The Oxford MJur/BCL: Visiting the English Countryside

Amazingly, the English sky has been blue and the sun has been shining for the last five days at least. That gave us the opportunity to take our rental car out for an outing into the English countryside, namely Broadway. Broadway is a village in the county of Worcestershire and is part of the Cotswolds, an area of rolling hills. Justifiably called the „Jewel of the Cotswolds“, it is a lovely place to spend a sunny afternoon strolling through small medieval streets or having a beer in the various pubs.

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To give you an idea of the surrounding countryside, it looks like a mixture of New England and the Hobbington we know from Peter Jackson’s movies. I think it is actually fair to assume that it has influenced and inspired artists and writers like JRR Tolkien and JK Rowling. But see for yourself:

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Starting from Broadway tower, you may satisfy your wanderlust by following the pathways leading you through woods, fields and herds of goats and sheep. Even those who are not that much into walking: It is worth the effort (and it is easy to walk back after an hour or so).

For more about the MJur program, please see the Oxford’s Full Profile on LLM GUIDE.

The Oxford MJur/BCL: Settling in

The first few days of my stay in Oxford have now passed by. Somehow however, I am still finding myself in the organisation-process. Apart from getting your university card and moving into your residence, you will have to navigate through the huge ocean of possibilities and events that are inherent to the collegiate system. Induction and social events are presented to you by either the law faculty, your college or the university itself. Suffice it to say that the number of new faces you’ll see, the social and professional backgrounds you’ll hear about and the names you ought to memorise (or just ought to try to) is overwhelming.

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Judging from my first days, it is highly recommendable to buy a bike. I guess, the sooner, the better, since undergrads and other graduate students will begin to settle in and empty the market for used bikes. I found this wonderful thing on www.gumtree.com:

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Biking seems to be easy around Oxford. Drivers are probably used to both cyclists in general and foreign (read: continental-style) bikers. After some days, even the roundabouts are manageable.

For more about the MJur program, please see the Oxford’s Full Profile on LLM GUIDE.

The Oxford MJur/BCL: Getting to Oxford (Driving on the left)

Coming from Germany, I have to admit that travelling to the UK is not too much of a hassle compared to what other students from places further away actually have to get through to travel here. That said, I thought it useful to have a car in the first days of travelling here (which turned out to be true). What I didn’t take into sufficient consideration when booking a rental car at Heathrow Airport was that the British drive on the left. However, except for nearly causing an accident literally right after leaving the rental agency’s parking area, it was totally manageable to travel to Oxford this way. On the highway, I found it to be calming to find a truck and stick to it’s rear so you can focus entirely on driving on the left.

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I would recommend anyone new to Oxford to rent a car for the first days. It will give you the opportunity to do all the things necessary to settle in: Depending on your accommodation, you might have to buy furniture, bedding, a bike and groceries etc. More importantly, it will give you the opportunity to see the beautiful English countryside (to be continued).

For more about the MJur program, please see the Oxford’s Full Profile on LLM GUIDE.