IF you are looking for a wild night out, forget Oxford, says a new travel guide.
Queuing up outside local kebab vans is what passes for late-night action for the young people of the city - just one of the less than thrilling verdicts of the newly published Rough Guide To England.
The new travel guide, read by thousands of visitors each year, has caused a storm by claiming England's 'green and pleasant land' has never looked so tatty.
It finds that most people's image of Oxford remains that of "super-class students talking in nasal accents, living in oak-panelled rooms and drinking port into the early hours". The reality is different. "What fills the local press is not the latest college gossip but reports of joy-riding on local housing estates," it claims, slamming Oxford for its "frustrating one-way system" and "the lack of of convenient parking space".
When it comes to the locals, visitors are warned that Oxford people are hardly over-friendly. The city's inhabitants are said to like to "keep themselves to themselves".
But the most surprising comments centre on the city's night life, or lack of it.
"This is not a town for wild nights," says the Rough Guide. "Lovers of classical music are well catered for, but the city has a fairly paltry offering of other forms of entertainment - which is why at weekends so many young people hang around in Cornmarket after the pubs have shut, or head off to queue at one of the kebab vans for a late-night snack." It goes on: "Having spawned both Supergrass and Radiohead in recent years, you'd think Oxford would be hot on popular music these days. Sadly, the star quality of its local heroes is not reflected in either the live-music or club scene, which aside from a couple of noteworthy venues, is lame for a university city."
As for eating out it finds: "Oxford is not exactly a gourmet haven, but it does have a few high class choices amid the welter of unpretentious and good value places."
But it concludes that: "For all its idiosyncrasies, Oxford should not be missed, and can keep you occupied for several days. The university buildings include some of England's greatest architecture and the city can boast some excellent museums and numerous bars and restaurants." Ex-mayor, Bill Baker, chairman of the city's council's employment and economic development committees, said: "We are trying to make Oxford a 24-hour city, but when it comes to night clubs and night life, places like Reading do have better facilities.
The guide describes Wantage as "a sleepy, slightly run-down market town" while tourists are warned about cars battling it out in Burford "while tourists fight it out on the pavements and in the antique shops". As for poor Abingdon - "England's oldest town" - and Banbury, famous around the world for its cross in the nursery rhyme, there is no mention.
What's your view of the Rough Guide's conclusions about Oxfordshire?
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Story date: Tuesday 15 February
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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