Description
An Oxford University walking tour is the quickest way to understand how this place works, and here a guide who has studied in it does the explaining. Over about two hours you walk through the grounds, look up at the architecture and hear what daily life at the university is really like.
The route runs through some of the oldest corners of the university and takes in the Bodleian Library, one of its colleges and a spot used as a Harry Potter film location. The guide fills in the background on each college and how the place grew.
- Bodleian Library and the grounds of one of the oldest colleges
- the Radcliffe Camera, with St Mary's, the university's own church
- All Souls, Trinity, Oriel, Hertford and Merton colleges
The stories go beyond the university itself. You hear about its ceremonies, its famous graduates, the link between Oxford and Alice in Wonderland, and how a powerful Archbishop of Canterbury met his end at the stake here. Entry to the sites is covered by the booking; tips are extra. In the summer months the Divinity School is often closed, so it may not be on the route.