Oxford Day Trip

The key draw for us in Oxford was the walk through Bailey's Woods to Rowan Oak, where William Faulkner lived. We understand the hype. It's a bit of wilderness in the city.

Nagatha got us to the Ole Miss campus. Then we had to find parking. I work at a university so I know how fun that can be. A nice parking enforcement person pointed us to the welcome center to buy a visitor parking pass. The nice welcome center person sold us a pass and even checked in later to see if we found everything we were looking for.

Bailey’s Woods was a pretty walk from behind the (closed) museum at Ole Miss to Rowan Oak, where William Faulkner lived. It’s a bit of wilderness in the city. Ravines and forest; cool old trees. Some stairs and bridges, nothing complex. Ran into a few other people.

Rowan Oak is named after two trees, the rowan and the oak. The house wasn’t open for viewing but the porta potties outside were handy. The grounds were Interesting in themselves. There was a moss-covered gazebo, some pergolas and various outbuildings. Cedars line the front drive. We saw lots of birds and squirrels: a hawk, a jay, robins, a brown robin sized bird, and a pileated woodpecker. We also picked up an interesting seed pod to try to make a Christmas ornament out of.

We ate lunch across from The Grove in front of a research building. All the tables in the sun were taken. We walked around the campus a little, near The Grove. There were some cool old buildings, sculptures, and flowering trees.