The Oxford Botanic Garden

Ein netter kleiner botanischer Garten mit einer ordentlichen Auswahl an Pflanzenarten (~8.000 verschiedene auf kleinen 1,8 hektar) und sechs — ebenfalls kleinen — Gewächshäusern. Die Summe von 3 Pfund, die anscheinend im Sommer jeden Tag erhoben wird (im Winter nur an Wochenenden), erscheint mir allerdings astronomisch hoch, auch wenn dieser botanische Garten der älteste im Königreich und einer der ältesten weltweit sein soll.

Oxford’s Botanical Gardens are a wonderful and welcome slice of greenery in the middle of Oxford city centre. They’re located in a lovely part of the city right by Magdalen College and the river and have a beautiful collection of plants and trees in a lovely setting. Although it’s not the kind of place you’d visit for a picnic go to the University Parks for that if you feel like a relaxing stroll, or you want to sit and read, this is a good place to do it. And afterwards, why not pop across to Magdalen Bridge and hire a punt?

We took a toddler to this beautiful, peaceful garden. More of a park really. She was able to run around safely although the ponds drew her like a magnet!
Students were lying reading under the trees and there were families having picnics and artists painting. The colours were riotous, flowers and plants carefully and imaginatively planned. In the Walled Garden the plants are put together in groups of the country of origin or their botanic family with little descriptive labels. There is a Rock Garden, an Autumn Border and a Black Border which are very unusual. I think there are over 8,000 different sorts of plant and the Glasshouses are full of weird and wonderful, exotic things!
We sat on a bench beside the river where we watched people punting and rowing, listened to the birds and inhaled all the wonderful perfumes — and tried to stop little Lulu picking flowers!
No parking, so go to the Park & Ride and you will have to ask the way because we couldn’t find a sign post and we never did find the toilets!

The Oxford Botanic Garden is right in the heart of the city (it’s part of the University) — but you can easily miss it because the signposting is lousy. Even when you get to the right place, it’s hard be sure you’ve found the main entrance.
But once you’ve found it, it’s a lovely place to while away a couple of hours, or an entire day. Even when it’s busy, there are quiet places and plenty of space for everyone.
The garden has several sections, including one organized by plant families if you’re a student of botany. More likely to be of interest to general visitors are the glasshouses — holding interesting ranges of plants from alpines through to tropical specimens. There’s even a pond, with fish and lily pads, in one and there’s certainly enough to keep everyone entertained and plenty to educate the kids — with commercial tropical crops like coffee and bananas growing happily.
There are also ponds and rockeries outside, to complement the main beds. And during my last visit the special display was edible crops from around the world — a particular favourite of mine but probably not a permanent feature.
The only bug bears are the lack of facilities — the entrance is small and houses the tills and the tiny ‘gift’ shop. There is a plant sale stand, but just a small one. The toilets are a hike from anywhere in the garden, being hidden away practically by the exit. But you’re only a few minutes away from the town centre, so it’s not a big deal. There’s no parking though, something Oxford is notoriously bad for, so leave the car at one of the Park & Ride car parks.

Go in winter and you can enjoy the tropical warmth of the glasshouses or the frosty beauty of the winter garden. Go in summer and enjoy the cool shade, the flowers and the water in the fountains, streams and river (or if it is a true English summer enjoy the shelter and warmth of the green houses!).
The setting is wonderful. Just opposite Magdalen College and right by the river.
It is an educational facility so you’ll find information about the plants and trails and quizzes to keep children occupied. There are often special events during the spring and summer months involving music and art as well as education — check out their website for details. They can be great fun.
1 865 286 690
Opening times change with the seasons and it costs to get in but children are free.