Latest news with #IrisMurdoch
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Cairn-builders are harmless, until suddenly they're a menace
The novelist Iris Murdoch collected stones, which she saw as having a numinous, almost sentient quality. She passed on her fascination to many of her fictional characters, including Anne Cavidge in Nuns and Soldiers, who finds a sense of the divine in the infinite variety of the pebbles on a Cumbrian beach. Murdoch's veneration of stones was shared with countless others throughout the ages: the practice of building a pile of stones to mark some significant place – a tomb, a holy place, a trail – is prehistoric in origin and culturally ubiquitous. Across the globe from Greenland to Hawaii, Somalia to Mongolia, cairns are to be found wherever there are rocks. The landscape of the UK and Ireland is seeded with cairns – the reasons for their construction often mysterious, their mythology ancient and haunting. A similar resonance surrounds the modern cairns made by the landscape artist Andy Goldsworthy. The university of Hertfordshire, which commissioned the Hatfield Cairn from Goldsworthy in 2001, describes his site-specific works as 'masterfully contribut[ing] to the natural beauty of rural locations'. Which brings us hard up against the question of who, now, may build a cairn. In wilderness landscapes around the world, tourists who wouldn't dream of carving their name on the Colosseum are building rock stacks and posting pictures of their handiwork on social media. It might seem a harmless, even a creative act: a Goldsworthy-esque embellishment of the beauty of a wild landscape. But in fact it has become a disfiguring menace: in Iceland, where there is an ancient tradition of cairn building, rock piles made by tourists are known as varta, or warts. Nor is cairn-building the pure, free-spirited activity that its amateur practitioners imagine: ancient monuments have been despoiled and fragile landscapes and habitats rudely disrupted by people bent on making their stony mark. While official pleas to desist go unregarded, tougher measures are being explored. In some Australian states, unofficial cairn-building is classified as vandalism, punishable by a fine. In the peak district national park, where guerrilla rock-piles have become an increasing problem, National Trust volunteers are dismantling tourist cairns, while Stuart Cox, a chartered engineer and hiker known as the Peak District Viking, is battling the social media rock-pilers on their own ground: posting videos of himself enthusiastically demolishing their erections. Cairn-builders with a taste for Murdochian sophism might argue that we cherish ancient graffiti in Pompeii, and venerate neolithic cairns built (presumably) by ordinary people like us. So why the handwringing over the modern iterations of these practices? To which the answer must be: numbers. One lovelock on the Pont des Arts is a romantic gesture; a million threaten to destroy the bridge. Each was significant to the person who put it there, as each cairn meant something to the person who built it. But as the Pompeian graffito puts it: 'I admire you wall, for not having collapsed at having to carry the tedious scribblings of so many writers.' In a pickle Preserving season is in full swing. While I plan to experiment with green figs in syrup, Telegraph reader Robert Ward, busy pickling onions and making chutney, is frustrated by the labels on his recycled jam jars, which stubbornly decline to be removed. One correspondent suggested sticking new labels over the old ones. Which is practical, but not very elegant, if you want to give away the surplus. But I think I have the (literal) solution. After removing as much of the old label as possible, the remaining adhesive succumbs quite meekly to a brisk rubbing with white spirit. Happy pickling!
Times
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Seven decades on, Iris Murdoch's debut still dazzles
I first read Under the Net more than 20 years ago. Iris Murdoch's novels had enthralled me back then and I had greedily devoured her works. They have a particular appeal to young adults, speaking as they do of the glamorous mysteries of adults who seem to feel as deeply as teenagers, yet drink cocktails and have oodles of sex. And talk about philosophy, a lot. Picking up her first novel again, I was nervous. Rereading it, I thought, was bound to uncover problems, but I needn't have worried. Murdoch was 34 when Under the Net was published in 1954, but it reads like a practised novelist's work, ranging in tone from the comic to the despairing to the mystic. Many of her most distinctive traits are present here in full-throated form. There are dazzling, phantasmagorical scenes (a city apartment full of birds, a lover's clinch in a mime theatre), philosophical dialogues and a powerful enchanter figure, the millionaire Hugo Belfounder, at the centre. The novel thrums with a sense of possibility even though the setting is postwar London. Murdoch's gift for unusual yet precise descriptions of character is displayed in full. The socialist leader Lefty Todd has 'the eyes of a wombat or a Rouault Christ' (Georges Rouault was an expressionist), while Mrs Tinckham, a seer-like woman who presides over a cat-filled corner shop, is 'an earth goddess surrounded by incense'. Other characters span the social gamut from typists to starlets. There's also a lovely Lassie-like dog, Mr Mars, who has been very successful in films. The protagonist, Jake Donaghue, shares affinities with Murdoch. He is a literary hack who subsists on translating bestselling French novels. He suffers from nerves, which (I surmise) may be something to do with the Second World War. When he's chucked out by his on-off girlfriend Madge, who is about to marry Sammy Starfield, a rich bookie, he becomes involved in a series of improbable events concerning one of his translations, Le Rossignol de Bois (The Wooden Nightingale). Sammy has obtained a translated manuscript without Jake's approval and wants to use it for a film adaptation, thereby beating Hugo, who has started a film company. Jake's relationship with Hugo is key. The latter, who inherited an arms dealership and wants to divest himself of the money, is a saintly figure, an untrained philosopher who asks searching questions, whom Jake admires intensely. Jake's sole original published work is a philosophical dialogue based on conversations with Hugo, which, in typical Murdochian style, began when they were staying in a clinic, being guinea pigs for a cure for the common cold. Jake believes that by publishing these dialogues he has betrayed Hugo and out of shame severs relations with his friend. • What we're reading this week — by the Times books team Yet Jake turns out to be wrong about this, as he is about everything else. His egotism causes him to misread the signs and he must uncover the truth about this relationship and his other mistaken perceptions to break out of his literary lethargy. There are many hilarious, drunken scenes: a tense afternoon betting on the nags, a pub crawl that ends in a moonlit swim in the Thames and the mime theatre — as gorgeous and as strange as I remembered. The frenetic plot takes in a film set (where a production of the conspiracy of Catiline is broken up by a battle between socialists and nationalists), a late-night ferry ride and a race through Paris in search of a lover. I laughed at the scene when Jake and a friend kidnap Mr Mars and try to sneak its enormous cage out of Sammy's block of flats. The philosophy dovetails with the comedy. The 'net' of the title is language. Hugo believes humans are unable to say anything true so the only truth is silence. It is a paradox that the novel explores this in so many wonderful words. The purity (or otherwise) of art runs alongside this concern. Jake's transformation is driven by how he comes to accommodate these ideas in relation to his own work as well as his growing understanding, partly through his tender relationship with Mr Mars, that he is not the only person in the universe. • Read more book reviews and interviews — and see what's top of the Sunday Times Bestsellers List Although Murdoch makes clear her debt to Jean-Paul Sartre, whom she had met in Paris, it's extraordinary that such a joyful work as Under the Net should have affinities with existentialism. Jake is no Antoine Roquentin from Sartre's Nausea, finding boredom in everything. Instead, the novel reads more freshly, energetically and involvingly than a great deal of 21st-century literary fiction. Murdoch achieves a rare thing: you want to be with her characters in all their glorious mayhem and to see the world as they do. When it appeared it must have shone in the gloom like a burst of crazy sunlight. Even today it has lost none of its manic, magical brilliance. Under the Net by Iris Murdoch (Vintage £10.99 pp320). To order a copy go to Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Clare Chambers: ‘Iris Murdoch taught me that a novel could be about absolutely anything'
My earliest reading memory I have the fuzziest memory of an illustrated Grimms' fairy tale called Jorinde and Joringel from the time before I could read. I made my mum take it out of the library over and over again. It was about a quest for a flower with some special powers. I wish I could remember why it had such a hold over me. My favourite book growing up I think a sense of humour is forged in childhood and I remember crying with laughter as my older sister read me the Jennings books by Anthony Buckeridge. It didn't bother me that they were all about prep school boys – it was the comedy of embarrassment that really spoke to me. The book that changed me as a teenager I grew up during the Thatcher years. The brutal hardship of the life of 19th-century coal miners in Émile Zola's Germinal, which I read when I'd just left school, rattled me out of my comfortable middle-class certainties in a way that the social injustices happening under my nose had failed to do. That's the power of fiction. The book that made me want to be a writer I think I always wanted to be a writer, but The Bell by Iris Murdoch, about a lay religious community whose peaceful, unworldly exterior hides turbulent and destructive forces, was a landmark in my reading. I read it at 16 and it was perhaps the first time I realised that a novel, if perfectly executed, could be about absolutely anything. The book I came back to I first read Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway at university and found the constant shifting from one consciousness to another infuriating and tedious. I tried it again in my 50s, closer to the age of Clarissa Dalloway herself, and this time the ripples of thoughts and impressions and the intrusion of the past into the present made much more sense. Maybe in another 40 years I will find something to admire in The Waves. The book I reread When I was young, Persuasion was my least favourite Austen novel. It was too slow, too melancholy, its hero and heroine too lacking in charisma. Each time I've reread it since it moves up the rankings. It doesn't have the dazzle of Pride and Prejudice, but I have grown into its autumnal tone of regret for lost time. The book I could never read again I read Le Grand Meaulnes at 17 and thought it must have been written especially for me. Alain-Fournier's early death on the Somme only added to its tragic allure. It's a young person's book, full of romance and yearning, and should not be revisited in cynical middle age. I tried and soon regretted it – 'the lost domain' was well and truly lost. The book I discovered later in life I was in my 50s when I first read Anthony Trollope. I don't know what took me so long as his novels have all the elements I enjoy – psychological acuity, plot, moral dilemmas, wit, social commentary. My favourite is The Small House at Allington. Lily Dale is a delightful heroine in the Lizzie Bennet mould, but Trollope sets up the traditional good suitor/bad suitor predicament and then drives an elegant carriage and horses through our assumptions. I should add that Timothy West's masterful performances of the unabridged audiobooks take the reading experience to an even higher level. The book I am currently readingNow We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller. I'm ashamed to say I had not read any of his books until The Land in Winter, which made me urgently seek out his earlier work. It's that rarest of treats – propulsive storytelling in sensuous prose. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion My comfort read I find comfort in even the darkest book if the writing is brilliant, but for the quiet dignity of ordinary lives I turn to The Fortnight in September by RC Sherriff. Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers is out in paperback from W&N. To support the Guardian order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
New York Times
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Need a Small Treat Today? 21 Suggestions from Busy Creative Types
Some days are harder than others. Everyone, at some point, needs a break. And such a break often comes with a little treat, a small luxury to help you through the rest of your day or your tasks. The writer Iris Murdoch may have said it best in 'The Sea, the Sea,' a 1978 novel that won the Booker Prize: 'One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats, and if some of these can be inexpensive and quickly procured so much the better.' The same concept has taken hold on social media in more recent years. Especially on TikTok, members of Gen Z have gladly embraced 'little treat culture,' encouraged others to enjoy some of life's splurges and doing so without shame. (They're saying yes to that $20 smoothie, to those chocolate covered strawberries.) We asked prominent people in high-pressure jobs in the arts — writers, actors, entrepreneurs and others — about their version of that small treat in times of high stress. The answers were as simple as they were satisfying. (Quotes have been condensed and edited for length and clarity.) Nourishing the body (stomach included) Sophie Buddle, standup comedian and writer 'My truly biggest treat to myself is letting myself sleep in with no alarm. If I don't set an alarm I'll never wake up. Letting myself sleep is my biggest luxury.' Paul Tazewell, Oscar-winning costume designer for 'Wicked' 'I get a manicure/pedicure with a buffed finish. That's so when I look down at my hands I can see that I have made an effort to take care of myself.' Marcus Samuelsson, celebrity chef 'I have to have moments where I totally zone out. For me that starts with my routine in the morning: I make breakfast super early, get my son on the bus to school. Then my wife and I walk in the park. Two laps, around the park. Sometimes that's the only time in the day when we can connect.' Natalie Venetia Belcon, Broadway actress in 'Buena Vista Social Club' 'A steam shower with alcohol in a sippy cup. You don't want the shower water to ruin your drink of course. And I have a shower stool. Why work extra hard in the shower? I turn to get the shampoo and turn back around. Then after all of that, a three-hour massage in my apartment.' Richard Kind, actor 'It doesn't seem like much but with the advent of heart health and my ever monitored weight, I treat myself to an egg sandwich on an everything bagel with Cheddar and bacon. It really tastes good.' Curtis Sittenfeld, author 'For me it's definitely dark chocolate. It is a literal treat. And I eat it every day.' Heather Poole, flight attendant and author 'I thought about this forever. It made me think, 'Wow, my life is very weird.' My little luxury is just someone else's regular day thing. First of all I don't make a lot as a flight attendant. I do make a point to treat myself on a layover, have a nice meal by myself. I don't need anyone to come with me. That is luxurious. That is what I do.' Connie Butler, director of MoMA P.S. 1 in New York City 'Pilates, as a kind of obsessive meditation practice, which is how I think of it. That's my self care. And it's totally essential for my survival. It saved my life during the pandemic.' Indiana Woodward, principal dancer with the New York City Ballet 'If I am feeling I really need to dedicate some time for myself, I look up a bathhouse. In the city I go to the Russian baths. Those are really, really lovely. I don't have my phone. It's important for me to not be on technology.' Feeding the brain and heart Dan Bulla, writer for 'Saturday Night Live' ' has an app. A chess app. And you can play other people online. If I am writing late at night at S.N.L. and I've been going fairly hard at it for like 4 hours or something, I'll dip out somewhere and play a game of speed chess with someone online. That's a big way that I'll completely detach myself.' Bernadette Peters, actor and singer 'I breath in through the nose and hold four counts and breath out through the mouth. I do this six times. It really relaxes me.' Sarah McNally, owner of McNally Jackson Books 'My son is suddenly taller than I am, and hugging him is unexpectedly grounding. One of the gifts of middle age is having built a life that supports me on my weaker days, and it's of a piece that I fed my child for 16 years and now he can hoist me out of any calamity.' Dichen Lachman, actor on 'Severance' 'Lighting a beautiful candle and giving my space a good, deep clean instantly resets my energy, it's like clearing the static from my mind cook something low and slow and maybe take time to arrange fresh flowers, which feels like creating a small piece of fleeting art." Dan Harris, host of the '10% Happier with Dan Harris' podcast 'My algorithm on TikTok basically just serves me comedy and animals. For me TikTok really is a very nice break. My wife and son often laugh at how hard I laugh when I am looking at those videos.' Jessie Willner, co-founder of Discothèque Fragrances 'A sketchbook. I bring a sketchbook with me everywhere, but it's not for work related things, it's only to sketch things that I see right in front of me, when I think something is beautiful. If I'm on a plane or I'm at a park or something — a little memory book of sketches.' Michael Cecchi-Azzolina author and owner of Cecchi's restaurant in New York 'It's having the newspaper delivered every morning. It saves my day. I get up, I have coffee. And I read it every day. It's just time for myself and I can do that. Sometimes I skim it, sometimes I don't.' Benjamin Adler, clarinettist at the New York Philharmonic 'I've actually really been into K-pop lately. Believe it or not, classical musicians are into K-pop. Maybe because it relates, even if they perform to different crowds, and masses of people gather to see them dance and sing. I'll even watch some videos of K-pop performances.' Calming through ritual Sheila Bridges, furniture designer 'I was in Rome recently, because I was doing a residency at the American Academy. My favorite thing to do on a Sunday was to go to the flea market. I only carried 50 euros. Whatever I found had to be under 50 euros. Every week I'd find something wonderful. That was my treat to myself after my week.' Delia Ephron, author 'When I am stressed out, which in current times is often, I watch a British detective series on TV. There is an endless supply of them, usually taking place in lovely ancient English towns, where there seem to be a fantastic number of murderers. But it's all very safe, the detectives are very reliable.' Nikki Toscano, showrunner of 'Long Bright River' 'I have a simple answer: It's having ice-cold martinis for happy hour with my partner, my ex-husband and my best friend, followed by dinner with our children. Throw in a little Otis Redding in there and you got something a little shy of perfection.' Sky Lakota-Lynch, Broadway actor in 'The Outsiders' 'The answer for me will always be thrifting, especially at Stella Dallas in Brooklyn. If I can find a nice shirt or pair of pants or even a candle, it can alter my whole mood and day. It gives me something to look forward to outside of eight shows a week for a year.'
Telegraph
13-04-2025
- Telegraph
Which city is better: Oxford or Cambridge?
Oxford and Cambridge loom large in British history. The two university cities have educated some of the country's most celebrated writers, philosophers and scientists. Some 45 British prime ministers are alumni. While there are many other remarkable universities, and university cities, across Britain, it is these two that attract the most visitors specifically for their institutions. It's impossible to wander around their cobbled streets without imagining Isaac Newton, or Iris Murdoch, doing the same. Teaching has happened in Oxford since at least 1096, although there's no clear date of its foundation. Cambridge University was established later, in 1209, when a group of scholars fled Oxford after a dispute with the townspeople (a pattern that repeats throughout the subsequent centuries). While this history is a part of what attracts the modern visitor, there are plenty more to both, from lively music venues to expansive botanical gardens. Both are easy to reach from London, making them ideal for an engaging weekend away. For those planning to visit, however, it can be hard to choose between the two. So we compared the two across categories including architectural prizes, academic accolades, Telegraph -recommended hotels and Michelin stars, to crown a winner. (This is only a bit of fun, of course; visiting both cities is the only sure-fire way to decide on your own personal favourite.) Visiting the colleges Almost all the colleges at Cambridge and Oxford allow visitors. Our ranking has excluded those that are 'by appointment only', such as Darwin College in Cambridge, but included colleges that have limited opening hours. By this metric, the colleges are neck and neck: 27 colleges in each city can be easily visited. As these are places of work (and a home for students), the rules about visiting them vary. Some have free entry, while others charge a small fee. Some are only open for a Sunday service in the chapel (these have been omitted from the list). It's always best to check their websites before visiting, and if you do pop by, be sure to speak to a porter – who should be stationed by the main college entrance – who can advise as to which parts of a college are open to the public. In Oxford, Christ Church College is especially popular. Thirteen British prime ministers studied here, as did Lewis Carroll and John Locke. Tickets, starting at £20, can be booked in advance on its website. If you would rather not plan your college-exploring in advance, Somerville (where Margaret Thatcher studied chemistry), Brasenose, Wadham, Wolfson and St Catherine's all have areas open to the public free of charge. In Cambridge, guests can take a guided tour of Trinity College at 10am or 2pm daily, costing £5 per adult. Former alumni include Alfred Lord Tennyson, Bertrand Russell and Sir Francis Bacon, plus television personality Richard Osman and spy Kim Philby. Free colleges include Jesus, Downing, Pembroke and Sidney Sussex, all of which are centrally located. Or for something more intimate, explore King's College with Cantab Tours, which offers hour-long private experiences within the photogenic favourite. The score Cambridge: 1 Oxford: 1 Staying in a college At both Oxford and Cambridge, colleges have a small number of rooms available for guests. These range in style from very basic – some might be used as student accommodation in term times – to the luxurious. Prices vary; check the University Rooms website for information and availability. Calculated using the cheapest price available at the time of writing, the average price of a one-night stay in a college in Oxford is £136; at Cambridge it is £102. At the latter, there were particularly affordable rooms at Christ's (£57) and Churchill (£76), while Downing was the most expensive at £150. Oxford also offers rooms at places that are not strictly colleges, meaning you could bag a room in the alumni-focused Oxford University Club (£124) or Rewley House (£99), which is used by the Continuing Education department. The cheapest room came in at £69 per night, at theological college Wycliffe Hall, while the most expensive was £290 at Jesus. The score Cambridge: 2 Oxford: 1 University accolades These are centres of academia, and so our ranking took into account the number of Nobel Prizes won by researchers at the Universities. Oxford, according to a list on its website, has 57: from the detained former leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, to the writer VS Naipul. Cambridge counts 125, with philosopher Bertrand Russell, physicist Niels Bohr and physiologist Elizabeth H Blackburn all getting gongs. Some winners, such as Dorothy Hodgkin, the third woman to be awarded for chemistry, are claimed by both universities. If it's the intellectual history of the universities that you're interested in exploring, visit their respective libraries for topical exhibitions. More creative? The battle for poet laureate is won by Cambridge, but only just. Of the 21 laureates Britain has had since 1668, seven studied in the city, including John Dryden, Ted Hughes and William Wordsworth, who wrote about 'Trinity's loquacious clock' in his narrative poem The Prelude. Oxford has only one fewer laureate – six – whose number includes Robert Southey, Cecil Day-Lewis and Andrew Motion. Find out more on an Ink and Stones tour of literary Cambridge, or on Oxford Walking Tour 's equivalent. The score Cambridge: 3 Oxford: 1 The cities Aside from the cities' intellectual history, it is their architecture that captivates. From 12th-century churches, such as St Peter-in-the-East in Oxford, to innocuous Arts and Crafts houses in Cambridge, the buildings are a crucial part of a visit. Matthew Arnold's 'dreaming spires' are how we picture Oxford, and glimpsing King's College Chapel is as breathtaking as images suggest. As for the more modern additions? Both Oxford and Cambridge have been handsomely rewarded in the RIBA National Awards 'in recognition of their significant contributions to architecture'. Cambridge edges it, slightly, with 19 awards compared with its rival's 13. Some of the buildings might not be of much note to those who aren't scholars of 21st-century design (the Welding Institute is not a typical tourist stop), but all of them build the character of the place and complement what are living cities. Outside of London, Blue Plaques are awarded by local organisations, so comparing the number in each city means little. They are, however, a good starting point for finding out the less well-known parts of a place. Oxfordshire Blue Plaques runs the equivalent organisation. Its 16 city-wide plaques include memorials to Ivy Williams DCL, the first woman to be called to the English bar, and Felicia Skene, a prison reformer and 'friend to the poor'. Cambridge has 43, its number boosted earlier this year for the last child chimney sweep to die in Britain. The story of George Brewster, 11, would not otherwise be signposted in the city. Now, though, visitors can visit the spot (along with notices mentioning Charles Darwin, Oliver Cromwell and Syd Barrett) and learn all about an unusual slice of Cambridge's history. Find out more on the Cambridge Past, Present and Future website. The score Cambridge: 4 Oxford: 1 Places to eat Both Cambridge and Oxford fare well in the Michelin guides. Oxford has three restaurants listed: the Lamb Inn, Pompette and Arbequina, plus more farther into the countryside. For something slightly more affordable, the Vaults and Garden Cafe is a lively place for breakfast, while Moroccan restaurant Kazbar is popular for dinner and cocktails. Tiny Japanese restaurant Edamame is a popular lunch option (try the soul-soothing ramen). Find out more in our guide to Oxford's best restaurants. In Cambridge, luxury is to be found at five Michelin-starred restaurants. One of those, Midsumer House, was described by a Telegraph reviewer as a 'masterpiece of taste, presentation and sheer theatre'. There is, however, plenty to choose from elsewhere, from the rambunctious market stalls in the centre of the city – the falafel wraps are particularly good – as are the square pizza slices at Italian café Aromi. Smaller chains, such as Dishoom and Giggling Squid, have sprung up in the city too, but for an impressive meal, the Old Bicycle Shop, on Regent Street, is hard to resist. Find out more in our guide to Cambridge's best restaurants. The score Cambridge: 5 Oxford: 1 Pubs Looking for a more informal history lesson? The pubs of both cities are a good place to start. CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien were regulars at the Eagle and Child pub, in Oxford. It's at the Eagle in Cambridge that Watson and Crick declared that they had discovered DNA. If interesting ale is more your thing, the Pint Shop in Cambridge has an ever-changing menu of intriguing tipples, while Oxford's Tap Social Movement is the place to pick up good pizza and beer. The aptly-named Heritage Pub Tours can show you round the best in Cambridge, while Footprints Tours offers the same in Oxford. So which city takes the spoils? We're giving the points to Oxford, which boasts 317 listings on the website of the Campaign for Real Ale Association (Camra), compared with Cambridge's 272. The score Cambridge: 5 Oxford: 2 Places to stay There is no shortage of first-rate hotels in both cities. For Telegraph Travel 's reviewers, Cambridge clinches it, again; there are two hotels in the city we have given a rating of at least nine out of 10, compared with just one in Oxford. In Cambridge, the Graduate Hotel offers riverside views and impeccable facilities , while the Gonville is described as having a 'pleasing air of indulgence'. There are honorable mentions for the Fellows House, Varsity Hotel and Spa and Hotel du Vin, too. See our full list of recommended hotels in Cambridge here. The highest scoring in Oxford is the Old Bank Hotel, sitting directly opposite University Church, the Covered Market and All Souls College. In a city full of exceptional architecture, it still manages to burst with character – but if you would rather stay somewhere more affordable, you can read more reviews of Oxford hotels here. The score Cambridge: 6 Oxford: 2 Things to do Both cities offer punting, either with a guide or solo. Be wary of ticket touts and be sure to book with a respectable firm. Scudamore's, in Cambridge, has been operating since 1910 – purchase tickets online in advance before picking up your punt on Mill Lane. Oxford's Magdalen Bridge Boathouse serves much the same function. On sunnier days, the parks of both cities are an ideal place to take a picnic and a good book. Swerve Parker's Piece in Cambridge and instead visit Jesus Green, lined on its west side with charming cottages. In Oxford, the delightfully wild Port Meadow, to the north of the city, is popular with wild swimmers in the spring. Both also have wonderful botanical gardens, which will enthuse even the least horticultural family members. In Cambridge, performance is king. Head to the Cambridge Corn Exchange for live music or comedy. The ADC is the oldest university playroom in the country; Benedict Cumberbatch, Emma Thompson and Tilda Swinton all began their careers here. There's the Arts Theatre, too, which is currently being refurbished. It's due to reopen in the autumn. As for museums, the Fitzwilliam is a grand Georgian building known for its tastefully curated artworks and objects. Other outposts of the University, such as the Polar Museum, will delight those with more esoteric interests. At the other end of town is Kettle's Yard, an enigmatic 'home for artists' that operates as a peaceful gallery and museum. Oxford's equivalent is the Ashmolean, founded in 1683 (and the oldest public museum in England). The collection covers everything from Guy Fawkes's lantern to Michelangelo's studies for the Sistine Chapel. Children might prefer the Pitt Rivers Museum, which holds more than 18,000 curious Victorian objects collected from around the world. There are plenty of places to hear live music in Oxford, from student favourite the Jericho to the Holywell Music Room, which has been hosting recitals for more than 250 years. Or for something altogether more peaceful, venture out of the city to Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, and wander its perfectly sculpted Capability Brown parkland. So which city gets the point? We're giving it to Oxford, which (according to TripAdvisor) has 572 attractions, including 31 museums and 136 landmarks, compared with Cambridge's 502. The score Cambridge: 6 Oxford: 3 Getting there Direct trains to Cambridge leave London King's Cross (taking around 50 minutes to one hour) and London Liverpool Street (around one hour and 30 minutes). There are also trains from Ipswich and Kings Lynn. FlixBus offers coach services from London Victoria Coach Station to Cambridge. Prices start at £7.49 each way. Direct trains to Oxford leave London Paddington (taking around 50 minutes) and London Marylebone (around one hour and 30 minutes), plus Birmingham New Street, Reading and Didcot. The Oxford Tube offers a near-24-hour coach service between the city and the capital. Tickets start at £15 for a single journey, £22.50 for a return, with concessions available. More central Oxford is easier to reach for much of the country, and is closer to Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, so gets the point. The score Cambridge: 6 Oxford: 4 The final verdict Cambridge has, just about, seized the crown. Its number of university accolades, plus relatively affordable college accommodation, makes it a wonderful spot for a weekend away. In reality, though, each city has a wealth of fascinating history, lively attractions and expansive green space, meaning both are bucket-list destinations. It's best, then, to choose one based on your own interests. Fascinated by JRR Tolkien? Oxford is the place for you. Want to get the perfect photo of Britain in the sunshine? Punt along the river Cam, and take a snap by King's College. Ultimately, Oxford and Cambridge are wonderful places for a day out: the solution, really, is to visit both.
