Oxford’s a great place to visit, but it’s also a good place to base yourself if you want to explore much of England. Its location about 100km north West of London puts it close to many of the loveliest places in mid and southern England.
Here then are our picks of places to explore:
STRATFORD UPON AVON
The small market town of Stratford Upon Avon, about an hour’s drive north of Oxford (it can also be reached by train via Leamington Spa), was home to William Shakespeare, who was born in the town in 1564.
After spending time in London, where he wrote most his plays, he retired and died in the town.
Not surprisingly the town takes great pride in this fact, and showcases many Shakespeare related places including his birthplace, his school and his grave in Holy Trinity Church.
HARRY POTTER WORLD

Oxford has a strong connection to Harry Potter, and so it’s fitting that a trip to Harry Potter World is within an hour’s drive from the city.
Many of the movies’ scenes were f ilmed in and around Oxford.
Christ Church college, in particular, was used for many Hogwarts scenes and the college’s Dining Hall was the inspiration for the dining hall at the school.
Most of the movies, however, were f ilmed in a studio near Watford, just north of London.
Warner Bros made the inspired decision to turn the studios into a theme park once filming was complete, creating the insanely popular Harry Potter World.
So if you have an interest in the wizarding world, or have any budding young wizards in your party, then this is a great family day out.
It’s not cheap – tickets are around £50 a person – but well worth it.
Plus muggles are welcome too…
LONDON

For those who haven’t already ‘done’ London, Oxford’s a good place to start a day trip into the UK capital.
The main Western railway line passes through Oxford on its way to London Paddington station and direct trains take only an hour.
From Paddington you can take the London Underground (the ‘Tube’) anywhere in central London.
Oxford also has a regular bus service called the Oxford Tube (nothing to do with the underground).
It stops even closer to the centre of the city, including London Victoria which is close to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and all the other central London sights.
It takes a little longer – about 90 minutes depending on traffic – but, if you’re planning to spend time at the major tourist attractions, you’ll make that up by not having to take a tube into town.
Plus it’s cheap (£18 return).
BATH

Slightly further away, but still within an hour’s drive is the gorgeous town of Bath in Somerset.
It’s probably one of the few places that can rival Oxford for stunning architecture, most of which was built during Georgian times.
It was popular with the Victorians for its spa waters which had been an attraction too for the Romans (hence the town’s name).
Indeed one of the best places to visit are the Roman Baths, still intact 2000 later.
The town is also popular with Jane Austen fans. She lived in Bath for several years and it appears in many of her books.
COTSWOLDS
The Cotswold Hills, usually known as the Cotswolds, is one of the most popular rural areas withvisitors to England.
Its distinctive honey coloured stone produces chocolate box gorgeous cottages,often found in pretty villages nesting in the rolling hills. If you get to go, check out Castle Coombs, Burford and Bibery.
It’s probably only practical to explore the Cotswolds by car.
STONEHENGE

Stonehenge is one most famous of England’s landmarks, and also probably the oldest.
Over 4000-5000 years old, the purpose of circle of stones is still being debated by scholars today.
However what isn’t in doubt is the huge effort it must have been to transport the huge blocks 200 miles from their Welsh source to be erected in the middle of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.
The site is about an hour and a half by car from Oxford and so you may want to combine it with another trip – to Salisbury for example.
(Quiz Answers: 1. Tim Berners Lee; 2. Christopher Wren; 3. Lewis Carol; 4. Bill Clinton; 5. John Le Carre; 6. Felicity Jones; 7. Cecil Rhodes; 8. Margaret Thatcher; 9. JRR Tolkien; 10. Oscar Wilde; 11. Rupert Murdoch; 12. Adam Smith; 13. Walter Raleigh; 14. Richard Burton; 15. TS Eliot; 16. Richard Curtis; 17. TE Lawrence; 18. Edmund Halley; 19. Vikram Seth; 20. Edward Gibbon )