game is called and she rushes off, covered in mud and blood, to hug her adoring fans (myself and our flatmates).
With the mention of my wonderful flatmates, let us now be whisked off to the other side of town, deep into the heart of Jericho. It has been our tradition since first-year Hilary to start each term with a trip to The Gardeners Arms, with its incredibly funny barmen, gorgeous fairylights, outdoor heating, and the best Baileys hot chocolates in the world. It’s the perfect place to play cards, drink, yap, and brace yourself for incoming collections and the chaos of our 8-week terms. In truth, I cannot imagine my life in Oxford without the buzz of conversation and holiday catch-ups in that outdoor seating area, or without the people who made it feel so magical in the first place.
In Trinity of my first year, I learnt the importance of expanding my Oxford experience. Although I had taken part in several extracurriculars before, it wasn’t until my third production with the Jesus College Shakespeare Project that I truly felt at home beyond Worcester. Therefore, the third stop on our tour is the Habbakuk Room at Jesus College. Exceedingly hot and with a few odd stains, it is far from being a must-see spot. And yet, I know it will be one of the places I miss most. To me, it represents the importance of finding a hobby you love, and like-minded people who make Oxford’s everyday pressures feel manageable.
One particular theatre friend of mine also added greatly to my third-year experience, thanks to our weekly walks around Port Meadow. This will likely be a spot that most students already consider fundamental to a good tour, but I still believe it deserves a mention here, along with its highlights – namely The Perch and Godstow Abbey. Through our weekly walks last term, I was able to escape the bustling city and discuss with an equally scared third year what life might be like after Oxford. Port Meadow is more than a pretty field, and yet this was not something I could sense when I walked around it obsessively in my first term.
Inevitably, though, a large percentage of my Oxford memories are linked to studying, and so stops six and seven on our tour are the two places which have continuously reminded me that I do in fact enjoy my degree: the alcoves in the Art, Archaeology and Ancient World library, and the handling room on the top floor of the Classics faculty. It has been incredibly important to me both to find a study spot that I actually enjoy being in (and can drag friends along to) and to find fun, unusual ways to engage with my degree which feel more interactive and exciting than every-day reading and essay-writing. I highly recommend all classics students to enquire about attending a handling session, and for students of other subjects, I would just advise that you ask around and find new ways to engage. Indeed, no essay has ever stood out to me quite as much as the friends I studied with, or the physical ways I have been able to interact with the ancient world.
With five terms left to go, it feels as though this send off is slightly premature, and yet this sense of liminality is inevitable for those of us who stick around long enough to see friends move on. Though this cannot yet be a full goodbye, I have at least aimed through this ‘Not on the tour’ tour to bid a tentative farewell to the specific way I have experienced Oxford thus far.
