The country's worst flooding in 60 years has soaked Oxford, famed for its dreaming spires, at the height of the holiday season and shocked many visitors, despite what they had already heard about the temperamental British weather.

Jessy Li (30) from Shanghai, was helping to lead a party of about 30 schoolchildren visiting centuries-old Oxford, mainly from eastern China.

"I was a bit surprised — we had to miss a trip to (nearby) Bath because of it," she said. "Some sports activities we have had to quit because of the water."

While treasures like the Bodleian Library, one of the oldest in Europe, and the Ashmolean Museum have escaped unscathed, many of the riverside areas which give the city much of its summer charm are currently inaccessible.

Normally in June, the River Isis, which runs through the city and is part of the River Thames, would be busy with visitors attempting, and often failing, to master the art of punting.

This involves propelling a long, thin boat, similar to a gondola, along the water by pushing off the river bed and steering with a wooden pole. But in recent days, punting has been impossible.

Neil Kinch, director of Salters Boat Hire, sat in his office above the swollen Isis and said it could be several days before his business, which rents punts and offers Thames cruises, returns to normal.

People had been unable to go out on the river since last Friday because the water was too fast and too deep, he said.

"There will probably be a week where people are not able to punt," he told AFP, adding that he would usually rent out around 100 punts per day at this time of year.

"We should be busy running boats during the school holidays and corporate parties."

On the other side of the riverbank, Stuart Scott, manager of The Head of the River pub, was starting to tidy up after staying up all night in case the waters flooded in.

The pretty drinking spot is particularly vulnerable to flooding because it has a deck with tables and chairs which leads right up to the river, and the main building is constructed on the water's edge.

"I slept in a chair and set my alarm every 40 minutes," Scott said.

"We had to move all the furniture into the top bar just so it was raised up and prevented any damage."

Despite lining up mops and rolling carpets away in preparation, the pub avoided a heavy soaking, although it did take the precaution of closing a couple of hours early Monday night.

"Yesterday it was quiet — the road was closed, police were stopping pedestrians and just letting residents through," Scott said.

Slightly further up the river, the Isis did spill over the towpath, soaking swathes of the meadow at Christ Church, whose alumni include "Alice In Wonderland" author Lewis Carroll, usually a popular site for picnics and walks.

At Magdalen College, where choristers hail the start of summer on May 1 by singing from the top of the college tower, fast-flowing water had risen around two feet higher than usual, covering parts of its scenic meadow.

This had overturned punts and boats moored outside, but did not menace college buildings. The adjacent botanic gardens were also lapped.

Ingrid Meimich-Bache (16) from Stavanger in Norway, studying in Oxford over the summer, said: "Everyone jokes about the British weather but I didn't expect it to hit me."

Nicole Jorwic (23) a law student at Loyola University in the midwestern US city of Chicago, studying in Oxford over the summer, was more philosophical.

"We have been travelling for two months and it was like this when we were in Strasbourg (France) and other places, so it seems like it's par for the course in Europe," she said.

"I guess I'll see summer when I get back to Chicago."

AFP