The lunchtime picnic cruise combines Oxford sightseeing with a gourmet picnic lunch and a relaxed experience of river life.
You travel through the city past famous landmarks including Christchurch College and Meadows, the University boathouses and regatta course, the Head of the River and Folly Bridge . From the river you take in a side of Oxford's heritage rarely seen by visitors to the city. Quaint Osney Island, well-loved allotments and gardens and majestic and ancient Port Meadow are off the tourist trail but represent some of Oxford's most beautiful and intriguing scenery. Port Meadow, a vast area of common land, has remained little changed since prehistoric times and supports plants and bird-life in abundance. At the top of Port Meadow is Godstow. Godstow was the ultimate destination of Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll when they followed an identical route to this trip while composing 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. It is also the site of Trout Island, an inspiration for another of Oxfords literary icons, C S Lewis, and his stories of the land of Narnia.
The trip passes through Osney Lock (one of the deepest on the Thames) and there will be an option to stretch your legs, perhaps by taking a stroll to visit mysterious Godstow Nunnery or the Trout Inn at Wolvercote (featured in many Inspector Morse episodes and Brideshead Revisited).
Your gourmet picnic lunch in locally sourced from some of Oxfords finest caterers. Exact contents depend on the availability of the freshest of produce but will include all the fine staples of the traditional English picnic.
The cruise departs from their moorings at the Perch Inn, Binsey Lane, departure is at 12:30pm and lasts approximately 2.5 hours.
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