Oxford holidays

Good to know for Oxford holidays

Oxford, known as the "City of Dreaming Spires," is famous for its historic university, stunning architecture, and vibrant cultural scene. Whether you're visiting for a weekend getaway or a longer stay, here are some key things to know to make the most of your holiday in Oxford.

How to get there

• By Train: Oxford is well-connected by train from major cities in the UK. Direct services from London Paddington take about an hour, while trains from Birmingham New Street take around 70 minutes. The Oxford Railway Station is conveniently located close to the city centre.

• By Car: Oxford is accessible via the M40 motorway. However, parking in the city centre can be limited and expensive, so using the Park and Ride services is recommended.

• By Coach: Several coach companies, including National Express and Oxford Tube, offer frequent services from London and other major cities. Coaches are a budget-friendly and comfortable option, with journey times from London typically around two hours.

Weather and best time to visit Oxford

The best time to visit Oxford largely depends on your tolerance for crowds, with summer in particular bursting at the seams.

• April to June The weather is mild, with average temperatures ranging from 12°C to 18°C. Rainfall is moderate and you can expect 6 to 8 hours of sunshine daily. It’s a good time to explore the university parks and gardens before the summer crowds arrive.

• July to August This is peak tourist season and the city is packed with day trippers from London, as well as foreign language students. Temperatures range from 20°C to 25°C, with up to 9 hours of sunshine daily and relatively little rainfall.

• September to November Although quieter on the visitor front, the college students are back, so there’s a terrific buzz about town. The weather is much cooler, with temperatures ranging from 10°C to 18°C, plus more rainfall and less sunshine.

• December to March Low season and the ideal time for those who prefer a peaceful getaway, although the city’s popularity and easy accessibility ensure a steady stream of visitors. Temperatures range from 4°C to 10°C, with higher rainfall and occasionally some snow.

Practical information

• Spoken languages: English, although you'll hear a wide mix of accents from around the world due to the large international student population.

• Local habits and customs: Oxford is quite a laid-back, tolerant city, well used to receiving visitors from all over the world.

• Health and safety: Oxford is a safe city, but do keep an eye on your belongings in crowded areas, particularly in the peak summer months. The city centre is well-policed however.

• Currency: The UK uses the British Pound Sterling (£). ATMs are widely available, and most places accept credit/debit cards.

• Getting around: Oxford is very walkable and there’s really no need to consider public transport. However, bicycles are a good way to get around and can be hired from several points around the city.

• Time zone: Oxford operates on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and observes British Summer Time.

Best things to do in Oxford

World-class colleges, quirky museums, ancient streets and sprawling meadows and parks, Oxford has more going for it than most cities.

Viewpoints and panoramas

• Carfax Tower: The ancient heart of Saxon Oxford, where the four roads from north, south, east and west meet, the tower provides a fantastic vista over the city centre.

• University Church of St Mary the Virgin: The church’s main attraction is its tower, and as recompense for climbing 127 steps, you gain stupendous views over Radcliffe Square, the spires of All Souls and much of central Oxford.

The best districts

• Jericho: A village within the city, perfect for aimless strolling along narrow canalside streets just northwest of the centre.

• Cowley Road: Multicultural Cowley Road is the place to go for international cuisine, lively bars and eclectic shops.

Museums

• Pitt Rivers Museum: Among this fine museum’s eye-popping exhibits are mummified crocodiles, African fetishes and gruesome shrunken heads – it’s great fun.

• History of Science Museum: Quite simply, this is the world’s finest collection of European and Islamic astrolabes, as well as quadrants, sundials, mathematical instruments, microscopes and clocks. Unmissable.

Parks and gardens

• Botanic Garden: The oldest botanic garden in Britain, featured in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, contains a wealth of floral treasures and a steamy hothouse.

• Christ Church Meadow: This flower-filled meadow fills the tapering gap between the rivers Cherwell and Thames, and offers lovely views over the sports pitch of Merton Field and back to the towers of both Christ Church and Merton Colleges.

Historical monuments

• Bodleian Library: One of the world’s great libraries, notable for its history, architecture and the stunning interior of its Divinity School. It has an estimated 117 miles of shelving!

• Christ Church College: The Tom Tower of Christ Church College dominates views along St Aldate’s, lording it over the facade and main entrance of Oxford’s largest and most prestigious college.

• Radcliffe Camera: With its limestone columns ascending to a delicate balustrade, decorated with pin-prick urns and encircling a lead-sheathed dome, the Camera is an amazing sight to behold.

Day trips in the area

• Blenheim Palace: One of Britain’s greatest stately homes - and the birthplace of Winston Churchill - which offers a memorable day out exploring the grand interiors and then roaming the surrounding grounds and parkland.

• Chipping Campden: If you visit only one place in the Cotswolds, this should be it – a town of sublime architecture, fascinating history and natural beauty, and with a fine choice of places to sleep and eat.

• **Kelmscott Manor:**This isolated Thames-side farmhouse preserves superb Victorian Arts and Crafts furnishings in a memorably atmospheric setting.

Activities for families in Oxford

There's loads for families to do on holidays to Oxford, though you’ll have by far the best fun trying to punt your way along the city’s rivers.

• Swimming pools: Both Hinksey Outdoor Pool and Ferry Leisure Centre are well-equipped for fun, family sessions.

• Aquarium and zoos: Cotswolds Wildlife Park draws happy families by the thousand to see zebras and rhinos, gibbons and giant tortoises, lions, penguins and tarantulas – to name only a few.

• Interactive museums: The Museum of Natural History is a huge hit with kids, thanks primarily to its dinosaur skeletons, while The Story Museum offers magical experiences focused on storytelling and imagination.

• Punting: The quintessential Oxford experience: view the spires of Oxford from a punt on the river while sipping Champagne and tucking into a picnic. It’s not easy, mind.

Free things to do in Oxford

With so many free museums and colleges to visit, the options for free activities in Oxford are endless.

• Free events: Free events range from outdoor summer concerts in the college quads to Christmas markets in the winter. The Oxford Literary Festival often has free talks and readings.

• Free museums: From Chinese porcelain and medieval musical instruments to European art, the Ashmolean is the country’s oldest museum, and it’s free – as are the Pitt Rivers Museum and Museum of Natural History.

• Free college visits: The colleges are sometimes open to visitors, who can tiptoe around the leafy quads, solemn chapels and dining halls for free.

• Free guided tours: Take a free tour of the university’s colleges, quads and libraries by those who know them best – its students and alumni.

Nature and outdoor activities in Oxford

Oxford has lots of possibilities for getting out and about – both on foot and on the water – but if you want to escape the inevitable crowds, then the Cotswolds are right on the doorstep.

• Punting: An Oxford rite of passage: take to the water in a traditional flat-bottomed boat on either of Oxford’s rivers and then indulge in a lazy riverbank picnic.

• Walking: You're never far from green relief in Oxford, from Christ Church Meadow’s vast expanse of untamed pasture and manicured lawns, to the Oxford Canal Walk and longer Thames Path.

• Cycling: One of the UK’s most bike-friendly cities, Oxford has plenty of safe cycling lanes and cycle routes, while there are plenty of places to hire bikes.

• Canal exploration: Explore the Oxford Canal, which links Oxford with Coventry – either on a narrowboat, rentable at Lower Heyford and Thrupp, or on towpath walks nearby.

With fresh, seasonal, locally sourced food that is also often organic or ethically produced, along with farm shops, farmers’ markets and independent specialist delis, Oxford holidays are perfect for some culinary treats.

Some typical dishes

• Oxford sausage: A local speciality, this juicy banger is typically made with pork and veal, and seasoned with lemon and herbs.

• Cotswolds cheese: The Cotswolds excels in cheese – more than a hundred varieties are produced across the region, often on small family farms, such as Crudges, near Kingham, while Simon Weaver near Lower Slaughter makes a tasty organic Cotswold Brie.

Meat dishes

• Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding: Succulent cuts of beef, lamb or chicken accompanied by roast potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and lashings of gravy – there’s your gut-busting Sunday roast.

• Game pie: A local favourite, game pie made with pheasant or venison topped with thick gravy is simply the business. The 14th-century Turf Tavern serves up a good one!

Fish and seafood dishes

• Fish and chips: Head to The White Horse or The Magdalen Arms for this must-try culinary experience; freshly caught fish, battered and fried to golden perfection, served with chips – and perhaps some mushy peas.

Street food

• Street food markets: Head to Gloucester Green Market on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to sample cuisines from all over the world.

Sweets and desserts

Don’t miss Banbury cakes – flat, currant-filled pastries, similar to Eccles cakes – which have been baked and sold in nearby Banbury for at least five hundred years. Deliciously dark and bittersweet Oxford marmalade has, regrettably, not been manufactured in Oxford for many decades, but you can still find it in some shops.

Local drinks

• Real ale: Oxfordshire’s Hook Norton produces a range of ales, available in their own 40-odd pubs as well as many others around the region – malted Hooky, fruity Old Hooky, Hooky Gold and others.

• Pimms: A quintessentially British drink, especially popular in the summer, this is a refreshing mix of Pimms No.1, lemonade and various fruits.