Week 12: Oxford to Wroxton Heath — A Crooked Trail or Two

So how has this week been?

Well, it rained ash off and on all week long. We seemed to get a brief respite for Christi’s birthday on Tuesday, but the smoke continues. So this virtual run from Land’s End to John O’Groats continues to happen as a virtual row in my garage.

But there has been some good news. Despite the heavy smoke and ash we’ve experienced here in town, the firefighters working on the Cameron Peak Fire made some good progress this week. The fire maps on the daily updates are showing increasing black “containment” lines, showing more and more parts of the fire’s perimeter where the firefighters are more confident that they can prevent the fire’s expansion. As I write today, the fire stands at 126,251 acres and 42% contained, with 937 people working on it.

It’s good the weather was more cooperative this weekend that allowed the firefighters to make some progress, as there is a Red Flag Warning going into effect at 9:00 pm tonight through Monday evening, with 30-35 mph winds predicted and gusts up to 40-50 mph and low relative humidity as well… so the next few days will be a challenge. But we are both hopeful and grateful.

Firefighters working today on finding and eliminating hotspots on one of the fire’s edges. (Photo taken by an information officer for the Northwest Incident Management Team, posted to the Cameron Peak Fire Facebook page)

In the hope that the trend toward increasing containment continues, let’s get back to Great Britain…

Shaun Evans as Endeavour Morse, Oxford crime-fighter

We begin this week’s route in Oxford, and of course anyone could spend a lifetime writing about this hub of education and exploration. Having embarked on its educational mission around 1096, the University of Oxford is the oldest continually-operating university in the English-speaking world, and the second-oldest (after the University of Bologna) in the world overall. And whether you’ve been to England or not, chances are, you’re more familiar with Oxford University than you realize.

Fans of ITV/PBS’s “Endeavour” or the related “Inspector Morse”/ “Inspector Lewis” shows are often guided around the campus and the City of Oxford as Morse solves crimes. And Harry Potter fans have seen quite a bit of Oxford as they’ve followed Harry, Ron and Hermione around Hogwarts:

I’m not sure where to even begin when it comes to visiting Oxford, so I’ll focus on the beating heart of Oxford University’s campus: the Bodleian Library. So many of its reading rooms are architectural masterpieces in addition to sheltering some of the rarest manuscripts and largest collections of books in the world. From the Ashmole Bestiary to Shelley’s papers to the Codex Mendoza and even a Gutenberg Bible… the Bodleian has it all. Even if you read one book per day, it would take more than 600 lifetimes to read all the books in the collection!

Duke Humfrey’s Library at the Bodleian Library, Oxford

Like any old and revered institution, the Bodleian has traditions all its own. As one example, when you join the Bodleian as a reader, you must swear an oath (in your own native language) never to set it on fire. And because Oxford attracts people from all around the world, Thomas Bodley’s oath has been translated into more than 100 languages!

And as another deterrent to ne’er-do-wells, recently a stone entryway originally constructed in the 17th century as a gate into Ascott Park was relocated into the Weston Library. It reads:

Si bonus es intres,

si nequam ne quaquam.

If you are good, enter. If wicked, by no means.

In other words: Don’t mess with the library!

Heading north from Oxford, we pass through some beautiful countryside of farmland and rolling green hills.

Just west of our route as we go through Banbury sits Broughton Castle, a fortified house near the intersection of three streams, complete with a moat and a large gatehouse. A home was built on the site around 1300 by Sir John de Broughton, and over the years the building was fortified and expanded. Though the castle was actively used and maintained throughout the next 350 years, Broughton was a center of opposition to Charles I during the Civil War, and the castle was besieged and damaged after the Battle of Edgehill in 1642. After that battle, it fell into disrepair and deteriorated for centuries.

Although many people might think, while touring beautiful historic homes, “Wow, wouldn’t it be amazing to own a castle like this?!” the story of Broughton helps illustrate just what a challenge historic stewardship can be. In a recent blog post to celebrate the hundredth birthday of Nat Fiennes, 21st Lord Saye & Sele, Broughton’s current owner, Historic Houses of the UK described how much work he has undertaken to restore the castle:

Nat, whose family have owned Broughton Castle since the fourteenth century, has often been cited as an exemplary owner of an historic house. His great personal effort to restore and maintain it, his role in the community, preparedness to share the house for local charitable purposes, and the opening of it to the public…makes it a particularly special place. His generosity, warmth and friendliness to the community is legendary.

When Nat’s father inherited the house in 1948, there was water coming through the roof – and there was no money. Nat inherited in 1968 and, while there was an 1,800 acre estate, there was little extra money other than his income as a Chartered Surveyor. The stone was crumbling, the windows’ leadwork had wasted, and Deathwatch Beetle was devouring the beams. In the early 1980s he started on a £1m programme of restoration with the help of a grant from the (then) Historic Buildings Council. For twelve years, successive parts of the castle were shrouded in scaffolding. Notwithstanding this, he was able to build up visitor numbers to twenty thousand a year and have the castle used on several occasions as a film location.

Land and property ownership is an immense privilege, of course. But at the same time, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate that properties like these don’t restore themselves! We all benefit when property owners take the time and effort to care for them and preserve them for the future.

Photo of thatched cottages in Wroxton by Sirpete (check out his other photos at his site)

We end the route this week in a lovely village of thatched buildings, called Wroxton.

Breathing a sigh of relief for having made it through another week, I wish you all happy trails!

Fancy a pint?

Unlike the Naylor brothers, who pledged to “abstain from all intoxicating drink” during their 1871 walk on this route, I’m not at all opposed to popping into interesting-looking pubs along the way. Here are a few along this stretch of the journey.

First, a tip of the hat to fellow members of Atlas Obscura, who brought these very interesting and historic Oxford pubs - and their traditions - to my attention.

One of Oxford’s oldest pubs, dating back to 1242, is the Bear Inn. And while it may look like any other cozy pub from the street, inside is a truly unique sight: a collection of more than 4,500 snipped neckties from around the world.

In the 1950s, proprietor Alan Course started clipping the neckties of patrons in exchange for half a pint of beer. Originally pinned to the walls, the ties were later displayed in glass cases on the walls and ceilings. To qualify for the deal, each tie had to come from a particular club, team, school, or branch of the military or police from around the world.

Since each piece comes with a label that includes its origin and owner’s signature, visitors can peruse the thousands of patterns and colors, including ties from Princeton University in New Jersey, the New Tredegar Rugby Football Club in Wales, and of course many varied Oxford University clubs.

Fair warning before you don a tie with your own university’s colors with a plan to exchange: sadly, the tradition is no longer practiced.

Another historic Oxford pub, the Eagle and Child, is better known for some of its past patrons than for its traditions. In the 1930s, a group of professors and writers known as the Inklings met regularly in various locations around Oxford, and one frequent haunt was the back room at the pub they referred to as “The Bird ‘n’ Baby.”

Members included C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and other imaginative types.

The Perch Freehouse, just north of Oxford

As we leave Oxford, just north of town sits the Perch Freehouse, a pub dating back more than 800 years. And throughout those centuries, the Perch has nurtured creative people who’ve passed through Oxford: authors, musicians, and actors.

Lewis Carroll was apparently a frequent visitor, and it is claimed that he gave one of the first-ever public readings of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at the Perch.

Sustenance for the Hungry Vegan

As the proprietors explain on their website, Oxford’s Happy Friday Kitchen is a “plant-based comfort food restaurant” inspired by vegan restaurants in California. Their 2017 road trip from Joshua Tree National Park to San Francisco inspired them to “make vegan comfort food accessible” as well as to “make every day feel like a Friday.” They believe “Friday is a state of mind, and you shouldn't have to wait until the weekend to treat yourself.” Amen to that!

In Banbury, Tom’s Diner is a 100% plant-based cafe housed within the Banbury Museum.

Chef Lucy Pearson had a first career as a teacher, then as a school manager, before retraining as a vegan chef three years ago. She also helped coordinate the cafe of the Pod in Coventry, which she describes as “an incredible melding of food and social activism.”

Lucy describes Tom’s Diner as “a business for good” where “suppliers are carefully chosen, either social enterprises such as New Ground Coffee (a small-batch roaster that allows ex-offenders to gain work experience) charitable organizations such as Frank Water (offering clean water aroundt he world, and water conservation education to all) or B Corp businesses who offer a new way of working in which business is a force for good.”

Sounds like an endeavor worth supporting!

The Coconut Tree was launched in 2016 by a group of friends wanting to share fresh, delicious Sri Lankan food with the U.K. While the menu does include some meat dishes, most items on the menu are vegan, and all are made with fresh, locally-sourced vegetables.

I love that one of the founders’ goals was to make their food accessible to as many people as possible, so while images of their dishes wouldn’t look out of place in a food & wine magazine, the food is very affordable. To make it easier for young families to dine here, kids under 10 can eat here for free.