Official guided walking tours make a great introduction to Oxford. Official green/blue-badge guides from the Oxford Guild of Guides invite you to an entertaining and informative tour of the hidden lanes and colleges of the historic city centre. Tours run twice-daily from the Oxford Tourist Information Centre in Broad Street. Book online at http://www.visitoxford.org/
In addition to the popular introductory University and City Tour, a range of themed tours are available including; American Roots in Oxford, Pottering in Harry’s Footsteps, Jewish Heritage, John and Charles Wesley, Oxford Literary Tour, Lyra's Oxford, Inspector Morse, Oxford Children’s Stories, Magic, Murder and Mayhem, CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, William Morris and Victorian Oxford, Family tours, Garden Tours and Gargoyles and Grotesques. So if you’ve visited Oxford before, there’s still plenty to discover with a trained guide.
On a lighter note, Bill Spectre’s Ghost Tours may appeal to you. Be prepared.
Citysightseeing Oxford offer an open-top double-decker bus tour of the city allowing you to hop off and on at all the major attractions along the way. Particulalry appealing to children (it’s so nice to look down on people for a change) you can spot treasured otherwise hidden – like the sculpted boy riding a dolphin and the groteques along Magdalen’s walls.
A wide range of boat companies offer you the opportunity to enjoy a day on the river, admiring the ‘dreaming spires’ from a different perspective. Choose between stately steamers (Salters Steamers) , elegant Edwardian electric cruisers with Oxford River Cruises, punts, rowing boats and (dare we say it?) pedalloes. To explore the Oxford Canal, one of the first ever constucted, you’ll need a narrow boat from Oxfordshire Narrowboats – whether for the day or for a longer trip.
Cycling tours for individuals, families or groups are run from and to Oxford, exploring the River Thames as well as the city. Beautiful and virtually traffic free tours through the Cotswolds also connect Oxford with the other heritage cities of Stratford and Bath. Tours are available as day trips, short breaks or longer holidays. They include provision of accommodation, luggage transfers, host services, bike hire and route directions.
Day tours from Oxford offer the opportunity to explore Oxford and its beautiful surroundings venturing into nearby areas of Cotswolds and Chilterns. Cotswold Roaming and Absolute Touring both offer the chance to visit secluded Cotswold villages, nestling in wooded valleys as well as some of Oxfordshire’s delightful countryside – off the beaten track. If you don’t fancy driving down narrow lanes or tackling English roundabouts – these could well be your best bet.
As a centre for visiting more "must see" places, Oxford is hard to beat. London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Salisbury, Stonehenge and Bath are all comfortably within reach.
Memorable historic houses right on the doorstep include the monumental Blenheim Palace - birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill - idyllic Broughton Castle, familiar from many scenes in the film "Shakespeare in Love", Buckinghamshire's Waddesdon Manor, built by the Rothschild family in exuberant French chateau style and Kelmscott Manor the beloved home of William Morris which provided the inspiration for many of his designs. Chastleton House, a rare example of a Jacobean house – as it really was - lies in delightful walking distance of Adlestrop, immortalised in Edward Thomas’ poem.
Other major attractions nearby include the Didcot Railway Centre, with working engines celebrating the golden age of the Great Western Railway, and the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens.
For more information visit the official Oxford visitor website at www.visitoxford.org
