Kristi

I'm heading to London in a couple of weeks and one of the daytrips we are contemplating is Oxford. My friend who is traveling with me is limited in how much she can walk so I was looking into the Hop on Hop Off buses but in January they only run until 3:45 and since we would likely not get into Oxford until 11:30 at the earliest, I'm not sure I want to pay L10.50 each for it.

Are there public bus routes that cover a lot of the same ground? Or is most of what people visit within a reasonable walking distance of the train station?

I've never done a HoHo bus, is there more value to it than just transport between places? Is there commentary if we just stayed on the bus for the whole route?

Last but not least, are there any discounts out there for the HoHo bus?

Thanks!

janisj

Oxford really isn't the best place to explore if one can't walk far. It really is a walking city. Unfortunately, the train station is not close to most sites. A better option would be to take a coach (either the Oxford Tube or another bus) from London to Oxford. It would be cheaper, almost as fast, and the bus station is more in the center of the city.

If your friend can't walk far, I personally would take a coach, arrive in Oxford earlier in the a.m. and use the H-o-H-o bus. But also realize the tour bus sort of skirts around the very center of things since buses don't run on the small lanes of central Oxford.

But if she can walk some - then the H-o-H-o plus walking through the very center would probably be your best bet.

flanneruk

Oxford is probably the worst place on earth for HoHo buses.

The city has areas of great charm. Most of these are inaccessible to traffic - including buses. The city also has some of the most hideous academic buildings in the serious world. These - together with a smattering of late Victrian idiosyncracy - are easily accessible to HoHo buses, and so that's what the HoHo buses take you to. You might as well be in some state university in Nebraska, only the Nebraska place wouldn't be as ugly.

The historic centre is about half a mile from the railway station. It was all developed in an era when walking was the only option.

Sadly, the city seems to have taken the .pdf self-guided walking tour down from its website, though the map at www.visitoxford.org/map.asp should get you started, and googling will get you lots of people with more of a sense of public spirit than the hapless moneygrubbers Oxford ratepayers have running their council these days.

Pete Reed at http://home.clara.net/reedhome/oxford/ is such person, but there really are lots more.

janisj

flanner is probably right - That is what I meant by "the tour bus sort of skirts around the very center of things since buses don't run on the small lanes of central Oxford."

That is really the truth of the matter - the buses (public and tour) just don't go where the best places are. So - just HOW far can your friend walk??

If she is quite limited, you may be better off staying in London, or picking a different day trip.

flanneruk

This early in the morning, I hadn't noticed the "limited walking" bit. So a couple of options, depending on your definition of limited:

- do as janisj says and get the bus from London, getting off at Queen's Lane (look for Queen's College on the downloadable map)
- Get in touch with Oxon Carts (www.oxoncarts.com): rickshaws can get you practically everywhere. But if you want to use them, it's almost impossible to get a bus into Oxford, since traffic congestion makes arrival times unpredictable.
- hire a shopmobility electric wheelchair. www.oxfordcity.co.uk/info/disability.html. Although cobblestones make them uncomfortable in places, they'll get you almost everywhere.

sashh

OK I'm going to disagree

I have very limited walking but I love Oxford.

Personally I can only walk short distances before needing a rest and in Oxford there are loads of pubs, cafes etc. The centre is compact and flat - for me this makes it accessible, for your friend it depends HOW she is limited in walking. Does she need to rest and then continue? Or can she only do a short walk and that is it for the day?

The only difficulty I have is with getting from the train station to the centre - i get a cab to the centre and that takes 1 - 2 mins. If I was travelling from London I'd probably do as suggested and get one of the buses.

You and your friend could take a rickshaw - they can go down the narrow streets http://www.oxoncarts.com/services.html

Personally I think Oxford is worth the trip and if I was your companion I would be happy to settle myself in a cafe for an hour or so if you wanted to explore on your own.

Kristi

Thanks so much for the replies! You've given me quite a few things to think about. I will definitely look into taking a bus into Oxford, for some reason I had thought the bus and train station were next to one another.

Right now I can actually get the train cheaper (L8 return, L15 return for the Oxford bus ) but the times for that price are very limited. I assume the buses do not work on a reservation system so we have a lot more options as to time and can get there earlier in the day and go home when she gets tired, I think it's an excellent option for us.

I'll keep the HoHo bus as a side thought, it sounds like there is not much benefit to it, I thought perhaps if my friend was too tired to walk that we could use it to see some of the city.

Somedays she can walk quite long distances and some days she needs to rest a bit more so I was trying to cover both scenarios. She has specifically chosen Oxford as a place she wants to go so I am trying to accomodate that.

One more question, if we find that we do need to take a rest, can you recommend a spot for a casual lunch or afternoon tea towards the center? Sandwiches or pizza, something light. No fish and chips unfortunately, my friend is not a fan of fish.

flanneruk

Two places I loathe, since they specialise in girls' food. But people who like that sort of thing, like these two:

- The coffee shop in St Mary the Virgin (www.university-church.ox.ac.uk/info/vaults.htm), which is absolutely as central (and, in fairness, picturesque) as you can get
- the Alpha Bar in the market, run by the same rabbit-food freak.

janisj

The two places flanner mentions are about as central as one can get. The covered market and St Mary's are very near each other.

But you can also stop other places to sit and relax a bit. There are lots of pubs that are good for a short sit-down. And you don't need to drink alcohol if you don't want. They also serve soft drinks, fruit juice, coffee, etc.

Kristi

Ha ha, I had to laugh at your "girls' food" reference! It reminded me of the slogan on the Yorkie bar "It's Not for Girls".

I'm probably the last person that anyone would recommend "Girl food" to, I'd much rather find a good place for fish and chips or kebabs, the sacrifices we make for our friends ;-) But I think it will do fine for our purposes, a place to sit down if need be and grab a snack. Thanks!