Bookstore Adventures: Scriptum Oxford
When I stayed in Oxford at Exeter College, I stepped out into Turl St every morning and walked across the road to the Turl St Kitchen to get my soy latte. Some days when I’d been too lazy to make it to the dining hall, I’d also buy my breakfast there.
A few of us also had a late nights working on our assignments here. A great cafe is a wonderful thing in life and finding this one across the street was perfect.
Wondering up Turl Street towards High Street will take you past three Oxford colleges and a row of some of the oldest and best-respected shops in town. Towards the end of the street is Scriptum Fine Stationery.
The window display will draw you in and spark your interest in exploring this treasure trove.
Inside, you’ll will find an amazing collection of hand-stitched leather-bound journals, dip pens, quills, Murano glass pens, inks, sealing wax, prints and books.
I spied these lovely books and was tempted to buy some, but alas, my luggage allowance wouldn’t let me. I bought some lovely notebooks instead.
J.R.R Tolkien, a student at Exeter College, Oxford and later professor, wrote the classics The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
He soon became one of the founder members of a loose grouping of Oxford friends (by no means all at the University) with similar interests, known as “The Inklings”. They met at The Eagle and Child pub in Oxford and the group included one of my favourite writers, C.S. Lewis.
I was pleased to find copies of some of Tolkien’s books in Scriptum and later to visit The Eagle and Child and soak up the inspiration of The Inklings.
Oxford is such an interesting place to poke around and explore. The history and literary connections make it a wonderful place for a book lover’s adventures and Scriptum was one of the places I fell in love with during my stay there.
If you’re ever in Oxford, find the intersection of Turl and Broad Streets and walk up Turl to High Street. Explore the colleges, have a coffee at Turl St Kitchen and browse the shops. Have your own book lover’s adventure!
#365adventure is a book lover’s year of adventures. Adventures in travel, friendship, family, soul, heart and, of course, book stores!
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