Literary legends and landmarks: A fantasy fiction tour of Oxford

(54 reviews)

Oxford audio tour: Literary legends and landmarks: A fantasy fiction tour of Oxford

This is a 1.3mi walking tour

It takes an average of 120 mins to complete.

Oxford

The United Kingdom

$11.99

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About the Tour

From the Chronicles of Narnia and Alice in Wonderland to Lord of the Rings and His Dark Materials, what is it about Oxford that has inspired several fantasy fiction classics? On this walking tour, we’ll attempt to answer that question while I show you where the famous wordsmiths behind these titles lived, worked and played, and some of their favourite haunts.

I’ll share stories about how Oxford itself nurtured the minds of these fantasy literature giants and, as you walk, you’ll be amazed at the sheer breadth of talent and imagination that’s concentrated in one city. Starting in front of Carfax Tower, you’ll wander through the city centre and along the Board Walk, along the way you’ll hear about Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration behind Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. I’ll show you the locations where JK Rowling’s Harry Potter was filmed, with the University of Oxford adapted to become Hogwarts. We’ll step into the world of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, where you’ll follow in the footsteps of Will and Lyra and make your way around Radcliffe Square to the Bodleian Library. After wandering through different parts of the university our tour reaches an end in front of the Eagle and Child pub, a popular hangout for the Inklings, an informal literary club in the early to mid-1900s.

On this wonder-filled tour of Oxford, you can look forward to:

Standing in Pembroke Square outside the college where JRR Tolkien wrote The Hobbit
Browsing through Alice’s Shop where the real-life Alice in Wonderland bought her barley sugar
Spotting Christ Church’s eight stained-glass windows featuring characters from Wonderland
Hearing what TS Eliot thought of the university city
Strolling through the passageway outside of University Church of St Mary the Virgin which served as the inspiration for Narnia
Seeing Tolkien’s two towers
Taking in Clarendon Square and the Divinity School library where Harry Potter practiced his witchcraft and wizardry and seeing the oak tree where Draco Malfoy was turned into a ferret
Finding out about other authors with a special connection to the city including Diana Wynne Jones, Alan Garner and Susan Mary Cooper
Stopping at the pub where CS Lewis met JRR Tolkien twice a week for decades

Whether you’re a fan of fantasy fiction, classic literature, a newcomer to Oxford, or just plain curious, this tour offers a fascinating glimpse into another world – that of the imagination!

Allow 120-minutes for this walk. There are plenty of cafes and pubs along the way, not to mention convenient bookstores to stock up on all those tantalising works of fantasy fiction you’ll have just heard about!

Arcadia - Wonders by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

Tour Producer

Oxford Lives

1 tour

Jeremy Allen and and Graeme Fry are the presenter and producer of the Oxford Lives podcast which profiles some of the many fascinating people who make Oxford their home. Both are long-time residents who love to help other people explore and delight in the many hidden gems to be discovered in this famous city.

In this tour they look at Oxford's links to fantasy literature and the many writers who have lived and worked here. Prepare to be whisked away to other worlds full of Hobbits, Orcs and parallel universes!

Preview Location

Location 6

Christ Church, The Hall, and Oxford Harry Potter

You're now approaching the gates that lead off St Aldates into the Memorial Garden of Christ Church. Turn right through the gates and stop a little way inside.

Look left and up. Towering over the grounds is the Great Hall.

The Great Hall, or the Hall, is where students... You're now approaching the gates that lead off St Aldates into the Memorial Garden of Christ Church. Turn right through the gates and stop a little way inside.

Look left and up. Towering over the grounds is the Great Hall.

The Great Hall, or the Hall, is where students of Christ Church dine up to three times a day. Christ Church was founded in 1525 as Cardinal’s College by Thomas Wolsey, Lord Chancellor to King Henry VIII. In 1546, it was renamed Christ Church, after the chapel which already stood within the grounds, and became incorporated into the college itself, to double as the Cathedral for the diocese of Oxfordshire.

If you go on a tour of Christ Church be sure to visit this great hall, so intrinsic is it to the college's history. Amidst the hundreds of paintings of distinguished figures connected to the college, you'll find eight stained-glass window panes depicting characters from that much-loved classic, Alice in Wonderland, including the White Rabbit, which was based on Alice's father, the Dean of the College: Henry George Liddell.

In the top left-hand corner, you'll see a portrait of Alice Liddell, the little girl who inspired the story. In the opposite corner, you’ll see a portrait of Lewis Carroll, the author. Lewis Carroll was actually Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, Professor of Mathematics here at Christ Church. More about him later. Beneath these portraits are corresponding images that represent the fictional Alice and the Dodo, which Carroll used to represent himself, the word 'Dodo' is both an abbreviation of his name and an allusion to his stutter. Other depicted characters include the Cheshire Cat, the Dormouse, and the Mad Hatter. The windows were added in the 1920s as a tribute to Carroll. The stained glass images were made to look like John Tenniel’s illustrations from the original book. Beneath the window is a fireplace containing two brass firedogs sporting elongated necks, a possible inspiration for the moment in the novel when Alice's own neck stretches 'like a stalk' after eating a piece of the Caterpillar's mushroom.

There is one other fantasy epic with a connection to Christ Church and to the Hall in particular. The Hall provided inspiration for the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft in the Harry Potter movies. Originally, the production team was trying to find a way to feature the Hall itself in these movies but found that it was not possible because not all four tables – representing the four respective Hogwarts Houses – would fit. After measuring out the room, a version of the Hall was built for the movie, one and a half times bigger than the original. If you do visit the college though, don’t expect any floating candles or headless ghosts!

There are two other spaces in the college that have been used as filming locations. One is the staircase that leads up to the Great Hall. These awe-inspiring steps were used on several occasions, most notably with the arrival of the students on their very first day in Philosopher’s Stone. Professor McGonagall looms above them, at the top of the staircase, awaiting the new intake. She proceeds to give them instructions about the Sorting Ceremony and the House system, before leading them through to the Hall. In Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Ron are caught arriving late, after missing the Hogwarts Express, by Filch, the caretaker. Later on in the film, during a magical flashback sequence, Harry catches the conversation between Tom Riddle and Dumbledore.

Let's get going again while I tell you about the third location. Keep going straight. Don't worry about keeping an eye out for Filch the caretaker, and being careful not to walk through Nearly Headless Nick, our Hogwarts mischief has been managed for now.

The final film location lies in the cloisters just outside the Cathedral. This is where, in Philosopher’s Stone, Hermione reveals to Harry that he was born to be a seeker – showing him all the Quidditch trophies his father won during his time in Hogwarts.

To look at these locations, you'll need to book a tour, either at the Visitors Centre in Christ Church Meadows or online. For current ticket prices, please check the Christ Church Website https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/visit-us.

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Major Landmarks

Christ Church
Alice's Shop
Merton College
University Church of St Mary the Virgin
Radcliffe Camera
Bodleian Library
Exeter College
The Eagle and Child

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Queen St, Oxford OX1 1ET, UK
Total distance

2km
Final location
49 St Giles', Oxford OX1 3LU, UK
Distance back to start location

604.44m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins at Carfax Tower, Queen St, Oxford OX1 1ET, United Kingdom.

Make sure you're standing at the foot of the tower. Carfax is the crossroads where the four main roads of Oxford City Centre intersect: Cornmarket, High Street, St Aldates and Queen Street.

BY TRAIN: Carfax is a ten minute walk from Oxford Train Station. When you come out of the station forecourt (where the taxis and buses are) turn right; head down Park End Street all the way until in becomes New Road (passing Oxford Castle); then past Bonn Square onto Queen Street; follow Queen Street to Carfax.

BY BUS/COACH: Most buses/coaches start and terminate at Gloucester Green bus station. When leaving Gloucester Green, turn left onto George Street; walk to the end of George Street and turn right onto Cornmarket; walk to the end of Cornmarket - the Carfax Tower if on your right.

BY CAR: Please note that parking can be problematic in Oxford. You may wish to use one of the several Park and Ride services which will take you into the heart of Oxford City Centre. There are five Park and Rides: Thornhill, Pear Tree, Seacourt, Redbridge and Oxford Parkway.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Carfax Tower, Museum of Oxford (Town Hall), University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Vaults Cafe (back of University Church of St Mary the Virgin), All Souls College, Bodleian Library & Divinity School, Sheldonian Theatre, Blackwells book store, Museum of the History of Science, White Horse pub, Balliol College, Broad Street gift shops, Waterstones book store, George Street restaurants and bars, Ashmolean Museum

Best time of day

Please note that the Kissing Gate closes at 6.30pm in the summer and 4.30pm in the winter and may be closed on other occasions. If this is the case, then please use the alternative exit, Rose Lane Gate. You can reach it by following these directions:

At the end of Deadman's Walk turn left
Pass through the gate on Rose Lane
Walk to the end to Rose Lane
Turn left onto the High
Walk for about 200 metres
Take the first left onto Merton Street
Follow Merton Street all the way around the corner and then for a further distance of about 300 metres until you reach Merton College
Just beyond Merton College is a gate - this gate opens onto Merton Grove
Walk along Merton Grove and stop just before the Kissing Gate. You are now at location 7

Precautions

Please be wary of traffic as Oxford can be quite a congested city. Please also be aware of cyclists as Oxford is an extremely cycle-heavy city and they don't always ring their bells!

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