A list naming the best things to do in Oxford has included the city’s infamous Headington Shark.
The Times has compiled a guide to the best things to do in Oxford on a weekend break ranging from sightseeing to eating.
Amongst the entries was a special mention for the seven-metre shark lodged in a house’s roof on a residential street.
The Headington Shark is a fibreglass sculpture that first appeared in the 1980s and was designed by John Buckley.
READ MORE: Everything we know as ‘highly venomous snake on the loose’ in Oxford
It stands as a metaphor for helplessness and desperation amongst nuclear threat, having been inspired by the moment when the house owner, Bill Heine, heard American warplanes flying over Oxford on their way to bomb Libya.
Built without planning permission in the early hours of the morning, Oxford City Council sought to have the sculpture removed on the grounds of public safety.
In 1992, following a six year legal battle, Tony Baldry from the Department of the Environment ruled that the shark was officially allowed to stay.
“Surely Oxford’s most peculiar piece of public art, this 26-foot shark appears to have crashed through the roof of an otherwise unremarkable terraced house in the suburb of Headington,” said The Times.
READ MORE: City school ‘requires improvement’ as Ofsted says ‘pupils left underachieving’
Subscribe to the Oxford Mail for just £4 for four months in this July flash sale 🗞https://t.co/cSxYZYwrdV
— Oxford Mail (@TheOxfordMail) July 9, 2024
“The subject of controversy for decades, the sculpture has become a local landmark, and it now looks like it’s here for good; even more extraordinarily, the house is now up for rent on Airbnb.”
Other attractions in Oxford according to The Times include going punting on the Cherwell and visiting the University of Oxford Botanic Garden.
Help support trusted local news
Sign up for a digital subscription now: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe/
As a digital subscriber you will get:
- Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website
- Advert-light access
- Reader rewards
- Full access to our app
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel