Oxford: Libraries
Repositories of the most beautiful and precious books, from first editions to illuminated manuscripts to the handwritten pages that became literary classics
Repositories of the most beautiful and precious books, from first editions to illuminated manuscripts to the handwritten pages that became literary classics
One of the oldest libraries in Europe is spread across Oxford in a series of historic buildings
After being picked up by your Oxford student guide in central Oxford, go inside the medieval Hogwarts Hospital with its images of beasts and biblical scenes. Walk down the halls of Hogwarts in the dark cloisters of one of Oxford’s oldest colleges. Really, Harry Potter in Oxford makes perfect sense.
But not only does the tour include those magical wonders of Harry Potter in Oxford, it also includes a fun quiz to test your knowledge! You will also hear about the other fabulous children’s books written in Oxford, including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia, and the scholars who wrote them. Plus lots more!
This Harry Potter tour of Oxford includes entry to the famous Bodleian Library as well as at least two Oxford University buildings, although like with any tour company, entrance cannot be guaranteed. Where possible you will also visit Christ Church, for which the entry fee for this College is not included in the tour price. Why not? There are often queues lasting up to several hours, and parts of it are regularly shut to the public. By not including it in our standard price, we ensure we do not overcharge. The tour will end at Christ Church should you wish to head in after.
Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church College from the 1850s to 1891, had a duaghter in 1852 he named Alice Pleasance Liddell. The Liddell family struck up a friendship with a mathematics professor named Charles Dodgson, who would regale the Liddell sisters with elaborate fantasy tales on their boating trips down Oxford's rivers. Little Alice begged Dodgson to write some of them down, and he did, using the pename Lewis Carroll, casting a precocious seven-year old girl named "Allice" as the protagonist, and eventually publishing Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.