The last time I visited Oxford was over 30 years ago, on a cold December night during the Arab oil embargo and the national coal miners' strike. My sister and I had toured Stratford-on-Avon and seen a matinee, and then come to Oxford for the night before leaving from Luton early the next day for a cheap package holiday to Benidorm. We arrived in the dark at a cheap and dreary B&B, with few lights, no heat, and no locks on the door. I slept with my clothes on, clutching my bag for the trip the next day. Needless to say, Oxford did not make a great impression, and I hadn't been back since.

I have been a great fan of the Inspector Morse books and TV series, though, and everything I have read and seen about Oxford made it sound like it must be nicer than my first impression 30-some years ago. Nothing prepared me, however, for the absolutely beautiful city we found during an overnight trip there this week.

We took the train from Salisbury, changing at Basingstoke, and made good time getting to the city, and then on to our B&B at St. Stephen's House, on the east side of the city. We caught a bus around the corner on Cowley Road into the city centre, and immediately booked into a walking tour leaving from the TIC on Broad Street.

Our first stop was at St. Michael at the Northgate, an impressive church, parts of which date back to Saxon times. Our next stop was up Ship Street and around the corner on Turl Street into Exeter College, and this is when I really began to fall in love with Oxford. We were welcomed into the college chapel, which was lavishly decorated in an arts and crafts style, and with stained glass windows modelled on the Sainte Chappelle in Paris. Our walk was designed for families, and our guide took time in the chapel to explain some of the many literary associations in Oxford that would appeal to children, explaining the background to works such Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Rings, and the filming of Harry Potter films.

We exited the college, turned left on Brasenose Lane, and at the end of the block saw the magnificent and iconic Radcliffe Camera. We stood outside the gates of Brasenose College while our guide explained the history of the Camera, the Bodleian Library to its north, and St. Mary the Virgin church to the south. Then he described the history of Brasenose ("brass nose") College, and casually added that this was the college of our new prime minister, David Cameron. By this time the change was complete, and I was in love with the beauty, history and romance of Oxford.

Over the next 24 hours we toured many colleges, walked down a number of beautiful lanes, and through many lush gardens and meadows. Each sight seemed more beautiful than the next. The Great Hall and Cathedral at Christ Church College, home of 13 Prime Ministers. The huge and ancient tree in the quad at New College, beneath the tower where one of the religious martyrs met his death. The tower of Magdalen College where the choir sings at 6 AM every May 1 to welcome the start of summer. The chapel at Queen's College where we listened to a beautiful lunch-time organ concert, while students played croquet on the lawn in the quad outside. And the "Bridge of Sighs" connecting the old and new wings of Hertford College. It takes a little work to see the beauty of Oxford. One must venture into the colleges to see the chapels, the halls, the quads, and the gardens. It is a very special place, and I feel enriched just for having had a short visit there.