Oxford is a city in central southern England and is the county city of Oxfordshire. It is internationally famous for Oxford University. Despite its fame, Oxford is somewhat small for a city. It is equidistant from the towns of Milton Keynes, Reading and Swindon, all of which are larger than Oxford in terms of area. Oxford is also famous for its historic city centre and the Oxford Canal, which runs through the city along with the River Thames.
Oxford is surrounded by an outer ring road, made up from sections of the A34, A40 and A4142. The first two of these provide a close link with the M40 motorway for connections to Birmingham and London respectively. The A420 also provides a connection to Swindon whilst the A34 connects with the A41, A4421 and A421 towards Bicester, Aylesbury, Buckingham and Milton Keynes. The A34 runs past the west of the city before heading south to the M4 and Newbury and Hampshire beyond.
Oxford is a major stop on a branch of the Great Western Main Line. The city is served by First Great Western who provide both stopping and intercity services towards Stratford-upon-Avon to the north and Reading and London to the south. Oxford is also the starting point for branches to Worcester and Bicester, the latter of which continues as a disused line through to Bletchley. There are plans to reopen this route to connect to Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.