Sir – On a recent almost spring-like day, my wife and I walked down the River Thames from Wolvercote to Port Meadow — mostly on land owned by the city, it has to be said.
Hardly had we started, when eyesores began to appear on the skyline:
- From Godstow Lock, the JR hospital is a terrible blot on the landscape. But it’s nothing that can’t be fixed by removing the top, say, three floors.
- Further down at Binsey, the hardly-dreaming spire/tower of St Barnabas’ Church somewhat obscures the view. But the science block dominates. And, if you stand on tiptoe on a tree stump, you can just about see a bit of Keble College. Both have to go, I’m afraid.
- It doesn’t stop there: the Radcliffe Observatory is totally in the way of what I am sure is a rather beautiful tree in the University Parks. Only one thing for it . . .
By the time we reached the new University buildings overlooking Port Meadow, we were no longer in an emotional condition to notice them.
What happened to ‘rus in urbe’? Can a citizen not walk through the peaceful parts of the countryside (or do I mean the city?) without seeing the city?
Or, er, hang on, have I got this wrong? . . .
Nigel Clarke, Oxford
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