Oldham to Oxford?

Stripped of its beautiful arch, which may or may not be reinstated when it becomes the High Speed 2 'gateway to the north', Euston retains two modest monuments at its entrance, listing the names of key destinations.

The two here, Oldham and Oxford, appear to be very different indeed. My journey between them routed via Edinburgh, Dijon, London, Butare (Rwanda) and Thmar Puok (Cambodia) - a challenge even for shiny new Virgin Pendolino.

Apart from me regarding both of them as 'home', I can hardly think of any two places in England which have so little in common. After all, not everywhere can have such a rich history, with the likes of Winston Churchill as MP, William Walton as composer, national sporting captains in football and cricket, the nation's leading 'press', and scientific breakthroughs such as the birth of the world's first test-tube baby.

You know which of them the above refers to, right?