View from the Castle Mound
Beside what used to be a prison in Oxford, there is a mound. This is all that remains of the motte-and-bailey fortification built by the Normans in 1071, usign Saxon foced labor. I climbed the artificial hill, now barren except for two trees. What is left of the old structure is the entrance of a well, but is fenced. The view from the top is not particularly impressive: a large sector is dominated by the Westgate shopping center, the rest is uninspiring buildings. It would have been nice to draw the prison and the tower, but they were against the sun while I was there. So, I chose to sketch the side overlooking Nuffield College, where some of the city's spires can be seen in the background.