St. Edmund Hall MCR Welcome Pack 2016
Day-to-Day Information
Despite all the beauty of Oxford and the uniqueness of your experiences here, you will still need to address some practical concerns. While you wait for formal inductions from the College and your Faculty, we have prepared a list of useful information to help you adjust to Oxford.
Buying the Essentials
Groceries:
There are four standard groceries shops in town where you can find most things.
• Tesco, 1 Magdalen St. • Sainsbury’s, 7 Magdalen Street, or in the Westgate Shopping Centre (off Cornmarket Street) • Marks and Spencers, Queen Street • Co-operative food, 42 and 125 Waltons Street
For a small fee, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and ASDA offer delivery services to your home which allows you to purchase goods online on an as needed basis. Abel & Cole provides the same service and features local, organic goods which can be purchased exclusively online. The closest small convenience store is the ‘9 to 9’, on North Parade - a 5 min walk from NSE.
Markets:
• Covered Market: Off the High Street
The covered market, although often more expensive than standard grocery stores, has various kiosks selling fruits and vegetables, a butcher, cheese shops, cafes, cobblers, and artisanal clothing and accessory shops. Farmers’ Market, Gloucester Green
On Wednesday mornings there is a farmers’ market in Gloucester Green where you can find reasonably priced (mostly) local produce, accompanied by a great selection of diverse dishes for a decent price. There are
St. Edmund Hall MCR Welcome Pack 2016 frequently French markets in the same location which are periodically advertised signs posted along Cornmarket Street on the day of the market.
Household Items:
• Boswells, Southeast corner of • Broad Street & Cornmarket Street • Argos, New Inn Hall Street • Primark, Westgate Shopping Centre • Debenhams, Northeast corner of Broad Street and Cornmarket Street
At Boswell’s, Primark, Argos and Debenhams you can find most of the household goods that you will need, ranging from cutlery and crockery to clothes hangers, towels, and bedding.
Alternatively, you could buy pre-used goods via facebook swop-shop pages from students who are leaving Oxford: • Students of Oxford Swap (shop) : https://www.facebook.com/groups/1620358991582177/
Pharmacies:
• Boots Pharmacy has various locations:
6-8 Cornmarket Street
151a Cowley Road
221 Banbury Road
• Superdrug, 11 Market Street (across from the Boots on Cornmarket)
Mobile Phones:
Most mobile phone providers can be found on Cornmarket Street or the adjacent Clarendon Centre and offer either pay-as-you-go top up services or monthly contracts. Commonly used networks in the UK are: Orange, T- Mobile, O2, Vodafone, and 3.
St. Edmund Hall MCR Welcome Pack 2016
Shopping for Academic Supplies
Office and Academic Supplies:
• Ryman, 6 High Street (* here make sure to show your Oxford University card as you will always get 10% off) • Staples, 14-16 Park End Street • Honest Stationery, 151 Cowley • WHSmith, Cornmarket
Bookstores:
• Blackwells, 48-51 Broad Street (good for textbooks) • Waterstones, Broad Street & Cornmarket Street • Oxfam Books, 56 St Giles Street and Turl Street – good for second hand books
Getting Around: Transport
Bicycles:
Bicycles are a hot commodity for students and thieves. Therefore, be sure to buy a good lock, take a photo of your bike and write down its serial number. You can register your bike with the police and the college through the Porters Lodge – ask any of the Porters for more information. New bicycles can be bought from:
• The Cycle Centre, 38 Walton St • Summertown Cycles, 200 Banbury Rd • Cyclo Analyst, 150 Cowley Road • Walton Street Bikes, 78 Walton Street • Beeline Bicycles, 59 - 65 Cowley Road
St. Edmund Hall MCR Welcome Pack 2016
Second hand bikes can be found at:
• Oxford Cycle Workshop, www.ocw.coop • www.backontrax.co.uk • Daily Info, www.dailyinfo.co.uk • “Buy and Sell Cycling Stuff in Oxfordshire” on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/groups/578636665511973/
For repairs, the Bike Doctor of the Oxford Cycle Workshop does free repairs Wednesday 10am-4pm at the University Club on Mansfield Road & Friday at the Old Road Campus. They arrive at 10am; be there at 9:45am.
Taxis and the Safety Bus:
• Radio Taxis 01865 242 424 • 001 Taxis 01865 240 000 • Royal Taxis 01865 777 333 • City Taxis 01865 201201 • The Safety Bus
The Safety Bus runs throughout term from 9pm-3am, to ensure student safety at night. If you're out and you fancy a lift home, ring 07714 445050. It'll pick you up and take you to anywhere inside the ring-road, all for just a £1 donation. Put the number in your mobile just in case. If anyone wants to volunteer to drive or navigate the Safety Bus, or has any questions, email [email protected].
Trains:
• If you’re going to be using the train a lot, get a Young Person’s Railcard (£30 for a year) at the rail station or online and get 1/3 off trips anywhere in the UK. • Trains to London take ~1 hr direct and can be cheaper than the bus with the Railcard, especially if you book an ‘advance’ ticket more than a week ahead, via www.nationalrail.co.uk.
St. Edmund Hall MCR Welcome Pack 2016
Buses:
• Oxford has two local bus companies: Oxford Bus Company (www.oxfordbus.co.uk) and Stagecoach (www.stagecoachbus.com/oxfordshire). • Oxford Express and Oxford Tube buses to London leave every 15 min from Gloucester Green, High St at Queens Lane, and St Clement’s. The trip takes 1.5-2 hrs (around £11 return after 3pm, £14 otherwise). • www.megabus.com sells coach tickets to London a week in advance for £2.50 return. • The Airline leaves every half hour to Heathrow (1.5 hrs; £25 return) and Gatwick (2 hrs; £32 return). • There are local buses that travel the length and breadth of Oxford and can be fairly inexpensive (£1- 3). http://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/
Places to Eat, Drink & Be Merry
The MCR committee put together a list of their favourite places to eat, drink and be merry. Below are recommendations from the team for coffee houses, pubs, restaurants, and bars. With these suggestions we hope you go forth and explore all that Oxford has to offer.
Tea & Coffee
• Turl Street Kitchen • The Missing Bean, Turl Street • Zappi’s Café, above Bike Zone, St Michaels Street • Brew, 79B Banbury Road (very close to NSE) • The Natural Bread Company
Sandwiches
• On the Hoof (Very close to NSE) • Olives (Next to Teddy Hall) • The Alternative Tuck Shop
St. Edmund Hall MCR Welcome Pack 2016
Pints
• The King’s Arms – traditional academic hangout; traditional post-formal Teddy Hall hangout • The Royal Oak • The Eagle and Child • The Lamb and Flag • The Turf Tavern • The Half Moon (open late) • The Old Bookbinders Ale House • The Jolly Farmers – an LGBTQIA+ pub
Dinner
• Al Andalus - for Tapas • Red Star – Noodle bar • Atomic Burger – Cowley Road • The Gardeners Arms, Plantation Street – vegetarian pub • The Victoria – English Pies • Zheng – Chinese/Malaysian • Edamame – Japanese (limited opening times)
Cocktails
• The Duke of Cambridge, Little Clarendon Street • Angels, Little Clarendon Street • Cafe Tarifa, Cowley Road • Freuds, Jericho • The Varsity Club
These are just a couple of ideas to get you started, there are many more interesting places to discover not included in this list, so go forth and explore!