Oxford's Best Writing Spots - Part II

We return to complete our sojourn into the best writing spots in Oxford. Our selections this week take us northward, through the bustling streets of Jericho. These locations prove, beyond reasonable doubt,  that there is a corner of Oxford to suit every writer. 

 Edge Coffee - Jericho

Edge Coffee is one of the trendier coffee shops in Oxford (it could just as well be in Dalston). We advise wearing either a beanie or Doc Martens to truly blend in. Cool as they come, but serving up the hottest coffee in town. The Edge Brazilian Blend is something of a legend in the Wykeham’s office, and has fuelled many a burst of productivity over the years. Tucked below a barber’s shop on Walton Street, the outside is unassuming, but venture inside and you’re met with an intimate, low-lit space, laced with hanging greenery, dark paintwork and a smattering of polaroid photos on the wall. The large window at the front of the shop steams up pleasantly in the colder months and, tucked away in a corner, you’re transported to a cosy, caffeinated paradise, buoyed by the dulcet pulse of a techno requiem in the background. Their music choice is as good as their coffee; the cinnamon buns aren’t half bad, either. Siphon yourself away here, pen in hand, and enjoy the moody intensity of a coffee shop that beats to its own drum. One of the best there is.

Tree Artisan Café - Jericho

An intimate, glowy sanctuary. Soft music and a large mirror at the back culminate in a reflective ambience, steeped in the scent of good coffee. A female-led business, Tree Artisan Cafe connects the dots between traceability, sustainability, and taste. Their coffee is single-origin, and trackable to the women who grew it. The different beans on offer each month are unpacked in the ‘Currently brewing’ section of their website, for those who wish to delve deeper into the finely milled details of production. This is truly a student café, but that makes for a peaceful, studious atmosphere as they stare down their laptops on small tables as the world goes by outside. Situated on the imperturbable whir that is Walton Street, with its incantatory rhythm - bike bells, footsteps, chinking coffee cups - this is the perfect place to get pensive and pen a few thoughts.

The Medley - Port Meadow

If you’re more bar than pub, but less rooftop than garden, then The Medley is the perfect spot to sip and scribble this summer. A short walk across Port Meadow, this outdoor bar is tucked away beside a walled garden, almost exactly in between the Medley Sailing Club and the Bailey Bridge. Inauspicious as it might first seem, once you’ve made it along the dirt track and through the rickety gate, you enter into the relaxed, jovial epicentre of summery fun: a wooden kiosk, pizza oven, and casually arranged benches. Partially encircled by a thicket of hedging, you feel wilfully implanted into its green midst, with the Thames just visible through the branches. Not to be overshadowed by the formidable Perch pub, further up the river, this spot is arguably the more informal, chatty counterpart. It has less of the historical weight of some of the inner-city venues, but all of the festival-feel you might crave on a late-July evening. If you’re someone who likes a dose of fresh air and background noise when writing, this is ideally situated. Think pints, plastic cups, pizza and the promise of the blank page. A perennial favourite of the Wykeham’s team come summer. 

Oxford Museum of Natural History & Pitt Rivers - Lawn

The Oxford Museum of Natural History: An Oxford landmark with its idiosyncratic brigade of west-facing gargoyles. The Pitt Rivers is hidden within, expanding upwards like an architectural accordion for those stumbling upon it unexpectedly. As a museum,  Pitt Rivers has navigated a fraught reputational standpoint in recent times. Reconciling its claim to anthropological, ethnographical, and archaeological wonderment with a problematic colonial legacy has been paramount. Housing over 500,000 items collected across 130 years, the museum has had to reevaluate the ethical terms on which many of those were acquired. For writers, the lawn outside the museum is a good spot for repose. A sprawl of grass, it faces the polychromatic red and yellow brickwork of Keble College (lauded ‘the lasagne college’, for this reason). In summer, this is a well-placed spot, just outside the very centre of town. It therefore lacks the mania of Broad Street. Steady footfall into the museums makes the space more transitory; you can fall into a fluid rhythm of typing and people watching at intervals. The Horsebox Coffee Co. have a trailer set up outside and, takeaway brew by your side, laptop perching on your knees, it’s easy enough to while away a few hours writing. Worth a try as the days lengthen.

BY FREYA MORRIS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KALUM CARTER