Day 14: Oxford and C.S. Lewis' House

Today we visited the town of Oxford, England. It is quite accessible, at only 1 hour by train from London. Obviously, the most famous aspect of Oxford is its university known by the same name.  Famous people associated with Oxford include C.S. Lewis, who attended there, and Lewis Carroll, who taught there. Our train ride to the town was uneventful enough, and we walked from he station to visit Christ Church, the cathedral that is the center of campus life. It was like a mini Westminster abbey, with its vaulted ceilings, beautiful stained glass and underground vaults. It also has a choir and pipe organ beautifully situated in the back of the church. 

We were also allowed in to see the great hall where the prefects are served meals. It was an inspiration for the Great Hall used in Harry Potter, and is hung with portraits of the famous teachers and people that attended the school.  Photography was allowed almost everywhere we went today, so I should have plenty of pictures to post soon.

We spied a bookshop near our lunch destination, and stopped in to browse around while we waited for the pub to open. It was the best book store we have found thus far in all our travels, for these reasons:


1. They had numerous old copies of one of my favorite author's books (Charles  Dickens.)
2. Said books were extremely inexpensive. I got a copy of A Child's History of England with a section of numerous short Christmas stories in the back for £2.40. That kind of pricing is unheard of! Especially for the 1920 copy I chose. 
3. The staff was both friendly and knowledgeable. A rarity, for sure. It seems that you can either get one or thee other these days.
4. They sold Chocolates. 
'nuff said.
These four reasons fit into my criteria for best book shop. 

Once we were loaded with two of the most divine substances know to man (books and chocolate,) we located the Eagle and Child, the notable pub famous for meetings between C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkein. Forming a group of writers known as the "inklings," they would meet on Tuesday mornings to discuss their latest writing sand read works aloud. It is said that Lewis read the first few chapters of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe here. It had personality for sure, that pub did. The guy running the bar did too, and when he asked what state we were from, expressed his inability to assist those North Carolinians among us who were Duke fans. Funny that he could be privy to such knowledge. Once we assured him that our sympathies lied elsewhere, he happily took our food orders and we sat in the same room where Tolkien and Lewis held their meetings. There were little subtle touches everywhere to remind you of their influence. On the top of the beer glass cabinet sits a Gollum statue, while quotes from Lord of the Rings are written here and there on blackboards that hang on the wall. 

Next, things got a little interesting. Victoria had carefully planned out directions to go to a bridge where we could watch people "punt," which is the British version of the gondola sporting often seen in Italy. Unfortunately, we got completely and utterly lost. At one point we were walking through a semi-private looking neighborhood and ended trying to trailblaze through the town park and then crossed a stream. No, not kidding. I was dressed city slicker style with black high boots and a black dress and messenger bag, crossing a stream on a rock outcropping. Thankfully, no one was paying enough attention to notice the crazy Americans gallavanting about. But, I tell you, there is no better way to see a city than to crisscross that city in a spiderweb like manner. We got to see the "real" Oxford, with the construction guys bantering with each other as they fix a tile roof, little schoolgirls using scooters as their preferred method of transport, or the sharply dressed Oxford students walking through the park on the way to class. We never found the bridge (or, at least, our directions were faulty,) but you know what? We got to see practically the whole city from the ground level.

Our next stop was one that I had been looking forward to our entire trip. We were blessed to visit the Kilns, C.S. Lewis' home in Oxford. We got to tour the entire house and see the pond that he and his friend Tolkien would sit and muse while looking over. It was absolutely surreal to see the very spots that he would write his works and essays.

His house was restored by an American foundation that took on the responsibility of bringing the house back to its original glory after it fell into disrepair a few decades ago. ( Let's just say that a previous owner decided to remake the house into a 70's decor scheme. Then,  it became abandoned and weather-worn. All the proceeds from tours go to this foundation. I have a lot of pictures that I will try to post at a later date. I even got a picture of the worn places on the floor from where Lewis would scoot his chair up to his desk by the window. Amazing! We were also able to visit the little church where he is buried, only a 10 minute walk from his home. The lady who led our tour, Dr. Debbie Higgins, is currently working on a book called the Anglo-Saxon community in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," due out this fall. She was very knowledgeable on Lewis and his life, and even let us try some Turkish Delight while on our tour. :)

After this we caught a train and travelled back to London. Nothing worth noting happened on this particular train, other than there was an adorable baby sitting opposite me. That's always a nice way to end the day. :)