The Oxford Big Wheel?
I have only just picked up this story from the Oxford Mail and am actually quite appalled.
A big wheel, in Oxford??! I know that tourism drives the local economy and that it’s proved a success in some places, but I really am not a huge fan of this idea.
We have a fantastic city, inspirational spires and beautiful architecture. I just think a big wheel cheapens it all, no matter what anyone says about the “wonderful views” there will be. I can just about cope with St Giles Fair but at least that’s only for a couple of days, whereas these big wheel plans are for November – January.
It will also be interesting to see what impact it has on the current tourist attractions in Oxford. The top five activities at the moment stand at:
- Castle Unlocked
- Carfax Tower
- Walking tours
- Open top bus tours
- Christ Church
Can anyone ever see the big wheel topping these charts?
I know that big cities such as London and Manchester have tehse wheels, but I’m not sure that the historical nature of Oxford tourism really lends itslef to a big wheel. It’s not like we have a great deal of skyscapers anyway. I much rather looking at buildings from the ground anyway, rather tahn at great heights. I must admitthough that I have a slight fear of heights, and wouldn’t venture onto the wheel even if it does get built. I think tehre will be quite a lot of objections to the wheel if the plans do go ahead.
