Dreaming Spires

I've had the most brilliant day in Oxford! I can't believe my luck with the weather - it's been glorious all day. I've taken way to many photos! I started with a Full English then went straight down to the Botanic Garden, which was a good call as I had it virtually to myself, except for a squirrel or two, some long tailed tits, blackbirds, robins, wrens, goldfinches and blue tits - I even heard a nuthatch and saw a red kite overhead. The snowdrops were magnificent, and there were some early flower eras like winter jasmine, winter cherry and witch hazel in flower. After that I found a nice teas shop, and then had a wander round some of the University Buildings. They looked wonderful in the bright sunlight, but the shadows and brightness made it hard to get good photos. But I managed this one of All Souls College, poking my camera through the magnificent gates. As I was doing so, I had the benefit of an interesting commentary from a young women who was guiding a small group around. All Souls has no undergraduates, only fellows, which include some of the most brilliant minds. They also have a strange tradition called Hunting the Mallard which occurs every hundred years http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1314859/Mallard-leads-Oxford-fellows-a-merry-dance.html
After this, I needed a sit down, so I had a little bus pass mini - adventure, taking a bus to Woodstock and back. Another wander on my return, a nice meal, then a return to my B&B for a relaxing evening prior to the next leg of my journey tomorrow.