In and Around Oxford

Oxford Castle dates back to 1071, when it first incarcerated people and continued to do so until HM Prison closed in 1996. The old buildings have been preserved and the stories of violence, executions, escapes and betrayal, can now be told.

Largest gallery in the South East devoted to contemporary art.  Exhibitions display various types of art including paintings, photography and sculpture.

The University of Oxford Botanic Garden has three sections; the Glasshouses, classic garden features and the Walled Garden.  Plants are grown in the garden to support teaching programmes.  The garden is also a national reference collection with 7,000 different types of plant.

The Oxford Tourist Information Centre offers a selection of official guided walking tours of Oxford, taking in famous sites, lanes and passages.  Separate tours include those of the University and City, an Inspector Morse Tour, Family Tour, Pub Tour and many more.  Tours generally last two hours and cover one to two miles.

See Oxford from the top of an open-top bus!  Tickets are valid all day and users can hop-on and hop-off at leisure.  The live English tour guides give those riding on the bus information about the different places of interest in Oxford, and there are twenty stops on the journey.  Buses depart every 20-30 minutes.

Walk the Oxford Ghost Trail every Friday and Saturday evening.  A costumed professional actor guides visitors through the streets of old Oxford, divulging entertaining historical information .  The guide, Bill Spectre (distinctively dressed as a Victorian undertaker) leaves Oxford Castle Unlocked at 6.30pm, or the Tourist Information Centre at Broad Street at 7pm, with tours lasting 1¾ and 1½ hours, depending on where you walkers join the tour.

For something different why not go on one of a range of boat trips, sightseeing tours and dining cruises on the River Thames, on an Edwardian style boat.  The River Experience Sightseeing Trip is a fifty minute cruise, with a complimentary glass of wine.  The Lunchtime Picnic cruise combines sightseeing with a gourmet picnic lunch.  The Sunset Picnic leaves the mooring at 6pm.

One hundred and forty years ago the Alice in Wonderland Shop used to be a small sweet shop across the road from where the real Alice (Liddell) used to live.  It was whilst at Oxford University that Lewis Carroll wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass stories.  It is thought that Carroll gained inspiration for the books from his friendship with the Liddell family and Alice.  The sweet shop featured in a chapter of Alice Through the Looking Glass, as the Old Sheep Shop.  The shop is now filled with gifts and memorabilia of Alice in Wonderland.

The Museum tells the story of Oxford from prehistoric times to present day, exploring life before and after the university, when kings were crowned and parliaments debated in Oxford.  Artefacts, treasures and a film presentation tell the story of Oxford.   Find out about the city’s earliest residents, medieval crafts, civil war and famous literary connections.  Regular exhibitions and a range of hands-on workshops run throughout the year.

The Oxford Playhouse was founded in the 1920s and is today a vibrant presenting theatre.  In its repertory years’ the theatre saw the likes of Sir John Gielgud, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen, perform on its stage. The Oxford Playhouse is now a key date on the national touring circuit, staging drama, dance, music, music theatre and children's theatre, and they are taking an active role in producing, launching and commissioning new work.  

Pantomime: Sleeping Beauty 5th - 18th January 

Day small-group guided tours of the Cotswolds, transported in a people carrier.  The journey through the Cotswolds stops at some of the Cotswolds most beautiful town and villages.  The journey starts out from Oxford, then first stop Burford (the gateway to the Cotswolds). Through the lanes to Bourton-on-the-Water (Little Venice of the Cotswolds). Upper and Lower Slaughter (Clusters of honey-coloured Cotswold stone buildings). Stow-on-the-Wold (17th century wool town with a hill-top location on the Fosse Way). Broadway (Home of the world famous Lygon Arms and Broadway Tower). Chipping Campden (14th century wool town). Chipping Norton (The highest town in Oxfordshire), and then returning to Oxford.  The tours run Sundays, Wednesday and Friday, 9.30am-5.30pm.

Loch Fyne began life as a business growing oysters in the clear, fertile waters of Loch Fyne, and is now a contemporary restaurant chain of around 38 sites, selling quality fresh fish and shellfish dishes. Established in 1998, Loch Fyne restaurants can be found throughout the UK, often in striking buildings.  Visitors to the restaurant can choose from the a la carte menu or something simple such as oysters washed down with a glass of champagne.  The Oxford restaurant has seating outside during the summer months.

The Bodleian Library is located in the heart of the University of Oxford, across buildings dating back 500 years. It is the second largest library in the UK, with 30 reading rooms in 10 buildings, with over 300,000 items. Visitors can buy quality merchandise from The Bodleian Shop, or see the Divinity School, the oldest teaching room of the university built in 1488.  Tours and Audio Tours of the historic libraries are available daily Monday to Saturday with information about the library from its beginning to current day, whilst viewing the fantastic architecture.

Quirky relaxed café restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in a casual setting.  The breakfast menu lists a variety of choices including full English, waffles, pancakes, porridge, scrambled eggs with mushrooms, muffins and fruit.  Located in Surrey in Guildford and Walton-on-Thames, and in Oxford.