Who’s coming to Oxford?
Pick the tile that fits your party. We’ll build the walk around your interests, pace and guide.
Private guided walks from £185
Solo & couplesA walk for one or two, shaped around what you’re curious about.
Group toursFriends, societies, alumni, schools and coach parties.
Families & childrenPaced for the youngest, told for every age.
Specialist toursMorse, Harry Potter, literature and more.
Corporate experiencesConferences, delegations and client days.
Not sure?
Choose a walk
Every one of these can be shortened, lengthened or combined.
Discover Oxford
Explore Oxford’s famous sights, historic colleges and fascinating stories with a knowledgeable local guide.
- Radcliffe Square, the Sheldonian Theatre and the Bridge of Sighs
- The Bodleian Library, the Divinity School and the University Church
Oxford on Screen
Discover the Oxford locations behind Harry Potter, Inspector Morse, Lewis, Endeavour and other memorable film and television productions.
- Lewis, Endeavour, His Dark Materials, Wonka and The Favourite
- College quads, grand staircases, historic libraries and hidden lanes
Photo: Jps3, CC BY-SA 4.0Oxford Colleges & University Life
Explore Oxford’s colleges, student traditions and university history, with advice on college visits and access where available.
- Colleges (Balliol, Trinity, New), architecture, the university and its history
- Inside a college, subject to opening on the day
Oxford and Beyond
Discover Blenheim Palace, the Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath and Stonehenge on a private half-day or full-day excursion with a Blue Badge guide.
- Blenheim Palace, the Cotswolds and Stratford-upon-Avon
- Bath and Stonehenge for a longer day
Oxford for Families
Discover Oxford through engaging stories, curious characters and family-friendly experiences tailored to your children’s ages and interests.
- Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland themes available on request
- Recommendations for family-friendly activities and experiences to suit your interests, energy levels and schedule
Oxford’s Literary World
Explore the lives, friendships and imaginative worlds of Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Philip Pullman and other writers connected with Oxford.
- The colleges of Lewis, Tolkien, Auden and Golding
- Lewis Carroll's Christ Church and the origins of Alice
Oxford Uncovered: Secrets, Legends & Student Life
Venture beyond the familiar sights to uncover hidden corners, eccentric characters, strange traditions and the city’s curious stories.
- Secret places, lesser-known stories, hidden corners, unusual buildings and details
- Ghosts, legends, unusual stories, eccentric characters, hidden curiosities
Bespoke Oxford
Tell us what interests you, and we’ll create a tailor-made Oxford experience around your group, interests and pace.
- Mix and match from what you’ve seen here
- Gardens, natural history, women’s history, LGBTQ+ Oxford, Jewish heritage, politics, religion and music
Build your own tour
Looking for something a little different? We can match you with a guide who can create a private tour, something completely unique.
Choose one or more to combine.
What makes our tours different
Six things that hold true on every walk we run, whoever is guiding it.
Always private, never shared
Always private. Your guide, your party, nobody else.
Doors that usually stay shut
Quads, libraries and halls most visitors never see, opened through 20 years of relationships.
Built around what interests you
Tell us what you're curious about and we'll draw the route around it. Not sure? Let us surprise you.
Blue and Green Badge only
Every guide is accredited by the Institute of Tourist Guiding.
Connected to the best of local Oxford
We know the best local businesses in Oxford — need somewhere to stay, eat or shop?
Walked at your pace
Sit down when you want to and linger where it matters.
Starting prices
Prices are per guide and cover the private guided experience itself. They are full prices, with no VAT added.
- Private Blue or Green Badge guide
- Planning and delivery of your tour
- The classic walk, or a subject that interests you
- Private Blue or Green Badge guide
- Planning and delivery of your tour
- Blenheim Palace or the Cotswolds as a half day from Oxford
- Private Blue or Green Badge guide
- Planning and delivery of your tour
- Built around a hand-picked experience
- Blenheim, the Cotswolds, Stratford, Bath or Stonehenge
Specialist and unusual Oxford experiences are priced as above, excluding entry costs.
Three steps, no forms to fight
- 01
Tell us your date, party and interests
Use the form or call. A date, the number of people and a line about what you'd like to see is enough.
- 02
We match you with a guide
You'll get an accredited guide, a proposed route and the fee. Nothing is booked until you say yes.
- 03
Meet and walk
Your guide can meet you wherever you like. Then it's your Oxford for as long as you've booked.
The most common meeting points are the Ashmolean Museum, the Martyrs' Memorial and the train station.
What our guests have said
Read authentic reviews from people who walked Oxford with us.
Victoria did an absolutely wonderful tour. She personalised everything, and the breadth of her knowledge was amazing. She addressed each of our questions and took us to specific sites for our areas of interest, from the history of the colleges to Inspector Morse and Harry Potter scenes.
A lovely afternoon on the Morse, Lewis, Endeavour tour. Our guide Heidi was magnificent, a lovely personality, very knowledgeable, passionate and endearing. A most memorable experience to celebrate our visit to Oxford on our first date 31 years ago. Can thoroughly recommend this tour.
Elizabeth Hudson made Oxford a favourite for us! She showed us all the colleges and more. Her knowledge of Oxford and her passion for it shone through. She was kind and beyond informative.
Meet the guides
Not sure which tour or guide is right for you? Tell us about your group and interests, and we’ll recommend the best fit.
Prefer to choose your own guide? Browse Our Guides by language or specialism.
Green BadgeBen Lawson
I am an Oxford Green badge holder and grew up in the city.
I have worked for the BBC in News, television Entertainment, Comedy and Radio Production. My experience includes public facing areas of the BBC, presenting and demonstrating new technology and providing VIP visits to BBC studios.
Before returning to live in Oxford, I provided tours of numerous TV and Film location sites in London, including the ‘Secrets of the London Underground’ tours for the London Transport Museum. Ben also holds a BA Hons in English from Royal Holloway University of London. My specialist tours include film,TV, literature and children’s tours
- Film & TV locations
- Literature
- Children's tours
Accredited guideJoanna Hamilton
I have spent most of my life in Oxford so it is a joy to be part of the accredited guiding community. I know all the facts and figures (numbers and people) but offer visitors a ‘tailored’ experience.
My particular interests might be the history, literature, architecture and people of Oxford, but Harry Potter, Alice, pubs and punting feature too.
It’s wonderful work touring the streets of Oxford and sharing the stories, old and new, with interested and interesting visitors from overseas and the UK. I inform, entertain and make sure visitors get the most out of their visit.
- History & literature
- Architecture
- Harry Potter & Alice
Blue & Green BadgeVerity Tiff
Following a career in Science Education working, with all age groups from reception to adults, including children and young adults with Special Educational Needs I trained as a Blue Badge Guide for the Heart of England Region in 2015. Since 2016 I have been leading walking tours and providing coach commentaries throughout the region, which includes Oxford.
Since then I have gained the Windsor and Eton accreditation and in 2023 gained the Oxford City Green Badge.
None of my tours are ever the same. They will always be tailored to what you, the visitor wants to see and do. My particular interests are architecture, the history of science and medicine, the history of religion and how it has shaped our society.
- Architecture
- Science & medicine
- Coach commentaries
Green BadgeLeigh Guyatt
I am a qualified Green badge Guide for oxford and a member of the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides. I settled in Oxford in 1984 after a “life in the fast lane”.
Before Oxford life I lived and trained as a Secondary School teacher in Inner London, where I taught Business Studies for five years.
In 1980 I decided to return to Hong Kong and teach in the Forces School. This experience whetted my appetite and I have travelled extensively ever since.
I returned to UK in 1984 and had several teaching jobs in and around Oxford where I decided to settle.
In 1986 whilst doing a course on Oxford and its Architecture at the College of Further Education I met some of the early members of the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides and they encouraged me to become a guide. I loved it and have been guiding on and off ever since.
Over the years I have enjoyed expanding my repertoire and now guide not only on City tours but specialist tours such as Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland and latterly Morse, Lewis and Endeavour.
- City tours
- Harry Potter & Alice
- Morse, Lewis & Endeavour
Green BadgeSusannah Sallé
I grew up in a village near Oxford, spent all my school years here, and after university studies in Leeds, London, Florence and Montpellier, I returned to my roots!
After ten years in the publishing industry, I now dovetail freelance editing work with tours of Oxford. With my ITG Oxford City Green Badge, I give tours in English and French, and also speak some Italian. I get a buzz from sharing ‘my’ city with people from all over the world and of all ages, giving them an insight into its workings and learning new things myself all the time.
- City & University
- Tours in French
- All ages
Accredited guideBryan Hartley
I first fell in love with Oxford when I was a student here and it has been home for the past 35 years. It is a privilege to share my city with visitors from both near and far.
I aim to make my tours flexible, informative and importantly – fun. My guiding interests range from architecture, the arts and culture, through to the history and modern-day workings of the University – taking in science, medicine and Harry Potter on the way (other film and TV locations are available).
When not guiding, I am often to be found in gardens – either my own or visiting one of the delightful gardens of Oxford or the Cotswolds.
- Architecture & the arts
- University life
- Harry Potter & film
Green BadgeBen Lawson
I am an Oxford Green badge holder and grew up in the city.
I have worked for the BBC in News, television Entertainment, Comedy and Radio Production. My experience includes public facing areas of the BBC, presenting and demonstrating new technology and providing VIP visits to BBC studios.
Before returning to live in Oxford, I provided tours of numerous TV and Film location sites in London, including the ‘Secrets of the London Underground’ tours for the London Transport Museum. Ben also holds a BA Hons in English from Royal Holloway University of London. My specialist tours include film,TV, literature and children’s tours
- Film & TV locations
- Literature
- Children's tours
Accredited guideJoanna Hamilton
I have spent most of my life in Oxford so it is a joy to be part of the accredited guiding community. I know all the facts and figures (numbers and people) but offer visitors a ‘tailored’ experience.
My particular interests might be the history, literature, architecture and people of Oxford, but Harry Potter, Alice, pubs and punting feature too.
It’s wonderful work touring the streets of Oxford and sharing the stories, old and new, with interested and interesting visitors from overseas and the UK. I inform, entertain and make sure visitors get the most out of their visit.
- History & literature
- Architecture
- Harry Potter & Alice
Blue & Green BadgeVerity Tiff
Following a career in Science Education working, with all age groups from reception to adults, including children and young adults with Special Educational Needs I trained as a Blue Badge Guide for the Heart of England Region in 2015. Since 2016 I have been leading walking tours and providing coach commentaries throughout the region, which includes Oxford.
Since then I have gained the Windsor and Eton accreditation and in 2023 gained the Oxford City Green Badge.
None of my tours are ever the same. They will always be tailored to what you, the visitor wants to see and do. My particular interests are architecture, the history of science and medicine, the history of religion and how it has shaped our society.
- Architecture
- Science & medicine
- Coach commentaries
Green BadgeLeigh Guyatt
I am a qualified Green badge Guide for oxford and a member of the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides. I settled in Oxford in 1984 after a “life in the fast lane”.
Before Oxford life I lived and trained as a Secondary School teacher in Inner London, where I taught Business Studies for five years.
In 1980 I decided to return to Hong Kong and teach in the Forces School. This experience whetted my appetite and I have travelled extensively ever since.
I returned to UK in 1984 and had several teaching jobs in and around Oxford where I decided to settle.
In 1986 whilst doing a course on Oxford and its Architecture at the College of Further Education I met some of the early members of the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides and they encouraged me to become a guide. I loved it and have been guiding on and off ever since.
Over the years I have enjoyed expanding my repertoire and now guide not only on City tours but specialist tours such as Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland and latterly Morse, Lewis and Endeavour.
- City tours
- Harry Potter & Alice
- Morse, Lewis & Endeavour
Green BadgeSusannah Sallé
I grew up in a village near Oxford, spent all my school years here, and after university studies in Leeds, London, Florence and Montpellier, I returned to my roots!
After ten years in the publishing industry, I now dovetail freelance editing work with tours of Oxford. With my ITG Oxford City Green Badge, I give tours in English and French, and also speak some Italian. I get a buzz from sharing ‘my’ city with people from all over the world and of all ages, giving them an insight into its workings and learning new things myself all the time.
- City & University
- Tours in French
- All ages
Accredited guideBryan Hartley
I first fell in love with Oxford when I was a student here and it has been home for the past 35 years. It is a privilege to share my city with visitors from both near and far.
I aim to make my tours flexible, informative and importantly – fun. My guiding interests range from architecture, the arts and culture, through to the history and modern-day workings of the University – taking in science, medicine and Harry Potter on the way (other film and TV locations are available).
When not guiding, I am often to be found in gardens – either my own or visiting one of the delightful gardens of Oxford or the Cotswolds.
- Architecture & the arts
- University life
- Harry Potter & film
Ready to walk?
Send us your date and we will come back with a guide and a quote, usually the same day.
Things to see and do in Oxford
We would love to show you around and make recommendations, but you can get inspired here.
