This tour is suitable for all ages and it focuses on Oxford's literary heritage such as the lives of Lewis Carroll and 'Alice' Liddell who lived at Christ church college. You will also learn lots about the making of Harry Potter in Oxford plus about other Oxford writers such as CS Lewis of Narnia fame & Tolkien of the Lord of The Rings.
Duration: 2 hours. Your ticket includes up to £25 per person entry fees to Christ church plus the Divinity school Harry Potter film sites.
Notice: The final third hour of your tour is self guided audio guide entry to Christ church as private guiding is no longer permitted inside.
We guarantee entry tickets to visit Christ church- buying entry tickets on your own is complicated & they usually sell out.
See 'Additional Info' or 'Voucher Info' for known dates when Divinity school may be closed. On such occasions, we will replace with New college, assuming New college is open. See closures notices below.
Minimum 4 persons to book and minimum 48 hours notice
Private group in Spanish: Minimum 4 persons to book
Private Christ church tour at : Minimum 4 persons to book may apply.
Minimum 4 persons minimum 48 hours notice to book
Christchurch entry fee worth £17 or 18 per person is included in your ticket. Please note that entry to Christ church is self guided with audio guide as guiding is no longer permitted inside.
The first two hours+ are a guided tour with the guide, followed by one hour self guided audio guide guaranteed pre booked entry ticket.
Notice: even if Christ church website shows entry tickets are sold out, we still have VIP access to continue buying entry tickets up to 3 hours before the tour starts.
Your guide will take you inside the Divinity School film site at the Bodleian library, as & when it is open. This £3 entry fee is included in ticket price.
NOTICE:
We do NOT visit inside the Bodleian medieval library though as it is NOT accessible to any tour operator or guide, nor to any children aged under 11 years old.
On any dates that Divinity school may be closed- see such dates published on this page for closures notice- the tour will instead visit New college film site. If New college is also listed as closed on such dates, then this tour will only include entry to Christ church.
We pass by & mention such famous sights
We pass by & mention such famous sights
We will introduce New college Oxford university college from the outside only. This is where they filmed several scenes from the Goblet of Fire movie.
If you wish to visit New college on your own after the tour ends, then you can just pay on the door without pre booking tickets to enter New college. Last entry to New college is about 4.30pm.
Note also that New college is not open on Mondays during winter season mid October to mid March. During summer season, New college is open daily from 10.30am to last entry at 4.30pm & currently its entry tickets cost £8 per adult in 2023.
The Turf Tavern is often described as Oxford's 'Three Broomsticks pub', due to its quaint look and odd location hidden away an alleyway that looks surprisingly like Knockturn alleyway.
We don't visit inside the Turf but so long as the tour group size is not too large, we walk past this pub to introduce it as this is where Robbie Coltrane who plays Hagrid, used to drink with the other adult actors, while filming next door at New college.
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route.
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route.
All Souls is the most exclusive college in Oxford as it's only a college for research but we like to point out to children how its towers signpost a 'W'- thus possibly making it a secret call sign for where witches or wizards study in Oxford!
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route.
This is where the likes of a famous Slytherin master of dark arts called David Cameron studied! It's also where Michael Palin and William Golding studied too.
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route.
This college gave the title of, 'honorary lecturer' to JK Rowling and it's where one of Rowling's favourite authors studied- namely JRR Tolkien.
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route.
This is where Lawrence of Arabia studied....and maybe Jesus too!
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route. If the entrance is open, we usually stop here for 5 minutes to take photos from the entrance.
This is where the current Slytherin Prime Minister studied but also where the write of Dr Seuss children's stories was a Rhodes scholar.
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route. We briefly visit here to see the Harry Potter chocolate cakes in the cake shop window and to see and hear about the connection between Alice in Wonderland and Oxford, with several Alice related characters on display.
This is the oldest Covered market in England.
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route.
This college dating back to 1263 has produced 4 Slytherin Prime Ministers including...the Boris.
Adam Smith was a member of this college.
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route. This church we discuss from outside. Shakespeare in Oxford stories are discussed here and the tower dates back to 1040 AD!
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route. We introduce Mr Tumnis figure and the street lamp outside the church here as it's said to have inspired CS Lewis.
We introduce various colleges and sights briefly, like this one, as we walk past it on our route. This is where Tolkien taught.
Meet your guide wearing red iloveoxford lanyard and/or Hogwarts gown by our red sign OUTSIDE Oxford Tourist Info centre, 15 Broad street, OX1 3AS.
These tours MUST START ON TIME as we pre purchase entry tickets for fixed entry times at Christchurch. If you arrive after the tour has started, you will unfortunately therefore lose your booking.
Please arrive 5 minutes early for your tour at our meeting point. If you arrive more than 5 minutes later than the scheduled tour, then you will likely forfeit and lose your booking as it interrupts the guide and other customers, if we are trying to find you after a guide has started and left the meeting point.
IMPORTANT NOTICE IN CASE OF UNFORESEEN PARTIAL OF FULL CLOSURES:
We do publish known Christchurch closures on this website page & we will advise of any closures at the time of booking or before the tour but occasionally some closures are last minute. In this event, our policy is either the guide can substitute entry for Christchurch to another college such as eg New college (also a Hogwarts film site). Alternatively, you may opt to reschedule your tour onto another date or to instead join one of our other tours running the same date such as the Oxford cycle tour of food tour (which cost approximately same).
CHRISTCHURCH FULL OR PARTIAL CLOSURES 2020:
NB Saturday mornings but we cannot guarantee you entry into dining hall but we can show you the HP film sites.
Tours to Christchurch on any rare dates when its dining hall may be closed: the tour will run as usual, as the dining hall is NOT the film site. Christchurch staircase & cloister are the film sites.
Christ Church Hall only closure dates 2020:
January 17
May 9
Oct 4 + 9
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One of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities, the University of Oxford is a must-visit for its historic colleges, libraries, and museums.
One of the oldest libraries in Europe, the Bodleian Library is a stunning example of architectural grandeur and historical significance.
The Ashmolean Museum is the UK's oldest public museum, housing an extensive collection of art and antiquities from around the world.
One of the most famous colleges at the University of Oxford, Christ Church College is known for its stunning architecture and historic significance.
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Locally produced cheeses, such as Cotswold cheese, are a must-try for cheese lovers.
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The bus network in Oxford is comprehensive and affordable, covering most parts of the city. Buses are a convenient way to get around, especially for tourists.
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