The town is rather flat and, with the large numbers of students, cycling is a popular and sensible form of transport. A number of cycle hire companies have established themselves enabling people to scan a bike, using a phone app, and cycle away for very low cost. We elected the 'Pony Bike' company due to their cycles being low to the ground for E.'s use, hit the road.
The below house is an attractive pale mint-green.
We cycled past the parks on Park Road and turned left at South Parks Road, after the museums. We followed this until it became a path and crossed the Thames.
We turned off the path and came back to ST Cross Road, where we finally found Holywell Cemetery. I'd been looking for it since I'd read about it in one of the guides and, as advised, it was difficult to find - a small unremarkable entrance hidden from the road, but inside was quite a discovery. A number of tramps were residing there, and they'd picked a pretty good spot. It was dense and overgrown and atmospheric.
Holywell Street is one of my favourites with a jumbled collection of very old houses, the Music Rooms, and entrance to the Turf, with the anachronistic frontage of New College arrogantly and crassly jutting into it.
The sun came out and we found ourselves cycling through Christchurch Meadows and following the river past the boat houses.
Blackberry season is in full swing.
We later went for an evening walk to Port Meadow and the Perch, past I.'s favourite weeping willow.
The trap grounds, possibly home to a water vole.
The drought broken, the meadow is returning to its lush green state.
Rules.
The next day we strolled again to the parks, past I.'s 'secret way'.
We spied the opening scenes of 'Swallows and Amazons', this time in unforgiving heat and sun exposure (we'd seen it in the evening in unexpected cool).
The Union Jack in tatters, the way it should be.
Fungi growing off the side of a tree, a sign of its decay.
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