Visit to Oxford

We tend to go to Oxford at least once a year and our favourite time to go is just after Christmas. So we did exactly that this year as well. It was the perfect opportunity to just relax, eat out and have no further plans.

In Oxford we normally stay at the Malmaison hotel right by the Oxford Castle. The building used to be a prison, which certainly gives its own interesting twist to the features. It's always good to stay there with all that friendly staff, nice bar and excellent rooms, also the location is very convenient.

A visit to the Botanic Gardens is always a must for me. Even in the winter there are many blooming plants and it's great to have a walk there on the canalside. This is the place where I normally take my most Oxford photos, so I hope that you like plants.

We also went to several of our standard pubs. Turf Tavern is a really nice one hidden away in a small alley. The pub also features in the Inspector Morse novels by Colin Dexter. Then we detected a new pub, Beerd, with excellent drinks and artisanal pizzas.

I consider shopping right after Christmas to be a bit naughty, but what else can you do when you walk into Oxford's Blackwell's bookshop with its huge offering. And guess what, Inspector Morse used to hang around here too. See his favourite hangouts here, which are quite similar to mine! 

Enjoy the photos!

 

Your VegHog

Botanic Garden Oxford

I have blogged about Oxford's Botanic Garden before (post here), and I got the chance to visit there again. This time was kind of special for me, as I have been there many times, but always in January or December. Now in late May the garden was blooming, wonderfully green and the weather was gorgeous. There were nice vegetable patches and beautiful exotic plants. That is why I thought that the garden and plant friends among you might enjoy a little photo collection from there.  

Kew Gardens – Royal Botanic Gardens in London

Earlier this month I visited the Kew Gardens during the Plantasia festival. It was my first visit there and what a great way it was to spend a relaxing Saturday afternoon. There is so much to see that it is basically impossible to see everything in one day. I made some compromises and instead of frantically walking between attractions, decided to stroll around leisurely and let the things come to me. I also decided to return here one day, maybe in the springtime. 

The gardens were still in bloom in an extraordinary way, considering that it is September. However there was also a little bit autumn in the air already, mushrooms were popping out here and there.

The area was full of spectacular glasshouses, beautiful gardens, interesting plants, huge trees, a Pagoda for great views over the gardens and London, and finally for relaxing after the walk Gin & Tonics Garden in the Secluded garden. I'm afraid the Gin & Tonics Garden was there only for the duration of the Plantasia festival, but they served some very nice botanical drinks.

Here are some photos I took there. In the morning it was quite overcast, but the sky cleared during the day and the weather became really sunny and hot.