United Kingdom · Walking Tours

Oxford City and University Walking Small Group PUBLIC Tour

2 Hours Round trip from Oxford Easy pace

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The journey

Trip highlights

01 Small-group Oxford walking tour with a more personalised feel
02 See historic university sights and hear stories of Oxford traditions
03 Entry included to at least one college, depending on daily openings
04 Learn about famous Oxford figures including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien
05 Discover Harry Potter filming connections at the Bodleian and Divinity School
06 Explore the city with a complimentary map of Oxford’s main sights

Discover Oxford on a small-group walking tour that brings the city’s university traditions, architecture, and stories to life. Over around 2 hours, your guide introduces key sights around the historic centre and, where open on the day, takes you inside one or more colleges with included entry.

Along the way, hear tales of student life, famous figures such as Henry VIII, Bloody Mary, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and connections to Harry Potter filming locations including the Divinity School at the Bodleian. With group sizes typically kept small, this experience offers a more personal way to explore one of England’s most iconic university cities.

We introduce the Bodleian and the Divinity school which is a Harry Potter film site at the Bodleian library.

From the itinerary

At a glance

What this trip includes

Duration 2 Hours

Tour type Shared

Activity level Easy

Accommodation Not included

Transport Not included

Wheelchair access No

City Oxford

Languages English

Day by day

The itinerary

Day 01

Which colleges we visit inside will vary from one tour to the next, depending on what is open from day to day. This college is free entry to visit yourselves.We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. This college is where Tolkien was a student! It's also connected to JK Rowling.Which colleges we will visit will vary from day to day, depending on what is open from day to day. This college is worth £3 in entry fee and we often visit here during the tour.We introduce the Bodleian and the Divinity school which is a Harry Potter film site at the Bodleian library. It costs £3 to enter the Divinity school and on dates, when no colleges may be open, the tour instead includes entry to the Divinity school.

We do NOT visit inside the medieval library as it is not open to private guiding but we do introduce the library history and architecture from outside. We also present info about the filming of Harry Potter here.We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.An iconic Oxford sightWe briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.

This college is free entry and we sometimes visit here.We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route.We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. This college is where...Jesus studied in Oxford!!We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. This college, we usually visit during the tour, assuming it's open. Its' free entry.

The route

Where you'll travel

Tour route map — Round trip from Oxford 1 city · 2 Hours

The fine print

Trip details

What's Included

Your guide will give you a complementary ILoveOxford map, showing you of all the main sights.
PLEASE SEE EXCLUSIONS SECTION FOR DETAILS OF ANY CLOSURES TO VENUES.
The tour typically visits inside either Balliol or Exeter or St Johns college

What's Not Included

Tour does NOT visit Bodleian, Christ church, Magdalen or New colleges ( which cost £8-£18)
Christmas notice: colleges are usually all closed from approx Dec 21 to Jan 2nd
On graduation dates, we may not always be able to enter a college so see graduation dates below:
2024 Graduation dates includes....
Sep 27+28, Nov 8+9+16 of 2024

Know before you go

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE
STROLLER OR PRAM ACCESSIBLE
ANIMALS OR PETS ALLOWED
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NEARBY
We cannot always guarantee entry inside any colleges during Covid19 and on graduation dates or Xmas period from approx. Dec 22nd to Jan 2nd
Please take note of any advertised university graduation dates mentioned below, as those dates can have less options of colleges to visit.
Graduation dates- please see 'EXCLUSIONS' section.
Infants must not sit on laps
Infant seats unavailable
Wheelchair accessible
Not wheelchair accessible
Please note that as the university colleges are private institutions, we can't always guarantee entry to colleges but it is very rare that we cannot get entry into at least 1 or 2 colleges on the tour. This may however be the case on any graduation dates- see dates below- or over Xmas period from approximately Dec 21 to Jan 2nd.
NOTICE:
The Divinity School closes approx. 30 days per year and it sometimes closes without any advance notice given, so we cannot promise entry to this venue- it is a bonus to the tour.
INFO FOR DRIVERS AND PARKING:
If you are driving, then please allow extra 30-60 minutes over whatever time you think it will take you to get here. Oxford is NOT car friendly and it is congested roads and hard to find parking spaces....unless you park at the sign posted 'park and rides' on edge of town on any major road into the city and hop on their buses into city centre. The park and ride buses leave every 15 or every 30 minutes and take anything from 10 min to 30 min (depending on traffic) to reach city centre. So if you are going to drive, then please assume you should be aiming to park your car about one hour before your tour starts.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
We actually recommend instead using the much faster and reliable train services but again please aim to arrive about an hour or earlier before your tour starts as trains can be delayed and the train and coach station are about 15 minutes walk from our meeting point. There is also the coach service from London called the Oxford Tube which leaves every half hour or more but it can take much longer than its advertised 105 minute journey time. It drops you off either at High street Oxford or Gloucester Green coach station. It's quicker to ask to get off on High street near Carfax tower, then it's a 10 minutes walk to Broad street.