The miraculous preservation of Oxford’s ‘Painted Room’
Just over a week ago, on April 23rd to be exact, I joined a jolly parade of University and City dignitaries robed in a fine collection of scarlet, fur and velvet…
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Springtime on the Cherwell
On a sunny day last week, I take advantage of the weather to embark on a walk along a stretch of the River Cherwell suggested by my friend Bea. Starting…
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Searching for the snake’s head
The snake’s head fritillary has something of an iconic status in Oxford. It’s our county flower. And at this time of year locals race to be the first to spot…
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The white ladies of Holywell
I find January and February the gloomiest of all the months. When the days are still short and the weather wet and cold. I become desperate for a pick-me-up, something to lift the spirits, a promise that there are brighter things on the horizon. And then suddenly pushing up from somewhere beneath the sodden soil, the first of the snowdrops appears.
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Emma Coleman-Jones and her year in The Parks
Emma Coleman-Jones draws trees. In all seasons. In all weathers. Come blazing heat, bitter cold, rain, snow or high winds she will be out in the elements, sketchbook in hand looking for that serendipitous moment in time and place when something catches her eye.
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Fantastic fungi of Bagley Wood
On one of those blue skied autumnal days we’ve had recently I get a call from my friend, walking companion and Oxford Sausage nature correspondent, Beatrice Groves to say the…
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A walk to Turner’s tomb (from St John Street to Shipton-on-Cherwell)
From Wittgenstein to Thom Yorke many remarkable people have resided in the honey stone terraced houses of St John Street in central Oxford, built to accommodate the growing number of…
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Flower Power
Once upon a time there was a sad, unloved, alleyway. It was overgrown with weeds and brambles. And strewn with cans and broken bottles. Shopping trolleys, mattresses and building rubble…
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The Swift Hotel
I cannot count the number of times I have been inside the Oxford University Natural History Museum. A short walk from my home, I come to marvel at its glorious…
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A walk in Oxey Mead
Exactly this time last year my neighbour and go-to flora and fauna guru Beatrice Groves took me to the Lye Valley in search of the elusive flower, the Grass of…
