Going Rogue on St. Paddy Day

Posted on March 17, 2018 by

29 Comments

St. Patrick’s Day 2017 is going to be hard to beat. We were in Oxford, England on a walking tour of the city and we were bored out of our minds. Our guide was a very sweet, elderly English woman who had lived in Japan for many years. As we walked along she gave us lots of information about what we were seeing, and then would repeat the whole thing in Japanese. It was quite time consuming to hear the spiel in two languages and we felt our precious time in Oxford slipping away, especially because we knew we would probably never remember any of this information anyway.

Drastic measures needed to be taken. I’m not sure which of the four of us suggested ditching the tour, but agreement was unanimous. In reality, this act of rebellion wasn’t a big deal. The tour walked one way and we walked the other, but in our minds we were undertaking a secret mission and we high fived as we gave the tour the slip. Sometimes being naughty can be so fun!

We were free for the next two hours, and we had to make them count. A pub. We needed a pub. We entered the famous Oxford library and asked the man at the information desk for directions to his favorite pub. The directions involved hidden back alleys, which heightened the sense of adventure. We made our way to the Turf Tavern and it was perfect. The oldest pub in Oxford, dating back to 1381, it has quite a storied history as a gambling venue.

St. Helen’s Passage – the alley to the Turf Tavern

With very low, beamed ceilings, a dark wood bar, and ancient stone walls, we had been transported in time, and now needed to order our libations. This was an extra special moment because Holden, being 18 years old, was of legal drinking age in England, so this was quite a memorable occasion for our family. I was also very proud of my forethought in telling everyone to pack a green shirt.

We settled down at a corner table and were thoroughly enjoying ourselves, feeling sorry for the poor souls still on the walking tour. Having gotten heavy drinking out of my system in my 20s, I am quite a lightweight these days. I was on a completely different plane than my guys after one pint, and being the only girl in the family means that sometimes I have to amuse myself. While the boys were talking sports or something, I took buzzed selfies.

After we had finished our drinks, we had some time to explore the city. Being reluctant to leave, we had pushed our departure to the last possible second and were now in quite a hurry to get back to the bus. There was no time for a bathroom stop. We had to book. We congratulated ourselves on a job well done as we breathlessly entered the bus, and settled in for the hour and a half drive back to London.

Not making time for a bathroom stop had been a huge mistake. We were all fit to burst as we entered London, and there were several stops before ours. We couldn’t wait. We bounded off at the first stop and would figure out how to get back to our hotel after dealing with our pressing emergency. It wasn’t our best bit of planning, but it was a humorous end to the day we went rogue in Oxford.

https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/oxfordshire/turf-tavern

Category: AdventureTags: , , , , , ,

29 Comments on “Going Rogue on St. Paddy Day”

  2. It’s so much fun to break free of plans! Like you say, the thrill of walking away from your structured tour made this day memorable 👍

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  5. Hahaha brilliant! Lovely pics! Hope you are doing a good tour of the UK head to Cambridge too, that has lots of history and beautiful architecture too (I’ve just left there having lived there for 2 years) and I will also recommend Cardiff, I’m biased though being welsh! Happy travels!

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  6. Ohhh..rogue!! I’m such a rule follower, but that’s also why I don’t do many tours. lol. I head to Scotland in May and do have one tour scheduled. It’s necessary since I won’t be driving, but it still makes me “itchy”. 🙂 Sounds like you all had a memorable day.

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    • Haha! I have never been a rule follower. And while it’s served me well at times, I’ve also suffered from it at others. I’m sure your tour will be amazing! As long as you don’t have to listen to the guide in multiple languages. It’s torture!! 🙂

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  9. Yes, but donthe parades other than the big one. Metarie or Lafayette or my hometown of Baton Rouge. Spanish Town parade is awesome. Less crazy but still tons of fun.

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  10. Great story.
    St. Patrick’s Day in Dingle, Ireland starts at 6.00.am . The fie & drum band and lots of followers March through the town. A tradition that dates back to Penal Days when marching bands and lots more were banned ( no pun indeeded)

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