Dreaming Spires and a botanic garden. A day in Oxford

A walk around Oxford, city of dreaming spires, photographing some of the most iconic buildings, walking down quiet lanes (well, one quiet lane, at least), into a botanic garden, and then into Magdalen College by the river Cherwell.

We will start on Castle Street, from outside Westgate shopping centre and walk into the city. (Westgate is on the bus route 300 from the Redbridge Park and Ride, allow 25 minutes for the wait for the bus and the journey; and about 10 minutes walk from the station). After walking along Queen Street through the main shopping area to Carfax Tower, we will go first past the Oxford Covered Market to the area around the Sheldonian theatre, the Bodleian library and the Bridge of Sighs on New College Lane, where there is lots of interest to photograph. We'll pause for a while to allow time to go into the Sheldonian theatre (including a climb up to the cupola if it is open) for those who wish to do so before we move on.
Only a little of the Bodleian library can be seen without a guided tour, so we will have to miss out most of the interior.
Next we walk past "Teddy Hall" (St Edmund Hall college) to the Oxford Botanic Gardens, with a walled garden, a less formal garden and glasshouses. After visiting the gardens we cross the road to Magdalen College with its picturesque buildings.
We can then return via Christchurch Meadow if time allows, which gives views from the outside the building and the famous Tom Tower.

I imagine that all the pubs and cafes in Oxford will be very busy on a September Saturday. There is a popup coffee shop in the botanic gardens, but that is limited to coffee, tea and a few cakes. Our best bet for refreshments will probably be to look for a local sandwich shop on the way to the gardens.

Cost is £5 meetup fee, Sheldonian Theatre £8 / £7.20, Botanic Gardens and Magdalen (joint ticket) £15 / £13. If we were only to get time for one of these, separate tickets are available, or the unused part of a joint ticket remains valid for a year.

Comfortable shoes are recommended as it will be quite a lot of walking on hard pavements, and dress for the weather as we'll be outside quite a lot.

We might need to split up to enter the buildings to avoid restrictions on groups; this shouldn't be a problem as we won't be going round together in one big group anyway.

Bring whatever camera you have - a phone or compact camera can take great pictures. And don't forget to share your pictures on the site afterwards.