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Heart of Oxford & University
The University of Oxford is the oldest educational institution in England and one of the best in the world. The university is an amalgamation of 38 self-governing colleges, and six permanent private halls. It has produced thousands of the most influential people on the planet, the university is also a major attraction both for the architecture, and its history. This walk takes you to the most important and beautiful colleges in Oxford, as well as many of the other tourist attractions in this wonderful city. Happy sightseeing
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FREE App with A FREE WALK in Every City
Each walk delivers a unique and fascinating user experience. Through Tourist Walks’ self guided tour application you can explore the hidden gems created by local experts. For people wanting to explore the neighbourhood and experience the local culture, we provide a unique experience of exploring the city using GPS guided audio tours. We provide a free walk to our new users.
Full Audio Visual Commentary
Tourist Walks is an application that can give you the freedom to explore the famous walks at your own discretion. We have created a full audio-visual self-guided experience that gives you the confidence to explore and discover the stories of various cities on your own.
Visit the Best Tourist Sites & Explore Them
Get a list of all the tourist sites you can visit. The Tourist Walks application will guide you to your next destination because every journey starts with a single step.
GPS and Multilingual Audio and Text Guidance
Even if you don’t understand the local language of the city you are visiting, Don’t worry. Audio guided walks have multilingual text assistance that will guide you in your native language.
Start/Stop/Rewind
/Restart Go at Your Own Pace
Tourist Walks’ audios are narrated by professionals who will keep you entertained while you are walking your way to the next destination. We help you discover the city around you in a more impressive way.
Download the Walk App & Use Offline. No Mobile Data Required.
It is always frustrating when you wish to travel somewhere but your mobile phone service is out-of-order. Don’t worry! Tourist Walks comes with an offline version of built-in maps you might need, even without internet access.
FREE App & Walk Summaries
Each walk delivers a unique and fascinating user experience. Through Tourist Walks’ self guided tour application you can explore the hidden gems created by local experts. For people wanting to explore the neighbourhood and experience the local culture, we provide a unique experience of exploring the city using GPS guided audio tours. The App is FREE, and all the walk summaries are FREE, each walk is individually priced and you can buy all the walks for a city at a discounted price.
Full Audio Visual Commentary
Tourist Walks is an application that can give you the freedom to explore the famous walks at your own discretion. We have created a full audio-visual self-guided experience that gives you the confidence to explore and discover the stories of various cities on your own.
Visit the Best Tourist Sites & Explore Them
Get a list of all the tourist sites you can visit. The Tourist Walks application will guide you to your next destination because every journey starts with a single step.
GPS and Multilingual Audio and Text Guidance
Even if you don’t understand the local language of the city you are visiting, Don’t worry. Audio guided walks have multilingual text assistance that will guide you in your native language.
Start/Stop/Rewind
/Restart Go at Your Own Pace
Tourist Walks’ audios are narrated by professionals who will keep you entertained while you are walking your way to the next destination. We help you discover the city around you in a more impressive way.
Download the Walk App & Use Offline. No Mobile Data Required.
It is always frustrating when you wish to travel somewhere but your mobile phone service is out-of-order. Don’t worry! Tourist Walks comes with an offline version of built-in maps you might need, even without internet access.
The Heart of Oxford & University Walking Tour
- Tour Name - Heart of Oxford & University
- Tour Location - Oxford
- No. of Attractions - #13
- Tour Starting Point - Balliol College
- Tour Ending Point - Carfax Tower
Find our Heart of Oxford Walking Tour highlights below
Balliol College
Balliol is one of Oxfords oldest colleges. It was founded in 1263 by John Balliol from Barnard Castle in County Durham. Apparently he was compelled to do so as an act of penitence following an argument with the Bishop of Durham who had him whipped outside Durham Cathedral. His wife, who was actually wealthier than her husband, continued his work in setting up and funding the College after he died. Find out more on our tour.
Trinity College
Trinity College is set back from the road behind some impressive gates. The cottages next to the gates are 17th Century. Trinity College was founded in 1555 by an advisor to Mary Tudor called Thomas Pope. His tomb is in the chapel and his statue is over the entrance to the hall. The land it sits on was once home to Benedictine monks. Find out more on our tour.
Kettel Hall
“Kettel” Hall and is named after a 17th Century president of the college. There is a story that he hated long hair so much that he often used to carry a pair of scissors to dinner in order to cut the hair of students he thought had grown their hair too long. Find out more on our tour.
The Sheldonian
The Sheldonian Theatre was Sir Christopher Wrens first architectural masterpiece and it is the ceremonial centre of the University. It was commissioned by Archbishop of Canterbury Gilbert Sheldon in the 17th Century. Matriculation and Degree ceremonies still take place here, with the latter still conducted in latin. Find out more on our tour
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Bridge of Sighs
The Bridge of Sighs, as it is popularly known, was built in 1913 to join the old and the new parts of Hertford College. It is said the people sighing are students going to their tutorials rather than the prisoners on the bridge of the same name in Venice. In fact it more closely resembles the Rialto Bridge also in Venice. This bridge has been a regular tv star on Inspector Morse and also featured in the Hollywood Film “X Men First Class”. Find out more on our tour.
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library is the main research library of the University of Oxford and was founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley. It is the second biggest reference library in the country after the British Library with over 13 million printed items. It is known to students as “Bodley” or “the Bod”. It is made up of five buildings which date from the 15th Century to the present day. Find out more on our tour.
The Divinity School
This is a medieval building and is the oldest surviving building and room still available for University use and was built between 1427 and 1483. The room was used as the Hogwarts Hospital in the Harry Potter series of films. Find out more on our tour.
The Tower is so named because it is ornamented, in ascending order, with the columns of each of the five orders of classical architecture: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and “Composite”. It was built in the 17th Century. The astronomer Thomas Hornsby watched the transit of Venus from the tower in 1769. These are one of the rarest astronomical phenomena and are used to estimate the size of the Universe. Find out more on our tour
The Tower of the Five Orders
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The Radcliffe Camera
This beautiful building was built in the 18th Century to house the Radcliffe Science Library and is now part of the Bodleian Library. Camera is the latin word for “room”. The Camera, as it is known locally, is often used to represent Oxford given its position in the heart of Oxford and its shape. The circular design is the earliest example of a round library in England. It now has a tunnel connecting it to the main Bodleian library. Its founder John Radcliffe went to Lincoln College Oxford and had a successful medical career. Find out more on our tour.
All Souls College
All Souls College official name is “College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed”. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows who are full members of the college’s governing body. It has no undergraduate members, but each year recent graduate and postgraduate students at Oxford are eligible to apply for a small number of examination fellowships through a competitive examination which has been described as “the hardest exam in the world”. The college was founded by Henry VI of England and Henry Chichele, who was a fellow of New College and Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1438, to commemorate the victims of the Hundred Years’ War. Find out more on our tour.
St Marys Church
The Church of St Mary the Virgin was the original place of learning in Oxford and is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew. Its parish consists almost exclusively of university and college buildings. St Mary’s was the site of the trial of the Oxford Martyrs in 1555, when the bishops Latimer and Ridley and the Archbishop Cranmer, were tried for heresy. You can still see the pillar that was broken to enable the stage for the trial to be built. They were subsequently burnt at the stake just outside the city walls to the north. During his time in Oxford, John Wesley often attended the church and later, as a fellow of Lincoln College, preached sermons in the church. Find out more on our tour.
Queens College
Queens College and it was founded in 1341 in honour of Queen Philippa of Hainault the wife of King Edward III. Its buildings include designs by Christopher Wren. The Queen’s College is host to a mixed-voice Chapel Choir. The singers include Choral Scholars (up to eighteen at any one time) and volunteers, all of whom are auditioned. The Choir sings Evensong three times a week during term, and performs one major concert each term, often with a noted orchestral ensemble. The choir also undertakes regular tours and short visits both within this country and abroad. Find out more on our tour.
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Magdalen College
Magdalen College was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of England and named after St Mary Magdalene. During the English Civil War the college supported the Royalist cause and Prince Rupert lived in the College. Its grounds were fortified, as it overlooks the River Cherwell further down the High Street, and Magdalen Bridge, which is on the main road to London. During the first Siege of Oxford, King Charles I watched the battle from Magdalen Tower, which is the tower you can see from the street, and is shown in our image. The tower is 144 feet tall and a well-known landmark on the eastern approaches to the city centre. On May 1st, every year, the choir boys of Magdalen College School stand on the roof and sing to crowds of thousands. Find out more on our walk.
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SELF GUIDED WALKS
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. After the walks have been downloaded, for which you need an internet connection, no mobile data is required to do the walks.
No you can pause and resume at any point within the walk. Whether you need a coffee or a comfort break the walks are entirely flexible.
Yes you will receive both verbal guidance and a GPS enabled map to take you around each of the points of interest on the walks.
No the walks are circular so you will receive multiple options of where to start each walk.
Yes there are providing you buy them as a bundle, not one at a time. You can even buy all the walks in one package at a very generous price.
For each point of interest you will get information both verbally and in text and sometimes video form together with helpful images to get the most from each one.
You can pay by all manner of credit and debit cards as well as Paypal.
In the walk summary we point out if the walk is suitable for wheelchairs and pets, and there is also an indication of the distance of the walk, and how long it will take.
Yes we would love to hear from you through our website: www.touristwalks.co.uk
Happy Tourists
I absolutely enjoyed using the Tourist Walk app! The guided walking tours are very informative and interesting. I was able to find the tour I wanted quickly and easily, and the app was very easy to navigate. The walking tour itself was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot about the city. Overall, I would highly recommend this.
Carla Mathew
Tourist Walk is an excellent walking guide app. It is extremely user-friendly and provides great information on the various tours available. I would highly recommend this app to anyone visiting a new city!
Shaun Miles
Tourist Walk is an amazing app that provides guided tours of various cities. The app is extremely user-friendly and easy to navigate. I was able to find the tour I was looking for quickly and easily. The tour itself was very informative and interesting. I would highly recommend this app to anyone visiting a new city!
