Marcus claims this as his favorite of all the days on his trip and it’s easy to see why. We had a very unique experience, especially considering where we were.

The morning began in the picturesque B&B of Stratford where the light rain just seemed to add to the charm of the view from our window. Seeing how we hadn’t had much down time on the trip I deemed it the perfect chance to take a long hot bath in the giant old claw-foot-tub and go down for my tea and full English later. I mention this only because I unknowingly filled the tub to the brim with very hot water and had a long soak; Marcus in turn had no hot water for his quick shower… So when you hear us describe the experience of staying at the B&B I think you’ll find we use very different adjectives.

We then left for Bath in which we really only spent time in the Roman Bath itself. I found it scientifically and socially fascinating to go around the preserved spot and hear of the history and explanation of the natural phenomena but I really wish you were allowed to go IN the thing.

That’s not to say though that despite not being a part of a public bath that we didn’t see some near-nude-disgusting-sights, for we happened along some street performers whose act consisted of enough one-liners to make Clarkson’s writers blush, slightly-better-than-amateur acrobatics, and visual gags. So essentially two comedians who used acrobatics to spice up/diversify their act. Oh, and who also only wore man-thongs for the gross-out factor. It’s just really not the kind of thing I thought I’d see in Jane Austen’s Bath…

From Bath we headed out to Oxford to meet up with Andy and John. Both of whom I’d been meaning to meet since September. They were having a barbeque in the nearby village that Andy’s mum lives in (I like to pretend it was in our honor) so we drove there. It was some of the nicest English cottage road driving we’ve seen. Even over the Lake District.

And then we arrived at one of the most beautiful of cottages, proper thatched roof and all. With a rope-swing near the house, horses grazing in a nearby pasture, and a slow winding river running parallel with the horizon. We all knew it, and several of us voiced it: this was paradisiac.

So we spent the day basking in this beauty, horsing around on the rope swing, laughing with our new Oxford friends, jumping in the river for a float down, and cannonballs off the river rope swing.

Now most of you probably have this very tranquil and idyllic picture of the place (which is absolutely accurate), BUT the posh and pretty exterior were slightly eroded to more grassroots terms when Andy starting a mid-river mud/cow-poo fight. Wiping a big glob of the s#*t out of my eye I couldn’t help but think: “This isn’t the oxford I was expecting…”

I was really really funny though and somehow not being put off by Oxford people who grab handfuls of crap to fling at each other helped Marcus pass “the test”. Though to be honest I was a bit grossed out when a few hours later (after a much needed shower) we were sitting around an playing games and I put my finger in my ear and pulled back a finger covered in manure…It’s good for your hair though.

That night we built a big bonfire (Thanks dad for teaching me at least one manly thing, how to make a darn good fire! Where others failed and gave up I succeeded. You’d of been proud.) and then later saw our only thing in Oxford itself, a midnight tour of the grounds of the Castle where the Duke of Somethingorother lives. John and Hannah knew a secret entrance and narrated to us what we’d be seeing… if we could see. And when we all danced randomly in the park to mobile phone speaker music I knew these people were keepers!

As we went home to John’s (where he was letting us stay for the night) I realized my only regret in this road trip was that I hadn’t taken it sooner. I would love to spend more time with these people but I don’t really have that much time left… This thought saddened me as I drifted to sleep.