| Two weeks in UK takes a lot of planning, and some things are bound to go wrong or rather not as planned. We didn't book the tour to Lords Stadium which was a huge disappointment for DH, the cricket fanatic. In my defense I had emailed him and asked him if I should book, and got no response. We were in a hurry trying to wrap up stuff before taking off.
Oxford was a place I badly wanted to visit, but just couldn't squeeze in without have to drop some other city. So we decided to keep it optional and drove to Oxford in a day to spend half a day and drive back to Bath. We had three hours in Oxford. Since driving within Oxford was a nightmare we parked the car far away and walked through the city. I was overwhelmed with the city that produced 6 or more British Prime Ministers, produced most of the literature that is part of the childhood of most kids and adults from all over the world. Stephen Hawking went to Oxford. Tolkien went to Oxford and wrote Lord of the Rings here. Chronicles of Narnia were written here too. Alice in Wonderland was written by Lewis Carroll in Christ Church College, which is where we were headed.
But we were headed to appease the Harry Potter fan in me. (http://thefw.com/harry-potter-destinations/) The magnificent Great Hall in Harry Potter movies was based off of the Christ Church College Great Hall. The College became a tourist spot unexpectedly I suppose, they were just not ready to handle the overwhelming number of Harry Potter fans visiting the college just to see the Great Hall and the grand stair case.
The entrance fee was expensive. The great hall and the staircase and the cloisters were marked as open for tourists when we finally reached. We were just about to enter when JSK said she wanted to use the restroom. The restrooms in the college were not operational. So we had to go out find a public restroom which was surprisingly well maintained and then came back in, it was about 11:15. We took 15 mins by which time to my utter dismay the Great Hall was closed. ;--((( I could have cried there. I literally did. The staff simply said 'we will open at 2:30come back then'. we had to return the car in Bath by 3pm no way we could stay until 2:30. I stood there, missing the enthusiasm to capture the staircase and the cloisters which were also inspiration for Hogwarts in the movies. I missed seeing the Great Hall by 15minutes. DH had asked me to go ahead with the tour while he took JSK to the restroom but I wanted us to be together. The security said everyday they close from 11 to 1 for the students to have lunch. The hall is where the students of the college have lunch. Just like in Harry Potter books and movies. Why did I miss this piece of information? I blame myself for not being prepared enough. I missed seeing the Great Hall by 15minutes and I won't get to see it ever again because I am not sure I will visit Oxford again.
Slowly I pacified myself that it is just a movie, not a big deal.
Here are the few pictures a very disappointed me took.
The staircase leading to the Great Hall (closed)
The cloisters a version of this appears in the movies
Just there was the Great Hall
This doesn't appear in the movie but I was totally J of the students studying here and immediately wanted to send dotter here ;--P Dorm rooms.
The architecture in Oxford is amazing. The British have an eye for beauty. And symmetry. Something about the place that makes it so enchanting and enticing and story book like. Could be because most of the childhood stories came from here!
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I feel your disappointment SK. Hope you do get to visit a castle that can kindle some memories. Any place in the UK bubbles over with literature and its influences. Enjoy the UK.