Broad Walk is a wide walkway running east–west on the north side of Christ Church Meadow and south of

Merton Field Merton Field is a grass playing field north of the main part of Christ Church Meadow and south of Merton College in central Oxford, England. To the west are Merton Walk and Christ Church, one of the Oxford colleges. To the east is the Univer ...

in central

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England. The walkway runs between St Aldate's though the Christ Church War Memorial Garden at the western end and the

River Cherwell A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

to the east at the southern end of the

University of Oxford Botanic Garden The University of Oxford Botanic Garden is the oldest Botanical garden, botanic garden in Great Britain and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world. The garden was founded in 1621 as a physic garden growing plants for medicinal resear ...

. To the north, at the western end is Christ Church, one of the

colleges. The tower of

Merton College Chapel Merton College Chapel is the church of Merton College, Oxford, England. Dedicated to St Mary and St John the Baptist, the chapel was largely completed in its present form by the end of the 13th century. The building retains a number of original ...

dominates the view north from Broad Walk across Merton Field, beyond

Dead Man's Walk ''Dead Man's Walk'' is a 1995 Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the third book published in the ''Lonesome Dove'' series but the first installment in terms of chronology. McMurtry wrote a fourth segment to the ''Lonesome ...

and the old

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

which runs parallel to Broad Walk, connected via Merton Walk. Broad Walk used to be lined with large

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

trees, but has been denuded due to Dutch elm disease. The Meadow Building of Christ Church, in an imposing stone-faced Venetian Gothic style, is immediately to the north of Broad Walk. Opposite to the south, the tree-lined

Poplar Walk Poplar Walk is wide footpath running north–south in Christ Church Meadow, Oxford, England. The footpath runs between The Meadow Building of Christ Church at the junction with Broad Walk to the north and the River Thames near Folly Bridge ...

, laid out in 1872 by

Henry Liddell Henry George Liddell (; 6 February 1811– 18 January 1898) was Dean (college), dean (1855–1891) of Christ Church, Oxford, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1870–1874), headmaster (1846–1855) of Westminster School (where a house is n ...

, Dean of Christ Church, leads down to the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. Views of some of the spires and towers of Oxford include (west to east)

Tom Tower Tom Tower is a bell tower in Oxford, England, named after its bell, Great Tom. It stands over Tom Gate, on St Aldates, the main entrance of Christ Church, Oxford, which leads into Tom Quad. This square tower with an octagonal lantern and f ...

, the spire of Christ Church Cathedral, Merton College Chapel Tower, and

Magdalen Tower Magdalen Tower, completed in 1509, is a bell tower that forms part of Magdalen College, Oxford. It is a central focus for the celebrations in Oxford on May Morning. History Magdalen Tower is one of the oldest parts of Magdalen College, Oxfor ...

. The first

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carri ...

ascent in Britain was made by James Sadler (1753–1828) from Merton Field on 4 October 1783, to the north of Broad Walk. Postwar development planned for central Oxford included a relief road passing through the Christ Church Meadow along the route of Broad Walk and joining the district of St Ebbe's. The proposal was defeated after strong opposition.

Gallery

File:Christ Church War Memorial Garden from Broad Walk - geograph.org.uk - 1292727.jpg, Christ Church War Memorial Garden, looking north from the western end of Broad Walk, with

in the background File:The Christ Church Meadow adjacent to the Meadow Building.jpg, Broad Walk at The Meadow Building on the far northwestern corner of the Christ Church Meadow File:The Meadows Building from Broad Walk - geograph.org.uk - 1293065.jpg, The Meadow Building viewed looking north from Broad Walk File:Merton college2.jpg, View north from Broad Walk of

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

with the tower of

, looking across

File:Christ Church Meadow, Oxford - geograph.org.uk - 192076.jpg, Christ Church Meadow viewed looking south from Broad Walk

References

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