Tourists and international students were among those caught up in flooding which affected the historic British university city of Oxford.
OXFORD, ENGLAND: Tourists and international students were among those caught up in flooding which affected the historic British university city of Oxford on Tuesday.
At what is normally the height of the tourist season, and with many students studying at the renowned seat of learning during the British summer, many activities traditionally favoured by visitors are currently off the menu.
Punting, a form of boating, is impossible because the water is too high and too fast, while some riverside pubs were forced to shut their doors Monday night and a handful of sightseeing bus rides have been cancelled.
The high waters have come as a surprise to many visitors, despite what they had already heard about the temperamental British weather. Jessy Li, 30, from Shanghai in China, was helping to lead a party of about 30 schoolchildren visiting Oxford, mainly from eastern China.
"I was a bit surprised. We had to miss a trip to Bath (a spa town in south-west England) because of it," she said. "Some sports activities we have had to quit because of the water."
Nicole Jorwic, 23, a law student at Loyola University in Chicago, in the US mid-west, is studying in the city over the summer. "We have been travelling for two months and it was like this when we were in Strasbourg (France) and other places, so it seems like it's par for the course in Europe," she said. "I guess I'll see summer when I get back to Chicago."
And Rina Tanaka, 18, from the Japanese capital Tokyo added: "I'm studying here on a language course and it was a big shock." The meadow at Christ Church, next to one of the most famous colleges in Oxford, was flooded when the River Isis, a branch of the River Thames, spilled over the towpath, soaking large areas of the rolling plains.
At Magdalen College, fast-flowing water had risen around two feet higher than usual, overturning punts and boats moored outside, but did not threaten college buildings. The botanic gardens opposite were also lapped.
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