This is a delightful small church in the middle of town. Apart from services, the building is…read moreusually open most weekends and is a lovely place to sit for a few minutes and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Islip is another of those ancient Oxfordshire towns: there was an Anglo- Saxon settlement here,…read moreprobably including the royal hunting lodge of King Ethelred (the Unready), which became the birthplace of the subsequent King (and Saint) Edward the Confessor in 1004. Edward is alleged to have given the land and buildings of his birthplace to his newly-established abbey at Westminster in 1065. The Dean and Chapter of the Abbey still retain the right to nominate Islip's Rector. Although there must have been a church here in Saxon times, the present building dates to the end of the 12th century. It was substantially rebuilt in the 14th century, and all that remains from the earlier church is the impressive transitional arcade between the nave and north aisles, and the small round-headed window in the south aisle. The impressive pinnacled tower was added in the 15th century. The chancel was burned down during fighting in the Civil War in 1645, and rebuilt by the Rector, Robert South, at his own expense. The church suffered from a rather severe restoration in 1861, which swept away many of the fittings of interest, as well as covering up some interesting mediaeval wall paintings. Today, the most interesting items include the 15th century octagonal font, some interesting memorials and, above the arch containing the painting of St Edward, a death mask, reputed to be that of Richard Busby, the headmaster of Westminister School, for whom the rector, Robert South acted as executor. Another famous rector was William Buckland (1846-56), the first professor of geology at Oxford, who discovered the fossilised bones of a giant reptile which he named Megalosaurus (great lizard) and wrote the first full account of what we now know as a dinosaur. He is buried in the churchyard.

Elsfield is a charming little village just north of Oxford, nowadays somewhat cut off from the City…read moreby the busy A40 bypass. It's best known as the final resting place of John Buchan, former Governor of Canada and author of The 39 Steps, who died in 1940. The village is picture-postcard pretty, and runs along a little lane from the Marston junction on the A40. Quickly, you find yourself in wooded, rolling countryside, with cottages, farms and the odd barn conversion along the way. The church was built around 1160-80 but rebuilt in the 13th century, when it was dedicated to Thomas a Becket, following his martyrdom in Canterbury Cathedral. In the 14th century, the beautiful east window was inserted, in a delicate and flowing Decorated Gothic style. A chapel was constructed on the north side of the nave around the same period, but nothing of this now survives (traces of filled in arches were visible until 1837). Thereafter, the church remained relatively untouched until a fairly thorough Victorian restoration in the mid 19th century. Today, the church has an attractive setting, and inside comes as something of a shock, owing to the recent installation of a parish room at the west end, screened off by a handsome modern wooden and glass screen with echoes of the style of a mediaeval rood screen. While this is an excellent use of the space (and is to be applauded) the bright white paint and clear glass does rather dominate. The main architectural feature of the interior is the chancel arch, which retains the bases, pillars and capitals from its original building around 1160-80, with the arch from the later 12th century rebuilding around 1250. Inside the chancel, there are fragmentary remains of wall paintings behind the altar dating perhaps to the 15th century, framing a rather bright mosaic of the Last Supper behind the altar was made in 1860 and is the work of Salviati (who also made the reredos at Westminster Abbey). other furnishings of note include the altar rails (1627), the Jacobean pulpit and the ancient font of c. 1200. This last was one of the reasons for our visit here, as one of my partner's ancestors was baptised here in 1718. The graveyard contains some 17th century tombs, but is most visited for the circular memorial of John Buchan, on the upper section, which has beautiful views over the surrounding countryside.

It was a rainy day in Oxford but we forged ahead even though we had to walk 1/2 mile to the the…read moremental hospital to catch our taxi because aforementioned hotel blockade. Wow doing the media headset tour was a great addition to the tour. Seeing the Tom Quad and the famous dining hall that's in the Harry Potter movie was amazing. The cathedral was breathtaking; you could just feel and smell the history of this religious place.

Takes up a whole city block! They try to charge you £15 to enter which is way to steep. Tell them…read morethat you are not a tourist and you are there for a purpose and you can enter without having to pay. Of course leave a nice donation while inside. The courtyard reminds me of some I have seen in Spain and Portugal. The opening hours are limited, so plan ahead.

If you want to see the site of Shakespeare's entombment, it is worth paying to enter the area…read more Most of the interior is free and open to public during special hours. It looks like most churches built during the same time period. The cemetery is maintained with many broken and illegible markers. Short walk from commons area along the waterfront to the church.

Even in his day, William Shakespeare was appreciated by the locals and that is no more apparent…read morethan here in the Holy Trinity Church where he is laid to rest with great honors. The Church dates back to 1210 and is apparently Stratford's oldest building. This is one of the "don't miss" stops on any tour of Stratford-upon-Avon and a £1.50 donation to the inner church is well worth it. Even aside from the Shakespeare part of it, this is a beautiful and very old church that still has an active service schedule. The hallowed ground is completely full and there are many very old gravestones right along the path. And the path, by the way, is also laid over other graves. Lots to learn from and photograph, I'm very glad we stopped here.

A peaceful place to meditate and reflect on life.read more

Went to a wedding in this magnificent church. Worth a visit just to take in the outside with its…read morestained glass windows. The interior is even better. I am not in any way religious but the Rev. Didier Jaquet gave a sermon that was less the old type sermon that I was used to as a child (which turned me from religion). It was informative and 'humorous'. More down to earth. A very nice person and very approachable. He MADE the wedding ( not forgetting, of course, the bride and groom).

I love this mosque it is a peaceful and serene place to be in to gather your thoughts and prayer to…read moreAllah. There are books avaliable in the main prayer room but only for reading inside. There are also ablution and restroom facilities and the mosque also teaches Islamic studies and FREE quranic language classes on wednesdays and Thurdays after the night prayer.