Cambridge or Oxford, which do you prefer?

[reohn2]

Never been to Oxford so have no opinion of it.
Only been to Cambridge once about 15 years ago,it was raining and late,we stopped off at a decent hotel,asked if they had a room and was told by the receptionist it would be £160.
I said it was too much and was turning to leave when she said "How much would you pay".I said "£50" and she said "OK",so I thought I'd be cheeky and ask if that included breakfast,she said "of course"
Not been back since

[661-Pete]

Well, if I don't 'out' myself now, it'll happen sooner or later...

I am an Oxford alumnus (my school having, sort of, pushed me there), so I suppose it has to be said, I used to know Oxford pretty well. But I haven't been back for many years now, and even on my last visit the city had changed beyond recognition.

Please understand, not all us Oxford students were of the 'Bullingdon'-type lowlife as characterised by Cammers, Bojo et al. Some of us actually went there to study.

Oxford is maybe better for cycloclimbing, Cambridge has nothing like Divinity Road

Interesting you should mention that. I used to live in Divinity Road. And near the top of the hill. As far as I recall, I didn't find it much of a hill to pedal up - and that was on an old beaten-up singlespeed that I used to ride around Oxford. My flatmates there (who opted to ride around on mopeds) were, it has to be admitted, duly impressed at my perseverance. But we all get that from non-cyclists, don't we!

Certainly it was a rude awakening for me when I later went to live in Yorkshire and took to cycling around the Dales. Perhaps it was lucky for me, that my singlespeed got stolen soon after I moved to Bradford, and I then equipped myself with a 'proper' bike...

[Cyril Haearn]

You should have gone into politics Pete, maybe you could have saved us from This Madness

[Tangled Metal]

I've been into Cambridge once I think and never Oxford so can't comment on that. What I can comment on is the easy oxbridge graduates get so annoyed when you get their universities mixed up.

I've got mates who went to Oxford and others who went to Cambridge. I never remember which was which. So I should say oxbridge when referring to it but I don't. More fun getting then annoyed and trying not to react.

Personally never had an interest in even looking at them when I was considering which uni to apply for. They didn't have a good reputation in the subject I was interested in. Nobody bright going into the field I was looking at looked at oxbridge. You might as well done the subject at a poly!

Even now you get top 10 universities who got there by a few first rate subjects / departments and missing out on a lot of very useful subjects. It's a shame when some university engineering departments become the relative hidden in the loft compared to their attractive and very well funded business or arts departments/facilities.

[drossall]

Oxford is maybe better for cycloclimbing, Cambridge has nothing like Divinity Road

Living fairly locally, I definitely think of Cambridge as flat. So I was a bit surprised, when I first rode the Cambridge Spring Dash, by the final 5 mile descent into the city. However, nothing about that descent contradicts this:

Certainly it was a rude awakening for me when I later went to live in Yorkshire and took to cycling around the Dales.

[mattheus]

Oxford is maybe better for cycloclimbing, Cambridge has nothing like Divinity Road

Interesting you should mention that. I used to live in Divinity Road. And near the top of the hill. As far as I recall, I didn't find it much of a hill to pedal up - and that was on an old beaten-up singlespeed that I used to ride around Oxford. My flatmates there (who opted to ride around on mopeds) were, it has to be admitted, duly impressed at my perseverance. But we all get that from non-cyclists, don't we!

Does Castle Hill (CAM) beat it?

(it may not be much of a hill, but it sure has a castle on it!)

[Hobbs1951]

Oxford every time, more in touch with the world.

Cambridge is pleasant enough.

John.

[mercalia]

neither. take away the colleges and what have you got?

[francovendee]

neither. take away the colleges and what have you got?

[Sweep]

I've never been to Cambridge, but I have cycled through Oxford.
Horrible place.

Hopefully, Cambridge is nice.

Oxford added to london as a horrible place mick? Maybe you should list your horrible cities/large towns.
All the best

[Sweep]

Oxford every time, more in touch with the world.

Cambridge is pleasant enough.

John.

Oxford has produced some very out of touch politicos more in touch with their own egos and latest supposed triumph in the debating society than anything to do with the interests of the country under whatever political flag. Sometimes think there should be a 10 year ban on any of them sitting in cabinet or becoming PM while the country recovers.

I believe we have a current in touch Oxford union star on the wobbly pedestal at the moment. I was once unfortunate enough to lead a bike ride from peckham of all places where one of this set turned up and proceeded to tell us how many potential PMs she knew. Without thinking it relevant to tell us what their actual beliefs were.

Will return with more cambridge Oxford stuff later.

[Cyril Haearn]

Oxbridge and Camford fight each other at many different sports, not just rowing
Trying unsuccessfully to establish who is better, I think

Maybe 'both' is the answer, for some august personages have studied at both

Mind, Blackwells won the bookselling contest by buying Heffers

[Hobbs1951]

Oxford every time, more in touch with the world.

Cambridge is pleasant enough.

John.

Oxford has produced some very out of touch politicos more in touch with their own egos and latest supposed triumph in the debating society than anything to do with the interests of the country under whatever political flag. Sometimes think there should be a 10 year ban on any of them sitting in cabinet or becoming PM while the country recovers.

I was not actually referring to the types that have given Oxford Alumni a bad press of late, but I was referring to the city itself and its relationship with the wider world.

And not all Oxford Alumni are the sons or daughters of the wealthy elites.

John.

[Sweep]

Oxford every time, more in touch with the world.

Cambridge is pleasant enough.

John.

Oxford has produced some very out of touch politicos more in touch with their own egos and latest supposed triumph in the debating society than anything to do with the interests of the country under whatever political flag. Sometimes think there should be a 10 year ban on any of them sitting in cabinet or becoming PM while the country recovers.

I was not actually referring to the types that have given Oxford Alumni a bad press of late, but I was referring to the city itself and its relationship with the wider world.

And not all Oxford Alumni are the sons or daughters of the wealthy elites.

John.

Fair enough - yes I know what you mean. Oxford does feel more like a real place. Cambridge is so small the centre at least feels dominated by the universities.

Oxford factoid - has more than one spoons - I know this as after a night bivvying in a field on a Birmingham to London ride I had breakfast in the nicest/most bike friendly one.

The wealth/privilege thing is better than it was, yes, but still not sorted.

The Oxford woman encounter I reffered to above was worse than I first wrote - she knew one potential PM minus 1. She also delighted in telling us how amused her and her set were because one of the crowd, apparently destined for great things, did all the right stuff, joined all the right things, hobnobbed with the right folk, worked his socks off on his impending career and then ended up getting gassed in an apartment on holiday - carbon monoxide possibly. Oh how they laughed.

I well remember asking her two or three times what the beliefs/policies of these bods were but never got an answer. Clearly she thought the question irrelevant/naive.

Factoid about Cambridge though have no idea if its true - told me by an ex schoolfriend who went there - the reason the station is so far out of town is that the college authorities wanted to discourage undergraduates from nipping off to the fleshpots of London.

[Cyril Haearn]

Oxford has a substantial Asian community in the Cowley Road area, +1
..
Why no votes for Abingdon or Newmarket?