Oxford

There’s more than meets the eye with this picture-perfect market town, jam packed with independent shops and an idyllic river meandering through, as rowing boats pass by

Away from the hustle and bustle of London life, just a little further down the Thames, is a much quieter tow where people are flocking for an escape into independent shops and riverside walks.

With a real sense of vibrancy about it, this Buckinghamshire town is being put on the map as it continues to evolve into a cool and quirky hotspot for the capital’s commuters. Not just that, but for people wanting a day trip that feels a lot more wholesome and doesn’t cost quite as much.

Marlow is one to watch, especially for those looking to relocate out of the city. Its location along the River Thames makes for a peaceful spot, which could compare to the likes of Richmond or Cambridge, where people can hire both rowing boats and self-driving boats to explore the town from the water.

What makes it most recognisable to passers-by or those travelling through is its eye-catching suspension bridge which spans the River Thames, joining Buckinghamshire with Berkshire. It first opened in 1832 and has been somewhat of a landmark for the area ever since, as a distinctive feature that helped the town to grow as an inland port.

High Street

The charming town is made up of historic streets with listed buildings and an abundance of independent boutiques, cafes and bistros, adding to the atmosphere of the place. But above all, it’s Marlow’s High Street that has received the most considerable amount of attention. Recently, when it was dubbed the best in the UK.

Estate agent Knight Frank named the UK’s best high streets after the property experts took a look at some of the streets that offer the most charm, and this was their favourite. Their focus was on the areas that home buyers were flocking to, and Marlow came out as a seriously desirable spot that they described as both “charming and lively”.

Matt Davies, partner at Knight Frank, said: “We tend to see a slightly younger buyer base in Marlow, driven in large part by its outstanding educational institutions, including grammar schools such as Sir William Borlase’s.”

There’s an endless amount of unique little shops selling clothing, gifts, homeware, stationery and more. Some of the standout stalls include the gift shop Twenty Three Living, The Marlow Bookshop, URU Home and Saddle Safari, all joined by an array of local pubs, cafes, galleries and salons.

Marlow has also made a name for itself in the realm of food, with high-end chefs operating out of the area and it being home to Michelin-star cuisine. Celeb chef Tom Kerridge runs a pub in the heart of the town named The Hand of Flowers, a short walk off of the high street, which stands as the only UK pub to hold an impressive two Michelin stars.

A customer described their experience at the highly acclaimed pub on TripAdvisor. They said: “Service was excellent from the minute we arrived, and the atmosphere in the restaurant was great. We’d highly recommend!”

And of course, like any higher-end high street, it’s home to The Ivy and other high street chains such as Zizi, as well as having smaller bistros and traditional pubs to choose from.

Bloomfield had been out of work since he was sacked as Luton boss in October 2025 when he was appointed at Oxford at a time when they were 23rd in the Championship, three points adrift of safety.

He came in after Rowett had overseen a dismal spell of one win in ten matches.

Bloomfield began his managerial career at Colchester United before taking over from Gareth Ainsworth at Wycombe Wanderers in 2023.

After leading the Chairboys to the League One automatic promotion places amid the challenge of big-spending Birmingham City and Wrexham last season, he left the club to take over at Luton.

But Bloomfield was unable to prevent the Hatters from suffering back-to-back relegations to the third tier and was dismissed after an underwhelming start to the season, with the club 11th in the table.

Speaking after Oxford’s relegation was confirmed in April, Bloomfield said he was confident of keeping his job.

“I’ve enjoyed my time at the club. It’s obviously not been the outcome that we wanted for the season.

“We’ve been pleasantly content with some of the improvements we have made but ultimately we wanted to stay in the league.

“I’ve not given much thought to my job and the bigger situation and ultimately, as a manager or head coach, all you can do is focus on being the best you can be,” he said in April.

Oxford looked capable of pulling off a “great escape” in late February and early March when they won three games in a row to move up to 21st.

However, just two wins in the following eight matches saw them lose ground on the sides above them.

Relegation brought an end to a two-year spell in the second tier after they won promotion via the League One play-offs in 2023-24.

Skylarks call out a cascading trill as I pedal between the pink and white hawthorn blossoms that make my path look like a May Day parade. I’m on the outskirts of Oxford, a city I thought I knew well, yet as I follow the National Cycle Route 57 on the e-bike I’d picked up in Jericho, it feels as though I’ve discovered a secret passageway.

This year the Camping and Caravanning Club (CCC) turns 125 – and I’m celebrating with a 60-mile cycling and camping trip, leaving from the city where the organisation was born and heading to Walton-on-Thames to stay at one of the oldest campsites in the CCC network.

The CCC began life as the Association of Cycle Campers before becoming the club it is today. It all started when founder Thomas Hiram Holding, already a keen camper, was visiting his friend Rev EC Pitt-Johnson’s Oxford home in 1901 and they decided there was enough demand and interest in the hobby to form a club. They elected each other president and secretary respectively and the rest, as they say, is history.

Back then, Holding had a “safety cycle” – not dissimilar to a modern-day bike, which replaced the tricky-to-master penny farthing. He proudly invented much camping gear, too, from early lightweight tents and folding poles to cycle touring bags. “Holding understood the health and wellbeing benefits people gained from camping,” explains Jo Cartwright, archivist at the CCC, when I tell her my e-bike plan, “so I think he would’ve embraced any new form of transport.”

While all-singing, all-dancing motorhomes and caravans are ubiquitous these days, and along with pre-pitched glamping options are squeezing the space left for regular campers, the CCC assure me that humble tents are very much still welcomed on its sites. So with mine firmly stowed on my e-bike, I set off, deciding to break my journey with an overnight stop at Bella Vista Camping in Radnage, a family-run club site that sits on the Chiltern Cycleway.

Quiet roads lead me east from Oxford toward Wheatley and Thame, where I stop at the Old Fisherman to grab a sandwich and coffee, before continuing on the Phoenix Trail (part of Route 57), its straight lines a nod to its former life as the disused railway track to Princes Risborough. Red kites replace skylarks as I glide on the easy track away from any road traffic, passing the old station building at Bledlow and going under the former railway bridge and past the abandoned platform where Towersey Halt stop, closed since 1963, would have been.

Before he started the Association of Cycle Campers, Holding’s method of camping – after a childhood wagon trek on the prairies of North America had him hooked – was by canoe in Ireland. That was until a friend of his in England announced that he and his wife were planning to spend a week camping by tandem bike in Britain, and asked him to come to help with attaching his kit to the frame – after which he wrote, “We succeeded,” and declared in his book, Cycle and Camp, published in 1897, “There was something in it.”

While more people arrive in motorhomes than by bike these days, I’m pleased to see that Bella Vista Camping still has a huge field for tents, next to a paddock of Soay sheep and alpacas, and there are hot showers and proper toilets in a big mess tent.

After dinner at the Crown Pub, just a five-minute walk away, and a quiet night’s sleep while my bike battery charged, I am ready for the next part of my cycle tour to Walton-on-Thames. Opened in 1913, the Walton CCC campsite was described in a Golden Jubilee Souvenir booklet from 1963 as a place full of “homemade tents, bamboo poles, hurricane lamps and wood fires”.

Curious at what I’d encounter now, I leave the highs of the Chilterns and Route 57 to bear south on country lanes that skirt the edge of High Wycombe, through the busy streets of the Thames-side towns of Marlow and Cookham, and on narrow cycle paths between Maidenhead and Eton. When I stop for lunch at the Crocus cafe in Dorney, I’m amazed at how curious people are about my set-up. I feel a little like Holding, showcasing another way of holidaying in Britain.

Windsor Great Park is an unexpected highlight – its easy roads contrasting starkly with the quite hairy gravel tracks I descend into Egham. But then designated bike lanes through Staines and Chertsey see me ticking off my remaining miles with ease.

A final treat is a ferry crossing over the Thames at Shepperton to Weybridge – fitting given that the very first campsite in the CCC network used to sit on one of the islands here (it closed in 1909).

Given that the Walton campsite has no facilities, it’s primarily frequented by motorhomes and caravans that have their own chemical toilets. I’ve brought my own eco-friendly option, though, in the form of a Poopaloo dry-powder toilet. My pitch was next to a small hut filled with sepia photographs of tents from 100 years ago.

That night I read Holding’s The Campers Handbook, published in 1908, and chuckle at the description of the correct attire for female cycle campers including a skirt “that finishes three inches off the ground, with no slippery lining to avoid catching on the knickerbockers”.

The next day, without a knickerbocker (or skirt) in sight, I undertake one of Holding’s favoured activities: canoeing. Swapping pedals for oars, thanks to owner Andy of Hampton Court Paddle Sports, which is located just a 10-minute (3-mile) cycle from my tent, I spend most of the day on the water, sightseeing at a slow pace, stopping for falafel at Mezzet Box (beats the fried herring and boiled trout of Holding’s day), and ending with a drink at the Anglers, built on these banks in 1870, my canoe tied up beside my table.

Things have undoubtedly changed for campers over the past 125 years. The tents – A-frames and “wigwams” made of silk – have been swapped for nylon tunnels with inflatable poles, campervans have overtaken bicycles, and even, at Walton, the Thames itself has been rerouted so that it no longer sweeps by the pitches. But not all change is bad. Back then, strict gender rules meant that, as a lone woman, I wouldn’t have been permitted to do this trip, never mind in leggings. And an e-bike made the whole experience (and hills) much more enjoyable.

Holding called cycle camping a “power” that helped popularise camping – and the CCC’s membership reflects that, having grown from its initial 150 to more than 300,000 households. And though camping using a bicycle is now a minority pursuit, after my weekend tracing old routes and visiting the first campsite, I like to think that within the secret passageways of towns and cities, there are those of us who realise that the best journeys are still powered by pedals and curiosity.

eBike hire was provided by Bainton Bikes in Oxford (e-bikes from £65 for 3 days). A pitch was given by Bella Vista Radnage (from £19 a night) and Walton-on-Thames campsite (from £20 for two nights members, £35 non-members). Annual CCC membership from £56.95

IF you fancy a stay right by one of the UK’s most historic cities without breaking the bank, you’re in luck.

Here’s everything you need to know about staying at the Mercure Oxford Hawkwell House.

Where is the Mercure Oxford Hawkwell House?

The hotel is just two miles from the city of Oxford, so it is a great stay outside of the bustling centre.

What is the hotel like?

We loved the character and comfort of this property in village suburb Iffley.

Two of its three buildings are converted 19th-century manor houses and Arctic explorer Frank Bickerton was born in one, The Elm House.

It’s a nice balance of contemporary amenities and a retro ambience, with easy access to the city.

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What are the rooms like?

We immediately felt at home in our Privilege double, with decor nodding to Oxford-style vintage fashion.

Our upgrade from a Classic came with complimentary soft drinks, a Nespresso machine, robes and slippers.

All rooms have free fast wifi, bottled water, a mini fridge, hairdryer, tea/coffee facilities and a rainfall shower.

Classic rooms start from £116 a night. See all.accor.com.

What is there to eat and drink?

The breakfast in Frank’s was excellent, with both continental and full English options and a great juice station.

However, we found Frank’s a bit disappointing for for dinner, with an unimaginative menu offering British fare such as fish and chips and pie of the day. I had the sirloin steak (£35).

The Terrace bar is nice for light bites or afternoon tea (£25pp) with an outdoor area for warmer days.

Hawkwell House was refurbished in 2021 and its vintage fashion design includes quirky details such as the story of the Oxford brogue, which I found fascinating.

What else is there to do there?

The pet-friendly hotel – popular for weddings – has three acres of gardens for walkies, with or without your mutt (£20pn).

Is it family friendly?

The hotel has family rooms that sleep up to four people.

There is also the Family Fun Package from £149 which lets kids eat free as well as includes cuddle toys for kids.

Is it accessible?

There are accessible rooms on the ground floor as well as step free access across the hotel.

At a motion for a vote of no confidence against Arwa Elrayess, the first Palestinian president of the University of Oxford’s debating society, Oxford Union, she was accused by a 20-year-old student of contributing to “an atmosphere of hostility and harassment”.

In a video of the forum last week at the prestigious university, which was shared with Al Jazeera, Elrayess is seen replying to Ben Ashworth, “Not just in my career within the union but in my existence as a Palestinian, there seems to always be this post-mortem vilification of Palestinians.”

The room was full of onlookers as Elrayess, who became the head of the Oxford Union late last year, stood tall in a green sequinned dress.

“Palestinians, when they talk, are for some reason a danger. Our very existence is something that is scary,” she added.

The motion was filed after screenshots of text messages from Elrayess were quoted in outlets including The Telegraph and the BBC as saying that the Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023 was “proportional”.

The text also said groups branded as terrorists were often later “lauded as heroes”.

Ashworth cited the Sunday Telegraph directly in his accusation. The newspaper’s political editor, Camila Turner, whose father serves as chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel, had carried the claim that Elrayess said Hamas would be “lauded as heroes”.

But Elrayess did not make any statement of support for Hamas.

Nine months ago – before Elrayess was president – she was in a group chat of students meant to discuss politics.

In the group chat, October 7 and Palestine – and broader conversations on resistance groups – were discussed.

“Analysing something is not giving it moral legitimacy,” she told Al Jazeera. “Even though I described explicitly in all the messages that I’m not describing this as legitimate or morally justified, I’m just providing analysis; all of this was stripped away when it was reported in The Telegraph or the Daily News.”

The full quote in question on the group chat read: “Any resistance group will inevitably be deemed a terrorist organisation by the West until they achieve their liberation, by which time they’ll be lauded as heroes as history has historically proven.”

‘Entirely misquoted’

The messages were not meant as commentary on Hamas specifically, she argued.

“It was entirely misquoted; I believe it was entirely intentional to frame as having said something that I simply did not say,” she told Al Jazeera.

To the Jewish Chronicle, though, Elrayess reiterated her position by saying, “I condemn Hamas’ targeting of innocent civilians, just as I condemn the targeting of innocent civilians by the [Israeli army] or any other actor.”

After refuting the allegation and misquotations, Ashworth is seen in the video yelling at Elrayess, asking whether she condemns Hamas again.

Ashworth, who is not Jewish, has faced criticism for recently visiting Israel with the Pinsker Centre, a think tank formerly known as the Pinsker Centre for Zionist Education.

The motion for a vote of no confidence overwhelmingly failed, receiving 126 votes, 116 of which were online signatures, far below the 150 needed to proceed to a poll.

This is not the first misinformation campaign against Elrayess.

In October 2025, just before her election as president of the debating society, falsified minutes were ratified by an unnamed member of the union, alleging that Elrayess “argues that alumni members shouldn’t be allowed to vote, reiterating her claims that they are incapable of making a rational judgement”.

Elrayess believes that the minutes were made up and spread to “paint me as someone who hates alumni of this institution”.

After an internal disciplinary process, the person who falsified the minutes was suspended from office and the minutes were de-ratified.

Shortly after her win, opposition within the Union brought forward a number of charges against Elrayess, ranging from misuse of social media to antisemitism. In January, it was found that the charges were un-evidenced. By this point, however, Elrayess had lost two months of her presidency.

Alongside this, an article was published in the Oxford Standard alleging that she was related to a leader of Hamas who happened to share the same surname as her, and that she had created and shared a cartoon of herself stepping on a lizard and a hook-nosed anti-Semitic caricature to celebrate her victory.

The claims, again, were false. The cartoon linked to an anonymous meme page that Elrayess had nothing to do with, and she had no family ties to Hamas. The article had no author attributed to it, and the Oxford Standard did not contact Elrayess or reply to her emails, fact-checking the article.

Within days, Elrayess had emails from journalists at The Jerusalem Post, Jewish Chronicle and The Telegraph, asking her to clarify her family affiliation with Hamas and her views of Jewish people, stemming from the stark untruths shared in the nameless Oxford Standard article.

The only cause for the allegations, some have observed, appeared to be Elrayess’s Palestinian identity.

A colleague and friend of Elrayess, who wished to remain unnamed, described to Al Jazeera a sense of distress among Elrayess and her friends.

“The level of attacks that Arwa and her friends received was astounding,” he said.

The Oxford Standard, which no longer exists, deleted both the article and their website altogether. But the rumours they began, with no facts to back them up, have snowballed into national news headlines of Oxford Union’s first Palestinian president being a supporter of Hamas and a proud anti-Semite.

Tweets by prominent Zionist influencers like Eylon Levy, former spokesperson for Israel, sharing the lie that Elrayess is a Hamas heiress, with now-broken Oxford Standard links and no factual corrections.

‘I’m a very proud Palestinian’

Elrayess’s dedication to debate and free speech has brought controversy to her tenure. She invited prominent Israel supporter Tommy Robinson to a debate, triggering widespread protest in Oxford, and has engaged with conservatives and Zionists in her union and her own appointed committee.

Oliver Jones-Lyons, director of finance of the Oxford Union, works alongside Elrayess and describes himself as a “pretty public Zionist”.

Still, despite their diametric positions, Lyons-Jones does not endorse the growing smear campaign against Elrayess.

“I have never felt oppressed, abused or discouraged from sharing my views openly, quite the opposite in fact,” said Jones-Lyons in a statement to Al Jazeera. “Me and Arwa obviously vehemently disagree on a lot of issues; however, our conversations about issues that are deeply personal to both of us have never once been aggressive and have always been productive, in fact I can certainly say Arwa has changed my mind on issues I never thought I would.”

Oxford Union member Oliver Goldstein said, “Personally, I like Arwa. I don’t agree with many of her comments, but do I feel unsafe as a Jewish student at the Oxford Union? No … I don’t think she’s an anti-Semite.”

Despite the inundation of misinformation, Elrayess remains determined.

“My father is from Gaza,” she said. “He would always tell me, ‘It doesn’t really matter what you say or do not say; people will always find a way to spin it in such a way that you become a target, because you’re already a target.”

She said she lives by her father’s words.

“I’m not resigning from my position. They can throw 1,000 different letters in 1,000 different articles. I’m very vocal, and I’m a very proud Palestinian.”

There’s nothing better than losing track of time while wandering around a city bursting with character before popping into cosy bookshops – and there’s only one UK city for it

A beautiful city brimming with cosy bookshops, including one that holds a Guinness World Record, offers the perfect escape for book lovers or those looking to explore the ‘city of dreaming spires’.

With the magnificent medieval architecture of Gothic spires and honey-colored stone, against grand libraries, cobbled streets and narrow lanes, a stroll around Oxford is enough to transport you to a scene from Hogwarts. And rightly so, as the historic city, renowned for its prestigious university, was used as a filming location for the Harry Potter franchise.

The historic Duke Humfrey’s Library, which dates back to 1487 and is part of the Bodleian Libraries, was portrayed as the Hogwarts Library in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Meanwhile, the vaulted ceiling of the Divinity School was used as the backdrop for the Hogwarts Infirmary.

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But it was Christ Church College that provided numerous scenes for Harry Potter, with its staircase and hallways used to represent Hogwarts, and its Tudor great dining hall famously inspiring The Great Hall in the wizarding boarding school. New College also took centre stage with its ancient covered cloisters and courtyard, used to portray parts of Hogwarts.

UK’s best city for bookshops

Yet away from its famous movie links and breathtaking architecture that characterise the city, Oxford is an oasis for bibliophiles. The city has the optimal balance of world-famous literary heritage and a vibrant, modern vibe, so there really is something for everyone.

Thanks to its literary delights of more than 30 bookshops nestled among the historic streets, Oxford was named as the UK’s best city for bookshops by Time Out. The publication conducted a survey and found that 60 per cent of people said that Oxford’s book offerings were either ‘good’ or ‘amazing’, and it’s easy to see why.

The city is the birthplace of the well-known UK bookseller and library supplier, Blackwell’s, after it was founded in 1879. Its flagship store is situated on Broad Street in Oxford, and is a labyrinthine maze of shelves stacked with hundreds of thousands of titles.

Yet it’s the Norrington Room, nestled underground, that is perhaps the most impressive feature of this sprawling bookshop. Spanning 10,000 square feet and featuring over three miles of shelves stacked with more than 150,000 books, it is officially the largest single bookselling room and holds a Guinness World Record for this impressive accomplishment.

A wander around the store is a bookworm’s haven, welcoming a gentle calmness away from the busy streets outside, along with a friendly atmopshere, and of course, an abundance of enticing reads. Many have often described it as a tardis-like space, as it spans across multiple floors, with a welcoming café to enjoy a warming cuppa and sweet treat alongside a gripping thriller -it’s easy to spend hours in the historic yet cosy bookshop.

Independent bookshops

But that’s not the only notable offering for bibliophiles alike. Elsewhere, there’s the independent Bookstop and the Last Bookshop by Bill and Ben Books, with a focus on those preloved titles, alongside the little shop of Arcadia found on St Michael’s Street.

In Oxford’s iconic 250-year-old market, where small shops burst with eateries, vintage clothing and produce, there’s Gulp Fiction, which hosts book clubs, author events and jazz nights. St Philip’s Books, situated next door to the Alice in Wonderland shop, is another highlight in the city for those rare finds, while Daunt Books in Summertown is packed with titles suitable for all ages.

Yet it’s easy to lose track of time while exploring Oxford, especially as the city famously runs on its own time.

‘Oxford time’

Before the railway standardised British time back in the 19th century, cities would set clocks by the sun. Due to Oxford’s location, its natural solar time is five minutes and two seconds behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). In a long-standing tradition, it’s known as ‘Oxford time’, and today, many of its scheduled events and lectures begin five minutes past the hour.

Whether you’re an avid reader or simply want to explore the historic sites used as a film set and a place on its own time, a day trip or weekend escape to Oxford is absolutely worth it. Just be sure to set your watch five minutes and two seconds behind to experience it like a local!

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