Our day starts with a visit to Oxford that has been a city of education since the 12th century. It’s origins are deeply rooted in church traditions where young men were taught for a career in the clergy. Today students come from a variety of different backgrounds from all over the world to be educated here. Our visit involves walking through the honey coloured colleges that make up Oxford University and visiting Christ church college founded by Cardinal Wolsey in 1525 and originally known as Cardinals College. Christ Church has produced 16 British Prime Ministers since 1762. Lewis Carroll alias Charles Dodson created ‘Alice’s adventure’s in wonderland’, and ‘through the looking glass’ for the deans daughter Alice Liddell. The great dining hall where the students dine together is instantly recognisable from J.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter stories- filming took place here during the making of those films.
We continue our tour through the Cotswolds. Small town England of small pretty villages with thatched roofs, and Cotswold stone buildings, stopping for lunch at a traditional English country pub. Before heading off to Stratford Upon Avon and the birthplace of William Shakespeare a market town that has strong traditions with sheep farming. Stratford grew in prosperity throughout the middle ages but its best known for William Shakespeare. Born in 1564 and lived the early part of his life in Stratford before coming to London and returning in the latter part of his life. His work appealed to all classes of society and continue to be very popular nearly 400 years after his death.
