Music Meadow

Music Meadow in Oxford is a delightful venue for outdoor concerts and events. Nestled amidst picturesque surroundings, it offers a serene atmosphere to enjoy live music performances. The venue is well-maintained, and the acoustics are excellent, ensuring an immersive experience for attendees. Whether you're a music enthusiast or simply looking for a relaxing evening out, Music Meadow is a must-visit destination in Oxford.

It is a nice meadow as a part of the connected green spaces. Great for a casual walk or lying down to enjoy the nature.

Music Meadow is owned by Merton College. Its northern boundary is the cycle/foot path which runs alongside Parson’s Place. There is a cordon of greenery running along the meadow’s northern boundary which means that from the meadow it is not possible to see the foot/cycle path.

Music Meadow is also squeezed between two branches of the Cherwell. The western branch is not visible from the meadow since this too has a thick cordon of foliage running along the riverbank.

The eastern boundary of the meadow is formed by another branch of the Cherwell. On the other side of the river is Mesopotamia Walk. Mesopotamia Walk is a sliver of land sandwiched between an upper branch of the Cherwell and a lower branch. (I am indeed trying to describe the relative locations of three branches of the river Cherwell).

There is a cordon of greenery running along the eastern side of the meadow as there is on the northern and western sides of the meadow. However, it is not as impenetrable as the other two which allows visitors to find gaps from which they can enjoy a view of Mesopotamia Walk.

Music Meadow’s southern border is a ditch. This connects the western branch of the Cherwell to the eastern (lower) branch of the river. When I visited in July it was dry but when it rains it doubtlessly helps to distribute river water. Once again there is a thick cordon of greenery alongside this boundary which means that from the meadow the ditch is hardly noticeable.

Music Meadow is a lush green area, about the size of two football pitches. It is surrounded on all four sides by thick cordons of greenery which contain some magnificent, mature trees. It’s like a stadium with trees as spectators.

I can’t say much more about the meadow since I’m not an ecologist. There’s no information board which might help me out. I’ve read that efforts are being made to boost the meadow’s biodiversity. I know this will cause consternation but perhaps more effort should be directed towards combatting global warming.

This meadow is not one I remember from my youth. It evokes no memories. I’m not even sure there was any public access to it when I was young.

It was nice seeing Mesopotamia Walk from a different perspective but otherwise it seemed as if my first visit to Music Meadow was going to be uneventful.

How wrong I was. I was in for an exhilarating revelation. At the south-east corner of the meadow are two paths. One leads to Great Meadow, St Catherine’s College and to Merton College Playing fields. When I was a schoolboy I’d explored these areas. At that time they were quite accessible. I’m not sure the public was welcome but there were no ‘Keep Out’, ‘Private Land’ signs.

However, of much greater interest to me was a mown grass path running alongside the southern part of Mesopotamia Walk. When my school friends and I used to go punting there, I’d never been aware that there was a riverbank path. I don’t know when this path was created but it was delightful to discover it. It was wonderful seeing the Mesopotamia from another perspective. For a review of this fabulous riverside walk please see Merton College Recreational Ground.

Despite my first impressions, Music Meadow turned out to be a gem because it provides access to this stupendous riverside walk.

Best place in Oxford, by a country mile.

Nice park along the river with lovely weeping willows.