Drifting along the calm river in a narrow wooden punt, I mused that a weekend break in Oxford really did speak volumes.

Because although Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland and Inspector Morse may be fictional characters, they are all still very much alive in this remarkable city bursting with culture and fun.

Because the legendary land of Dreaming Spires and towers is an irresistible, cerebral magnet for writers and film-makers.

The next Harry Potter film, for example, is being shot in New College and, although it is a closed set, fans of the wizard films can have a spell in the welcoming Christ Church College in St Aldates.

Many interior scenes were shot here and, on a Harry Potter Tour, you can see the gigantic, ornate dining room that is the stunning inspiration for Hogwarts Hall.

And a gentle trip around Christ Church gives Lewis Carroll fans a treat by re-discovering the real world of Alice and the Cheshire cat.

Oxford is indeed spellbinding, and offers a real learning curve for the first-time tourist who may have wrongly have thought it simply brimmed over with mortarboard-wearing caped cyclists and buildings surrounded by scary gargoyles.

I split my stay in two very different but first-rate accommodation venues. The first, St Thomas Mews Apartments, just 500 yards from the railway station, offered a really welcoming location.

There is a choice of 11 apartments, sleeping from two and up to eight adults. My stay in the Beckett Apartment - with a double and twin bedroom, bathroom, sitting room, kitchen, and secure parking - was a bargain at £135 per night.

And I was mightily impressed with The Oxford Story (pictured below) in Broad Street, an interactive experience where, in 25 fact-filled minutes, you can absorb the city's past, present and future.

You can also discover how the townies', the resident Oxfordonians, and the academic gownies,' now live in harmony - unlike in previous centuries where some class rivalry ended in fatal skirmishes.

At £5.95 for adults children pay a pound less - it is a visual treat allowing everyone to become a student again.

Dining out really proved food for thought too. For example, my elegant lunch at Aquavitae, a quaint riverside Italian restaurant on Folly Bridge, deserved honorary degrees for the salad, pasta and wine list.

Afterwards, I chilled out by visiting The University of Oxford Botanic Garden in the aptly-picturesque Rose Lane. But, yet again, I was captivated by more subtle reminders of the city's magical literary links.

Here, in all its splendour, is Tolkien's Tree, which the Lord of The Rings' writer sat underneath to gain inspiration.

After staying overnight at the spacious four-star Oxford Hotel, I spent an interlude on the river, treating myself to a chauffeured punt, which cost £20 per half hour, plus a delightful bottle of wine.

It proved ideal fortification before joining the Ghost Trek run by one of the Oxford Guild of Guides. Spooks such as the Headless Horseman gave atmospheric insights into the city's multi-layered past.

And, determined to wring the last cultural drop out of my visit, I ventured to an open-air Shakespeare production staged by the enterprising Creation Theatre Company.

Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet were offered in this new open-air setting and proved a real joy from start to finish. Tickets are very good value too, priced from £8.50, with concessions available.

Finally, on my return to the train station, I could not resist popping into the Randolph Hotel for some afternoon tea in the Morse Bar. Sadly, though, I didn't spot Sgt Lewis who, it is rumoured, will carry on the series soon.

But I swear that later, from my rail carriage window, I saw a white rabbit with stopwatch run by a bespectacled wizard on a broom-flying over-head.

But then again, that's the beauty of Oxford: it invites your imagination to run away with you.

For details on apartments in Oxford, St Thomas' Mews, 58 St Thomas' Street, Oxford, call: 01865-254000 or click on: www.oxstay.co.uk; for The Oxford Hotel, Godstow Road, Oxford, tel: 01865-489988 or visit their website: www.paramount-hotels.co.uk.

For further information on visiting Oxford, click the city's official website: www.visitoxford.org, call the Oxford Information Centre on 01865-726871, or click on: tic@oxford.gov.uk.