Potton, Bedford, and Oxford

Arrival Date: 2019-04-21
Departure Date: 2019-04-27
Accommodation: Jurys Inn, Oxford

On Easter Sunday, we set off from home after some lunch and made our way down to Potton where we stayed with Ryan, Jeny, and baby Elliot in their beautiful new house arriving shortly after 4pm. They treated us to a delicious BBQ, and we had a relaxing evening chatting and playing with Elliot.

After a good night’s sleep, we were given a full tour of Potton, followed by a big breakfast at the Boundary Cafe by the cricket club. Again, very tasty. It’s a lovely little village that reminded me and Helen of Thirsk centre: nice and quaint.

Following breakfast/brunch, we set off towards our hotel in Oxford, stopping by our namesake Bedford to have a little look around. We only stayed for a couple of hours, but it was very picturesque with lots of statues and green areas dotted around.

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The cenotaph outside the Swan Hotel, “The Meeting” in Harpur Square, and John Howard, the old High Sheriff of Bedfordshire. We walked alongside the River Ouse for a little while, took a look at Bedford Castle Mound (not worthy of the “castle” moniker), and stopped off at a little pub called The Embankment for a quick drink.

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We walked back through Bedford, past a very odd looking sculpture: Rick Kirby’s “Reflections of Bedford”, which represents different ethnic communities in dialogue with each other, made from brick and lace (two things that Bedford was known for in the industrial revolution).

Before heading off, we had to drop by Bedford Park and snap a quick selfie of our namesake.

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Another hour or so of driving and we arrived at our hotel in Oxford. We settled in quickly, unpacked our bags, then took a drive in to the city centre. We arrived just as everything was closing for the evening, so we had a walk around for about an hour, making a note of the Castle and Prison that we’ll have to visit later in the week.

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We found a nice little restaurant called No. 1 Ship Street, where Helen had a pesto pasta with salad, I had a chicken confit, and we shared a cookie dough dessert. The food was very nice, though a little expensive. Having walked around 10km, we finally called it a day, headed back to the hotel, and spent the rest of the evening watching TV, reading, and blogging.