My visit this week was rather unconventional. I did not visit one specific place, but instead used a guidebook to take me on a walk through Oxford. My goal for this project was to become the average visitor to Oxford, so I wandered around town and picked up a guidebook from the most obvious bookshop: Blackwell’s on Broad Street. The book I used was Insight Guides, Great Breaks: Oxford (APA Publications). I picked it because at first glance it had a lot of pictures, clear maps, and concise, entertaining, and informative writing. Like most guidebooks, Great Breaks: Oxford begins with a section titled “Oxford’s Top 10,” followed by a brief history of the Oxford and an overview of the city’s food and drink. The remainder of the book consists of twelve walking tours and excursions, most of which take about two hours long in order to fully appreciate their content.
In keeping with the book’s main theme: the dichotomy between “town and gown,” in other words, the city and the university, I went on tour three, aptly entitled: “Where Town Meets Gown.” Main visits on the tour are: Martyrs’ Memorial, Trinity College, Broad Street, the Covered Market, Cornmarket Street, and Carfax Tower. My aim when I started the tour was to approach my experience with fresh eyes, as the average student visiting Oxford would. (I say student because I could not afford to visit any place that required extra money.) Also, in conducting this tour I wanted better insight into the similarities and differences between the visitor’s Oxford, and my Oxford (the student who lives here, but has only lived here for three months, and doesn’t actually live in an Oxford college). Whether or not I actually had a visitor’s experience, I do not know, but I did find that while the guidebook’s tour took me to classical Oxford hotspots, it did not give an entirely accurate portrayal of the intersection between university and city life.
The first stop on the tour was Martyrs’ Memorial to Bishops Latimer, Ridley, and Cranmer, victims of Queen Mary’s purge of Protestants in England. Although I had seen this tower every week on the walk to and from my tutorial, I never really noticed it. While I appreciate my newfound understanding for what the tower is, I do not think it is a relevant part of everyday life in Oxford, and I think it would be better included in a “historical monuments” tour than a “Where Town Meets Gown” Tour. In contrast, the next stop, Broad Street, is a relevant part of the Oxford city and student lifestyle. Blackwell’s is a worthwhile stop, as we students buy many of our books there (on the rare occasion that we actually buy books, instead of going to the library). Also, I can understand the inclusion of the various colleges on Broad Street in the tour, however, the restricted access to each college caused me to only peek into the doorway by the porter’s lodges, rather than actually getting a sense for the colleges and the college lifestyle. The only thing I thought was missing from this part of the tour was mention of Hassan’s, the kebab van that calls Broad Street home between 7pm and 4am every night. No accurate story of the Oxford lifestyle is complete without mentioning the midnight kebab snacks that are necessary to our survival.
The next portion of the tour, including the Covered Market, Cornmarket Street, and Carfax Tower, was more about city life than student life. The Covered Market is certainly a frequented part of Oxford city center, however, I do not think it deserves as much praise as the guidebook gives it. The guidebook calls it a part of Oxford that is not to be missed, but honestly, if someone were here for a few hours, I would definitely say go to Christ Church meadows over the Covered Market. Also, when talking about the Oxford lifestyle, a truly valued marketplace would more accurately be Tesco’s than the Covered Market. That said, there are some fun places to visit in the Covered Market, and I can certainly understand its touristy appeal. Next, Cornmarket Street is physically and symbolically a central part of Oxford, and it is worth seeing, if only for the entertainment value of its massive crowds. I was pleased that the guidebook included it on the tour, because the commerce that takes place on Cornmarket is central to Oxford life. Case and point: while I was on my tour I stopped by Boots to pick up shampoo. Finally, Carfax tower was the last stop on my tour. (The book actually recommends that people walk all the way back up Cornmarket, and back to the starting point at Martyrs’ Memorial, but that seemed like a pointless exercise.) Carfax tower is a landmark worth knowing for logistical purposes, however, other than that it is not really relevant to the subject of the tour (“Where Town Meets Gown”). It has little to do with “Town” or “Gown.” At the same time, it is well located for the tour and I can understand why it was included from a tourist’s perspective.
On the whole, tour three of the Great Breaks: Oxford guidebook approached the city, appropriately, from a touristy perspective. Although the book clearly attempts to show an accurate portrayal of Oxford life, and succeeds in doing so to a certain extent, it seems that the only way to truly understand the city is to live here. After living here for three months, I feel as though I am only just beginning to understand the Oxford lifestyle, so it seems improbable that a visitor could have a truly Oxfordian experience. Therefore, I give kudos to Great Breaks: Oxford for giving a bold effort and relatively-accurate-from-a-tourist’s-perspective description of Oxford life on its “Where Town Meets Gown” tour.
No comments:
Post a Comment