When it comes to having a vacation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, most people will choose to go to London. However, you really need to travel beyond the boundary of London if you are to find the essence of England. Oxfordshire is a good place for you to go.

While settlements comparable to the city of Bath can be dated back to the time of the Romans, the region of Oxfordshire was overlooked and the county did not really begin to develop in importance until the 8th century. Oxford, the county town of Oxfordshire, is very well-known for being the home of the oldest university in the English speaking world, Oxford University.

Usually accepted as being an academic centre from round 1096, the university was mentioned first in the twelfth century. Nowadays, the town can boast different kinds of colleges all having fantastic architecture and the city features structures representing each single period of architecture from Saxon times.

There are a great many picturesque villages around the county of Oxfordshire. Highly popular places to visit include the towns of; Henley-on-Thames, Banbury, Bicester and Abingdon. Alternative towns to visit include; Chipping Norton, Thame, Didcot and Shillingford, and also the villages of Shiplake and Cholsey.

Oxfordshire also has a large number of museums and art galleries, such as Museum of the History of Science, Museum of Oxford, Oxford University Museum of Natural History and University Museum of Natural History in Oxford. Other attractive museums include; Didcot Railway Centre, Pitt Rivers Museum, River and Rowing Museum, Oxford Bus Museum as well as Cogges Manor Farm Museum, Witney and District Museum, Abingdon County Hall Museum and Vale and Downland Museum and others.

Apart from the above, there are also numerous parks and gardens in the countryside of Oxfordshire. These include the Kiftsgate Court Gardens, Hidcote Manor Garden, Oxford Botanic Gardens and Evenley Wood Garden plus lots and lots more.

With so many interesting places to visit, Oxfordshire is really a good travel destination for you.