Oxfordshire is a county located in the southeast of England, the county has a number of places of interest and some very interesting sites to see. The county offers some lovely walking opportunities along the Thames path, Oxford canal, Cotswold and Chiltern hills. Oxford, the county town is just 1 hour from London by train, 1 hour 30 mins by car and home to the World famous Oxford University. Many great thinkers and World leaders have attended Oxford, these include Margeret Thatcher, Tony Abbott, Clement Attlee, Sir Roger Bannister, David Cameron and Mark Carney.
Oxford has many places of interest and the county of Oxfordshire has enough to keep any tourist occupied during their stay, below are a few popular places of interest within the county of Oxfordshire.
Botanic Gardens
Oxford University boasts the oldest botanic garden in the United Kingdom, since 1621 the garden has contained plants of scientific and medical research. The garden is 1.8 hectares in size and contains more than 8,000 different species of plants. One corner of garden contains 8 beds of plants that are of use in Cardiology (heart complaints), Oncology (cancer and cell-proliferation), Infectious Diseases (viral and parasitic), Gastreoenterology (alimentary tract and metabolism), Dermatology (skin complaints), Haematology (blood typing and disorders), Neurology (nervous system and anaesthesia), Pulmonology (lungs and airways).
Oxford Castle
Oxford Castle was built between 1071 and 1073 by the Norman baron Robert D’Oly, William I granted Robert D’Oly extensive lands in Oxfordshire and instructed him to build a castle. Most of the castle is now a ruin but it has an interesting history and even acted a prison during the 17th and 18th centuries. Oxford Castle is located on the western side of the city.
Museums
Oxford is home to many museums such as the Ashmolean, constructed in 1678–1683 the Ashmolean museum is the worlds oldest museum it was built to house the curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the university. The Oxford University Museum of Natural History displays natural history specimens from Oxford University, it adjoins Pitt Rivers Museum which displays Archaeology and Anthropology items from the university. The Pitt Rivers Museum can only be accessed via The Oxford University Museum of Natural History. In the county of Oxfordshire you will find several museums; Banbury, Charlbury, Wallingford and Thame are all Oxfordshire towns that contain a museum or two.
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace is situated in the Oxfordshire town of Woodstock, the palace is one of England’s largest houses, building of it was completed 1722 and it has a very interesting history.
Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens
Cotswold Wildlife Park has the UK’s largest privately owned zoological collection, the park is home to 260 different species of animal, it contains many popular species such as lions, penguins, meercats, wolverines and rhinos.
Shopping
If shopping is your thing you may want to visit Bicester village, an outlet shopping centre situated just outside Bicester. Bicester village houses outlet shops from many designer brands such as Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo and Armani. Bicester village is very popular with tourists, after Buckingham Palace Bicester village is claimed to be the second most popular UK destination for Chinese tourists. Tripadvisor is a good place to find sightseeing ideas and plan your trip.
This post was written and supplied on behalf of Oxfordshire Executive Chauffeurs, the company offers airport transfer and sightseeing services.