Although archeologists have identified traces of Bronze and Iron Age settlements bulging from this marshy Thameside meadow, northwest of Jericho, it has remained untouched, never even ploughed, ever since. A treasure trove of rare plants, it’s still grazed by cows and horses, but it’s also hugely popular with walkers (heading perhaps for The Trout pub) and runners. In winter it gets so waterlogged that hikers have to go round the edge rather than cutting straight across.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
6.61 MILES
One of the greatest stately homes in Britain, and a Unesco World Heritage Site, Blenheim Palace is a monumental baroque fantasy, designed by Sir John…
1.19 MILES
With its compelling combination of majestic architecture, literary heritage and double identity as (parts of) Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, Christ Church…
1.03 MILES
At least five kings, dozens of prime ministers and Nobel laureates, and luminaries such as Oscar Wilde, CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien have studied in Oxford's…
0.78 MILES
Britain’s oldest public museum, Oxford’s wonderful Ashmolean Museum is surpassed only by the British Museum in London. It was established in 1683, when…
1.37 MILES
Guarding access to a breathtaking expanse of private lawns, woodlands, river walks and even its own deer park, Magdalen ('mawd-lin'), founded in 1458, is…
0.86 MILES
If exploring an enormous room full of eccentric and unexpected artefacts sounds like your idea of the perfect afternoon, welcome to the amulets-to-zithers…
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21.43 MILES
The glorious Stowe Gardens were shaped in the 18th century by Britain's greatest landscape gardeners. Among them was master landscape architect Lancelot …
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24.04 MILES
Bibury's most famous attraction, this ravishing row of rustic cottages – as seen in movies like Stardust – was originally a 14th-century wool store,…
Nearby Oxford attractions
0.78 MILES
Britain’s oldest public museum, Oxford’s wonderful Ashmolean Museum is surpassed only by the British Museum in London. It was established in 1683, when…
2. Oxford University Museum of Natural History
0.82 MILES
Housed in a glorious Victorian Gothic building, with cast-iron columns, flower-carved capitals and a soaring glass roof, this museum makes a superb…
0.86 MILES
If exploring an enormous room full of eccentric and unexpected artefacts sounds like your idea of the perfect afternoon, welcome to the amulets-to-zithers…
0.89 MILES
Little now remains of Oxford Castle, which was built for William the Conqueror in 1071, and largely destroyed after the English Civil War because the…
0.89 MILES
As Oxford colleges go, St Peter's is modest in age, size and decoration. Founded in 1929, it comprises a handful of architecturally contrasting buildings…
0.91 MILES
Dating its foundation to ‘about’ 1263, Balliol College claims to be the oldest college in Oxford, though its current buildings are largely 19th-century…
0.93 MILES
Famed worldwide as a debating society, and also known for attracting prominent international speakers, Oxford’s legendary Union is largely off-limits to…
0.94 MILES
Founded in 1555, this small college boasts a lovely 17th-century garden quad, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Its exquisite chapel, a masterpiece of…