Oxford Walking Tour: A Guide to the City of Dreaming Spires

(112 reviews)

Oxford audio tour: Oxford Walking Tour: A Guide to the City of Dreaming Spires

This is a 1.9mi walking tour

It takes an average of 120 mins to complete.

Oxford

The United Kingdom

$14.99

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About the Tour

Matthew Arnold, a Victorian poet, once described Oxford as “the City of Dreaming Spires”. He was referring to the stunning architecture of the 39 colleges that make up the world famous University of Oxford. Join me on this leisurely walking tour around the beautiful city and I’ll tell you the stories behind the spires.

This easy stroll takes you from Carfax Tower, around the historical city centre where the majority of the colleges are situated, to finish on Magdalen Street next to the Martyrs’ Memorial. Along the way, I’ll fill you in on some of the quaint traditions and ceremonies that still take place around the colleges today, like why Great Tom, the bell above the entrance to Christ Church College, chimes 101 times at 9.05pm. You’ll hear about the famous authors, politicians and poets that have contributed to Oxford’s history too, and I’ll show you the filming locations for numerous TV series such as Morse, Endeavour and Midsummer Murders. You’ll even follow in the footsteps of Harry Potter as you take in Christ Church and its own great hall.

By the end of this tour, you’ll:

Discover why Oxford’s time is 5 minutes behind the rest of the country
Find out why Oxford students are forbidden from jumping into the River Cherwell
Learn about a riot that lasted three days and cost the lives of 93 people
See the college that has produced no less than 13 of this country’s Prime Ministers
Visit the spot where three senior members of the church were executed on the orders of Bloody Mary

Give yourself 90 minutes or linger along the way as there are plenty of opportunities to stop for a drink, a light snack, or even a very civilised afternoon tea.

Tour Producer

Talk the Walk

11 tours

I’m Ian Grover and for many years it’s been my pleasure to guide visitors around London and throughout the British Isles. As well as the iconic sights, I delight in showing the hidden gems that many people miss.

My background was centred around the automotive industry when in 1980 I started work as a trainee car salesman with Renault UK Ltd. Over the coming years I progressed to sales management with Mercedes-Benz and finally ended up with the splendidly sounding title of Personal Liaison Manager, responsible for UK sales of their two flagship models. These were the ultra-luxurious Maybach, and a 300 km/h supercar called the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. When these two programmes came to an end I decided to take a different path in life and do something that I had always had a passion for and I became a tour guide.

I went to the University of Westminster in London where, after comprehensive training, I qualified with distinction as a City of Westminster Tour Guide, Since then, over the past years I have delivered both walking tours of London and driving tours throughout the British Isles and this is something that I still enjoy immensely.

In addition to my physical tours, through my Talk the Walk profile on VoiceMap, I'm now focussed on producing engaging audio tours so that travellers can explore with me in their own time and at their own pace.

Preview Location

Location 10

The Memorial Gardens

As you're walking you'll be passing the Memorial Gardens which were introduced in the 1920s. These commemorate the members of Christ Church College who died during the first world war. On your left you'll also be getting some spectacular views of the dome of Tom Tower, and als... Read More

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Major Landmarks

Carfax Tower
Christ Church
Merton College
Magdalen College
Examination Schools
The Grand Café
New College
Edmond Halley House
Bridge of Sighs
Radcliffe Square
University Church of St Mary the Virgin
Radcliffe Camera
Bodleian Library
The Sheldonian Theatre
Balliol College
Martyrs' Memorial

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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

3km
Final location
13 Magdalen St, Oxford OX1 3AE, UK
Distance back to start location

365.22m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins in front of the Carfax Tower, Queen St, Oxford OX1 1ET.

This is found at the top of the High Street where it meets Cornmarket Street and St Aldate's. If you're coming to Oxford by train then this is a ten minute walk from Oxford's main train station. If coming by bus then it's just a five minute walk from the main Bus Station.

Its what3words location is ///baked.strut.jump

If coming to Oxford by car it's best to use the Park and Ride facilities that are situated outside of the city and take the Park and Ride bus into the city centre.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

You may want to stop and visit any of the university colleges along the way. If so then stop the tour and then press resume when you are ready to continue the tour.

There are numerous places along the route to enjoy refreshment. The Grand Cafe is a great place for a drink or an afternoon tea. The Turf Tavern is a delightful hidden pub that serves a good selection of beers, wine and spirits as well as some excellent traditional pub food.

The magnificent Ashmoleum Museum can be found at the end of the tour which is free to enter.

Best time of day

This tour can be taken 7 days a week throughout the year and is best done during daylight hours

Precautions

Oxford is a very safe city in which to walk. Like all cities that are popular with tourists however there may be a threat from pickpockets so it's advisable to take extra care around crowded areas such as train and bus stations.

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App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”