Take it to the coast

This weekend me and the boy went down to beautiful Cornwall. That place is extremely good for the soul.

It is stunning and its calm lifestyle gives you an opportunity to rediscover your passions as I did, in cycling and running.

Whenever we go down there we hire bikes and cycle the Camel Trail between Wadebridge and Padstow. It is a flat path that takes you right along the river to the beautiful seaside town. Once there you simply have to indulge in a cream tea at Mary B's cafe, and you won't feel guilty having arrived there on your own steam.

As I live in the city I made the most of the lovely area by going for two runs over the weekend. The scenery was so stunning that I barely noticed the intense heat and the cotton-wool feeling I had in my mouth.

Yesterday's run was particularly special. I ran down to Rock where the water was glistening and there were hundreds of boats on the water. I couldn't resist having a paddle to refresh myself before running all the way back uphill to our base.

So if you're getting a bit bored of cycling or running the same old routes, go somewhere completely different. You will also get a huge buzz from exploring somewhere on foot and a sense achievement that you probably don't get from completing your normal route anymore.

Photo by *selectormarx

Oxford: Manic world of morris dancers

Last weekend the boy and I travelled to the lovely city of Oxford. Although British Rail caused us to spend longer at Didcot than anyone should have to, otherwise it was a great day.

The first thing that struck us about Oxford was the bikes. As soon as you leave the station you see a bike park big enough for about 500 bikes. Not only was it provided, but it was full.

As the day continued it became apparent that everybody cycles in Oxford, and why wouldn't they? It's not only flat but bikes are so well provided for. As a cyclist myself I gazed at the endless bike parks, cyclist lanes and paths with great envy.

Admittedly my hometown of Bath is extremely hilly and as such deters some people from cycling, but many aren't fazed by the seven hills surrounding the city and don their helmets regardless. Why do the council in Bath not make provisions for cyclists even half as good as those in Oxford?

Troops of dancers
Another thing that soon demanded our attention were a load of people dancing around in feathers, bells and materials that wouldn't be fit for second hand curtains. I'm talking of course about Morris dancers who for some reason seemed to be filling every vacant square metre in Oxford.

We didn't so much walk down the high street but squeezed down it trying to avoid the troops of dancers and bewildered onlookers. This literally went on all day and we saw the same groups dancing at 11am as were still dancing when we left at 5pm. Those are some hard core Morrisers.

Of late no trip to Oxford is complete without a visit to Christ Church of Harry Potter fame. It's where they film the dining hall scenes and some outside work and it's not hard to see why they chose it. Christ Church is a beautiful building set in even more beautiful grounds. It also bares some link to the girl who inspired Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland books.

Its steeples sprawl
While we were there were hundreds of people walking around the grounds of Christ Church and it's not hard to see why. Simply by turning into Christ Church you suddenly find yourself in the middle of the countryside as it is surrounded on one side by farmland, whilst Oxford city and its steeples sprawl out on the other side. It's lovely.

The best thing about Oxford is easily the architecture. Much like Bath, every turn leads to another beautiful building be it a college, a pretty house or a church, of which there seem to be hundreds in this small city. Thankfully this means that you can enjoy Oxford without having to spend a single penny unless you really want to.

Now those are the sorts of places I like.

More Oxford photos