Christ Church Meadow can be a trap! and other Oxford, United Kingdom Warning Or Danger Tips

A pleasant walk along the river on a summer evening, when it is still light long after 9 pm, can lead to frantic looking for a way out.
If you are new to Oxford and have entered the path along the Thames through the gate near the pub, you may not have noticed the sign saying: Christ Church Gates close at 9 pm.
That gate is quite distant from the college and you may not realize it still IS one of Christ Church gates. This is what happened to me - I very much enjoyed my riverside walk and was not ready to leave until about ten. It was only then that I realised what I had done. I ran frantically from gate to gate but all were locked. Climbing the high wrought-iron gates wasn't an option for me. For a moment I thought I would have to spend the night on the grass. Finally, after more than an hour of vain attempts to get myself noticed, I saw someone in the distance in the Cathedral garden - a man on a university conference - a visitor like me. I shouted to him and he brought a custodian, who opened the gate and I was released into the world outside. However, I don't regret it - the man was very nice to me and gave me an interesting tour of the cathedral garden, which he told me was specially cultivated to look like the gardens in the Middle Ages. And I could even hear the Boys' Choir practising - a great reward for my misadventure. In the picture: St. Aldate's - the street I wanted to get out into so badly and the wrought-iron railings I would have had to climb over.

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