Travellers from Oxford heading to the Big Smoke:
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| Olympus mju-1; HP5+ on Kentmere graded paper These days the High Street is off-limits to normal cars during the day but that doesn't mean it's a pedestrian's (or cyclist's) haven. Far from it - taxis, buses, coaches and emergency services all have access, so it remains a busy street, albeit one with a lot less pollution as the City Council move towards zero-emission streets. |
I like the reflection above the door of the bus, showing some fancy stonework on the building opposite. I think we were just beside All Saints Church on the High Street, as we made our way towards Cowley Road for something to eat. Cowley Rd lies just past Magdalene College and bridge (the College is just visible in the distance at the end of the High Street). I guess you could say Cowley Road marks the start of the 'real Oxford' - where ordinary folk live and eat. There are lots of interesting places at which to dine - we had an excellent Indian that evening. Next door was a fruit and veg shop. Not that I recognised most of the produce on offer - certainly not what we are used to here in Northern Ireland. Pity, really.
Cowley is synonymous with the car industry - Morris Oxford and Morris Cowley were two very popular cars - the Cowley was the name given to various cars in production from the around 1915 through to the '50s and I suspect most families had a Morris at one time or another back then. Today it's the location of the BMW Mini plant which was just across the road from where our hotel was. You quite often see Mini Plant coaches around the city as they bus workers to and from the factory.
