Stretching beside the River Cherwell, Oxford's small, peaceful botanic garden was founded in 1621 for the study of medicinal plants. The oldest of its kind in England, it remains a department of the university, and is run more for research than for display. It’s a lovely spot though, where greenhouses and open beds hold ‘Plants That Changed The World’ including potatoes, pineapples and cannabis. A riverside van sells coffee and snacks.

　　Near the river at its southern end you’ll find the bench that Lyra and her extra-universal lover Will vow to visit once a year in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials.