Oxford Southampton Train

The historic university city of Oxford is located in the county of Oxfordshire and is roughly 35 miles to the east of Cheltenham and 30 miles to the south west of Milton Keynes. Although known for its university the economy of Oxford is also reliant on car making, publishing, science and technology, bellfounding and brewing. Several of the University's colleges had private breweries which includes Brasenose College whose brewery survived until 1889.

Oxford used to be an important port of the River Thames, although the section of the Thames that runs through Oxford is called The Isis. To accommodate commercial traffic the Oxford-Burcot Commission in the 17th century took steps to improve the navigability of the river. The Oxford Canal was constructed in the 18th century in order to connect Oxford with the Midlands. Commercial traffic has given way to recreational use of the river and canal. Oxford was the original base of Salters Steamers and there is a regular service from Folly Bridge downstream to Abingdon and beyond.

Interesting attractions in the city include the Ashmolean Museum, the Bodleian Library, Christ Church Cathedral, The Headington Shark, the Museum of History and Science and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Located in the county of Hampshire, the city of Southampton has grown rapidly over the past three decades to become one of the twenty largest cities in England. The city is home to the longest surviving stretch of medieval walls in England and to a number of museums such as Tudor House Museum, Southampton Maritime Museum, God's House Tower, an archaeology museum about the city's heritage and located in one of the tower walls, the Medieval Merchant's House and Solent Sky, which focuses on aviation. The SeaCity Museum is located in the west wing of the civic centre and focuses on Southampton's trading history and on the RMS Titanic.

The city also hosts the annual Southampton Boat Show in September each year. It has over 600 exhibitors and runs for just over a week at Mayflower Park on the city's waterfront. Southampton has many art galleries including the Southampton City Art Gallery at the Civic Centre and is a nationally important Designated Collection, housing several permanent and travelling exhibitions. There is also the Millais Gallery at Southampton Solent University, the John Hansard Gallery at Southampton University along with smaller galleries including the Art House.