SPRING DAY-OUT TO OXFORD

A lovely start to the day with glorious sunshine.

The usual pick-ups at BAWA and Downend then the decision to take a more picturesque route to our destination with a comfort stop en-route.

We arrived at Oxford at the pre-arranged time of 11:00 AM where we were met at the Martyrs Monument by our guides for the walking tour of Oxford. We split into two groups and then proceeded on a 2 hour tour of Oxford, concentrating on the University complex. We entered the precincts of Balliol College and were shown around the various buildings. Our guide was extremely well informed and made the tour very interesting. The guided tour ended at approximately 1:00 pm which left us with a couple of hours to get some lunch and for some …shopping.

We departed Oxford at exactly 3:15 PM and headed for Friars Court at a place called Clanfield where an excellent cream tea awaited us and for me a most welcome cup of tea.

Clanfield is a very pretty area. The owner of Friars Court informed us that Clanfield got its name because someone left out the ‘e’.

Apparently the place should have been called Cleanfield because it was the first field in the area where no stones could be found in the field. 2 miles down the road the situation changes and stone walls etc are all over the place.

Friars Court is a private house and farm. There have been buildings on the site since 1149 when the Monastic Knights of St John founded their first Hospitallery in Oxfordshire. The Wilmer family have continued the tradition of hospitality. The farm is very eco-friendly. One of their main crops is willow and this crop is harvested on a three year cycle and the product is used as fuel by the local power station.

The cream tea was excellent with all the elements produced on the farm; the scones cream and lovely strawberry jam. You could eat as much as you wanted…very, very tempting.

After tea we had a walk around the yard and the farm shop where some availed themselves of farm produce etc: then back on the coach and a gentle return to Bristol at a very reasonable hour.

As usual, our thanks to David and Janet for all their hard work.

Bill Brand

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