Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Danny Chapman

Last year 18,000 people gathered by and on the bridge at 6am to listen to a traditional hymn sung from the Magdalen College tower by the Magdalen College Boys’ Choir. It became a tradition in the 1970s to jump off the bridge but Oxford City Council are strongly advising against doing so this year as it can be extremely dangerous, but especially so this year because of the drought and low water levels. In 2005 40 people were hurt jumping from the bridge costing the NHS tens of thousands of pounds, but last year went off “without incident” so everybody is looking forward to this year’s celebration.

At the beginning of May the city of Oxford takes on a very Pagan feel as Morris Dancers come out in their flowers, bells, abd their handkerchiefs or batons. There are several versions of the Morris Dance depending on which part of the country you are in, for example in Yorkshire there is a version using swords; or along the Welsh-English border the men paint their faces black and have feathers in their hats instead of flowers. Its origins are thought to be Moorish, dating back to the mid-15th century when the Moors were in retreat from Spain, and the dances were held in honour of the Spanish monarchy. Nonetheless, it is now recognised as a very English celebration. Here’s a short video of some Oxford men in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZHgYX6dRrs

If you’re lucky enough to catch the good weather you could take an official guided walking tour following in the footsteps of Inspector Morse, the city’s most famous fictional detective. You could also take one of the other themed tours which include CS Lewis & JRR Tolkien, or the Gargoyles & Grotesques Tour of the fantastic stone creatures that adorn the churches and ancient buildings, meant to scare away evil spirits.

Oxford also has one of the most famous universities in the world, and is the oldest in the English-speaking world having existed for over 900 years. It’s made up of 38 colleges each with its own unique characteristics. Some of the most famous are Christ Church, whose Great Hall inspired the design for the hall at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies, the Magdalen tower dominates the High Street, and the crypt at St Edmund Hall has a spooky atmosphere second to none.

The historic Bodleian Library is the largest university library in the UK with over nine-million printed books. You’ll be in good company when you visit as the footsteps as five kings, 40 Nobel Prize winners and 25 Prime Ministers have been heard walking through these halls.

Hotels in Oxford have a class that credit this historic city, and if you can find a place to stay close to the city’s old centre, even in one weekend you’ll have ample time to see the best it has to offer.

Catherine Halsey writes for a digital marketing agency on a range of subjects. This article links back to https://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/macdonald-randolph-hotel/

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The place is located close to Barcelona. Montserrat literally means “jagged mountain” and when you take a look at the pinkish rock, which is above the monastery and visible already from afar, you are immediately clear why. Although the mountain alone attracts many rock climbers, most people come here to visit the Benedictine monastery and see the statue of the Virgin Mary and infant Christ, also known as “la Moreneta”. The Black Madonna is made of wood and was created sometimes between the 12th and 13th century. Just like in many similar cases, even here a lot of people believe that the statue has supernatural abilities, such as cure or fulfil wishes. She was declared the saint patron of Catalonia by Pope Leo XIII in 1844.

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But Montserrat Monastery is even older coming from the 8th or 9th century, however since then it has undergone many alterations and was almost destroyed during Napoleonic wars. Today’s appearance is from the late 19th century.

Some of you who knows the music much better than just from radios would certainly be familiar with a local boys’ choir of sopranos and altos called L’Escolania, existing since the 13th century. It is the oldest institution of its kind in Europe.

The monastery also includes an extensive library with more than 200,000 volumes. But it is still not everything. The legend says that this site was a place of the castle of the Holy Grail (often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers).

Montserrat monastery is situated in the mountain at an altitude of 750 meters above sea level and formerly was very hard accessible. However now it is very easy to get there, so be prepared for crowds. You can use road, but also a steep lift built in 1930 (Aerie de Montserrat) or cog-railway from 1892.

Due to a huge number of visitors (almost 750,000 people a year), there are lots of car parks, restaurants, refreshments with ice cream, souvenir shops, two museums and even a hotel.

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