Two weeks ago was this year's Oxford Preservation Trust’s Open Doors weekend, on 14-15 September, so we hot-footed it into town, brochure in hand, to find some hidden gems our children might enjoy.
Our first stop was the Fire Station, which was a big hit with my girls: they got to climb into the driver’s seat and beep the horn of the fire engine, and best of all, they had a go at knocking the hat off a child-sized dummy with the hose:
The firemen explained all their kit, from the boots already standing in the legs of their thick over-trousers, to the breathing apparatus stowed behind the back seats in the cab.
It
was busy, with hoards of excited children (and adults!) and there were
yellow plastic fireman's hats to buy too - what more could a little one
want?
From there we walked up Rewley Road to the old swing-bridge on the disused railway line from the Rewley Road rail station (which stood on the site now occupied by the Said Business School, and was moved to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton Road railway station).
The Oxford Preservation Trust are working on plans for a complete restoration of the bridge and recent work has included the clearing of the surrounding undergrowth so you can see what remains of the bridge and its mechanism. It’s beautiful, in an industrial kind of a way, and well worth a visit if you're in the neighbourhood.
Did you do Open Doors this weekend? What are your top recommendations for next year? Non-Oxfordians, do you have a local equivalent? Any favourites you'd care to share?
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