PS. I figured out how to save $3500 on this group trip, too!

As you probably know, I’m not a big fan of group trips. Too orchestrated, too many people, too little freedom – you know the drill.

But I recently found a trip that proved enticing. I’ve buried the lead in this story, so you’ll have to go to the end to find out how to save big time on this trip, so read on!

I received the Smithsonian’s brochure of trips, flipped through it and mostly said, “been there, done that.” But then I saw a section on Oxford University and it listed classes you could take for a week. When I read on, I found a class on English gardens. Um, that got my interest. As a Master Gardener Volunteer in my hometown, I love learning about gardening, garden design and all the how-to’s of gardening. I pulled up the website for the trip and called the customer service folks for more details.

The most disturbing fact was that the housing would be in student dormitories where there was no air conditioning and no hair dryers. After a quick check of the weather in Oxford in July, I decided I could handle 70-degrees and would purchase a small travel hair dryer to take on the trip. The price for the trip seemed reasonable and after consulting my friend who lives in England, we arranged for me to visit her for two days prior to the class.

My brother-in-law, Lynn, was planning a trip to the UK and had purchased tickets for the British Open or The Open as it is called in the UK. He invited me to join him after my class. Pouf, I had a plan and easily booked my flight to London and found train schedules to get me from my Winchester friend’s home to Oxford and then onto Edinburgh, where I would meet Lynn. Leery of group trips, I decided I would go into the experience with an open mind.

I arrived in Oxford after an easy train trip from Winchester to Basington and then onward to Oxford. As I left the train station, looking for a taxi to take to the college, I saw a long line at the taxi stand. Well, this may be the time to try Uber, I decided. After 3 minutes, my car arrived and the driver told me I was lucky to get him, because today was a visiting day at Oxford and the town was crowded with people. Most taxis were taking an hour to get to a waiting passenger.  I found out later that I paid two times the normal rate for my ride, but at that point, I was glad to get a taxi as the walk would have been at least 30 minutes.  I didn’t feel like dragging my carryon all that way.

My arrival at Merton College at Oxford was pretty easy. Merton College is one of 39 colleges at Oxford. It was founded in 1264 and has about 650 students.

I found my way to the meeting room, where I signed in and was told a porter would bring my bag to my room. I got directions to my room and after a few wrong turns, finally got to Rose Cottage and my room on the second floor. I had seen photos of the dorm rooms but was pleasantly surprised to find a two-room suite. The outer room had a desk, dresser, bookshelves, mini-refrigerator and coffee maker. The small bedroom had a twin bed and connected to an even smaller bathroom, complete with shower, sink and toilet. There were two windows which I opened to let in a breeze. No hairdryer, as promised. But a standing fan, which I really didn’t use the whole week. Ian delivered my suitcase and I unpacked and explored my room. No hangers in the closet, so all my clothes went in the drawers. I set up my computer and connected to the wi-fi. I was ready to rock and roll. I found a detailed booklet full of helpful information about the staff, entrance hours, meals and drinks schedule, housekeeping and a map of Oxford. Also included was a detailed schedule of every day’s activities.

An evening orientation session was followed by a welcome reception on the lawn of the college garden. I have to admit, for a garden enthusiast, the grounds at Merton were pretty fabulous. Lawn was green and trim. There were numerous and voluminous plantings of flowers, shrubs and all kinds of gorgeous plants – most I would never attempt to grow in Florida. But, beautiful, nevertheless. In fact, Merton probably has one of the nicest gardens of all the Oxford colleges.

The reception offered wine only. So I slipped away to the college bar and met Peter who found a bottle of Bourbon and some ginger ale. I was set! With drink in hand, I ventured back to the reception to meet some of my fellow students.

All the 64 people in the large group were from the US. They seemed to be well-traveled, bright and interesting folks. Most seemed to be retired or close to retirement age. My class, The History of English Gardens, included 12 ladies, led by our amazing instructor, or tutor, as the Brits say.  Richard Bisgrove was full of detailed and interesting information about English gardens, famous designers and all kinds of fascinating tid-bits about the plants, garden construction and famous historical gardens.  

Our typical day went like this. Rise for hot breakfast in the dining hall from 7:30 to 9:00. There was always some egg dish, ham or bacon, potatoes, grilled tomatoes, baked beans. A cold buffet included cereals, yogurt and fresh fruit. Coffee, tea, juice and water was also available.

After breakfast, we all joined our classmates for an hour and a half lecture, followed by a 30-minute coffee/tea break. Classes then resumed until 12:30 when we ended for the day. We had lunch every day, a hot buffet, at 1 pm. Lunch included a meat/fish, starch, vegetable, salad and roll/bread. Dessert was also served. I found the ice cream stash and a small carton of ice cream was my preferred choice.

The afternoons included a tour of Oxford and a tour of another college – Pembroke College. We also had a couple of free afternoons, where we could join tours of various sites in Oxford or just have free time to wander around by ourselves.

My favorite activity was an afternoon tour of one of the historic gardens we had studied. Our class joined our instructor at Rousham Gardens in Oxfordshire, a country house with walled gardens and herbaceous borders, built in the 1600s and still occupied by descendants of the original family. It was a treat to have our instructor point out all the design elements, the kitchen garden , water features and pergolas throughout the 80-acre property.

Dinner each night was a sit-down, served affair. You were invited to sit at the high table (think Harry Potter’s dining room with an elevated platform and a large table) one evening during the week. You were asked to dress up a bit – jackets for men and dresses for ladies. Most people just looked like they did on any other night. Dress code was pretty casual. So, I had brought a dress for really no reason. (You know, I hate over-packing, right???)

We were served three courses: an appetizer (or starter as the Brits say), a main course and finally dessert and coffee. I thought the kitchen did a pretty good job of getting a decent meal out to everyone and serving it nicely. For the UK, I thought the food was pretty good. Nothing to rave about. But better than the standard fish, chips and mash (green peas – not my favorite Brit dish).

After dinner, most folks went back to their rooms. One couple in the large group did not stay in a dormitory, but had rented a hotel room at the best spot in town. They did eat their meals with us and attended all functions. So, I guess that is an option if the dormitory just doesn’t do it for you.

Every night at dinner, I met more and more classmates. I have to say, there weren’t very many I didn’t connect with. Most were interesting, curious, had been on some great travels and were excited about learning. Classes for the week included my History of English Gardening, The Rise and Fall of the British Empire, Myths and Legends of the British Isles, The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England, The Age of Winston Churchill and Shakespeare’s English History Plays. I was told the smallest class was the four in the Shakespeare class.

I’ve saved the best huge money-saving tip for the end. After I got home, I did a bit of digging and found out that you can take one of dozens of classes at Oxford every summer – without going through the Smithsonian Journeys folks. They were really great and I appreciated all the service they provided. But for $3500-4000 less, you can book directly with Oxford  https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/oussa and save a bundle!!! Here are the caveats. You’ll need to pay for your own transfer from London (or wherever you start out). For me, that was about $85 for train to Oxford and the same for return to London when I left. You may not get the tour guide service that we got with Smithsonian. They were there to help with onward reservations, got COVID tests and care, when needed. We had three guests come down with COVID. They had to stay in their room and the college brought their meals to them.

I don’t know if the receptions or any of the afternoon trips are included when you book directly. But, for a lot less than $3500, you can hire a car and driver and do whatever you like in the surrounding areas.

I may or may not go back. Probably depends on if I find a course that looks appealing. For the lower price, it is definitely enticing. Hopefully air fares will go down in the future. I paid $1900 for an economy ticket from Gainesville to Charlotte and direct to London and return. I know I could have gotten something cheaper by flying out of Orlando, but didn’t want to make the drive.