Approximately 1.5 hours by car from London. Frequent train services are also available from London.
Oxford, known as a globally renowned university city. As of 2023, it boasts 43 colleges and exudes the grandeur of being the oldest university town in the UK. The three oldest colleges, Merton, Balliol, and University College, all trace their histories back to the 13th century.
In the context of "school" and "university" in the UK, a college originally referred to a school organization with its origins as a "monastic school with attached church" in which students and teachers lived on the same campus. In addition to facilities commonly found in universities such as lecture halls and libraries, these schools also had dormitories and dining halls for teachers and students, as well as chapels and gardens.
Remnants of this history are still present in various colleges, and Christ Church, the only college with a cathedral within its grounds, is particularly worth seeing. Charles Dodgson, known as the author of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," also known as Lewis Carroll, studied, taught, and lived at Christ Church for 47 years. Its dining hall, the Great Hall, still provides around 80,000 meals per year to students and associates and is also known for serving as the model for the Hogwarts dining hall in the Harry Potter films.
