Oxford Covered Market

Explore Oxford, the city of Dreaming Spires, on a walking tour with an expert guide from the city’s tourism board. Be shown the city’s most famous sights, uncover its hidden history, and enjoy all the astonishing stories about Oxford's key characters- real and fictional. Meet your guide at the grand and very old Broad Street (once the city's ditch) let them know where you come from and any special Oxford interests you may have and they will do their best to incorporate those.  Go to Martyrs' Memorial, the scene of terrible religious retributions in medieval times, and on to the oldest tower at St Michael of the Northgate built in Saxon times. Then, make your way to the very heart of the University and the inspiration behind Harry Potter's Hogwarts School. Pass by the pubs where the Inklings used to meet to discuss their writing as well as the pubs where Inspector Morse was filmed and the most popular student drinking holes in days of old. Discover the city that is home to several of Britain's most famous literary characters - both fictional and real - such as JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, Philip Pullman, and Colin Dexter as well as some of their most famous creations like Lyra and Will, and Inspector Morse. Admire Oxford's stupendous architecture, gargoyles and grotesques, so wonderfully preserved from every historical period and style, and take a stroll through the breathtaking Radcliffe Square. Cross the whimsical Bridge of Sighs as it's fondly known, just like the ones in Venice and Cambridge. See the Bodleian Libraries from the outside in the splendid Old Schools Quadrangle. Learn about the city’s famous museums including the Museum of the History of Science, containing Einstein's blackboard, The Pitt Rivers, once home to shrunken heads, and the fabulous Ashmolean, which was one of the very first ever museums in the world. If time allows, walk as far as to the beautiful Christ Church Meadows, where punting happens and cattle graze; a truly pastoral and quintessential English scene.

Discover all the key haunted places in and around Oxford on a nighttime walking tour based on the book 'Haunted Oxford' led by the author himself, Rob Walters. Experience the best way to 'see' Oxford’s ghosts on a route that takes you around the heart of central Oxford and its University. Meet your guide and get whisked away into the night, starting on the corner of Turl Street and Broad Street, which was once the city ditch and site of terrible murders and religious persecution. Learn about the history of Oxford and hear many splendidly spooky stories dating back to Danish Viking times. Walk past Oxford University, Radcliffe Square, and peer into the Old Schools Quadrangle - of Harry Potter fame. Admire the gorgeous and imposing architecture of Oxford and feel the history in the walls, which are well preserved and represent every period of architecture from Medieval through Classical to modern.  Look up at the Bridge of Sighs, so-called as it is reminiscent of the one at Venice which led prisoners to their doom. Wind down the ancient walled lane to New College, built in the late 1300s, and see its dark gates against the gloom.

Meet your guide outside Oxford's famous Ashmolean Museum with its fine collections of art and artefacts and start your walking tour. Pass by the Martyr's Memorial, dedicated to the Oxford Martyrs, and sop in Broad Street, close to where the old city wall used to be. From here you begin to expand your knowledge about the history of the University.  Get a chance to visit a typical college of the university with its quaint quadrangles and see how the students live and work. Continue your tour and pass by the Sheldonian Theatre, the University's ceremonial hall and then head to the quaint Bridge of Sighs.  Enjoy some time for a photo in front of the bridge and before visiting the Old Schools Quadrangle of the Bodleian Library, where Harry Potter was filmed.  Stop at charming Radcliffe Square with its cobblestones and the splendid Radcliffe Camera. See several colleges in this area before the tour continues to Christ Church Meadows. Marvel at the location of Christ Church College, where Alice in Wonderland was inspired and Harry Potter was filmed.  Walk back towards the Carfax Crossroads, the very centre of the city and have a chance to window-shop as you walk through Oxford's Victorian Covered Market. Your tour finishes in the Cornmarket, giving you an opportunity to enjoy lunch in one of Oxford's pubs, cafes or restaurants or to explore the shops in the Covered Market or the modern Westgate Centre.

Meet your guide for the day at Bournemouth's Travel Interchange, then board the coach and sit back and relax as you head towards Oxford. Arrive in the picturesque city of Oxford, which has an incredible history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, and feel immersed in the charming atmosphere of this university hub. Visit some of the finest university buildings that England has to offer, as well as the surrounding museums and churches. As you explore, learn about the significance of Oxford University as well as the scholars and famous faces who have studied here throughout the years. Continue the tour down to Christ Church College, Oxford University's most iconic building and also the filming location of the Great Hall from the Harry Potter movie series. At the end of the walking tour, enjoy 4 to 5-hours of free time to discover the city on your own, find a local eatery for lunch, shop for souvenirs, or peruse the stalls of Oxford's famous covered market.