A short stop-over in Oxford to celebrate Rach’s birthday exploring the history filled buildings and relaxing punt along the river.

Getting up before sunrise allowed us to take the short 10 minutes walk into town while it was still devoid of tourists and enjoy the early morning rays slowly illuminate the Cotswold stone of the buildings.

The two nights at the Old Parsonage Hotel was a lovely experience. It was a short walk into town and had a lovely restaurant for the evening.

Explore the University Colleges: each college has its own history, charms and style. We visited New College (still over 600 years old!) which had lovely gardens, a tree made famous by Harry Potter (seen through the window below) and a stunning chapel.

A crab lunch in the conservatory at Gee’s restaurant was a great half way break.

We relaxed for an hour whilst being punted up the river to see another side to Oxford. Don’t do it yourself – much more fun to be chauffeured!

Make sure you chat to your punter – ours gave us lots of advice about where to explore around Oxford!