Oxford
Free Walking Tours!
Oxfords History
with all the fun and
Naughty Bits!
Oxford's past is packed with weirdness, violence, music, kings, politicians, orcs, elves, wizards and everything in between.
Oxford has some, odd, fun history!
Everyone knows Oxford for its University and ancient colleges — but the city that surrounds them also has a fantastic, varied history. It was even once England's capital! (Take that London!)
Big Friendly Tours is all about bringing this history to life from a local’s point of view. From what the Saxons got up to, to what our guides got up to growing up and living here — from kings to orcs, from Harry Potter to Radiohead, we cover more than you would think!
We run “free” walking tours in Oxford taking you around the best sites.
Group size is limited for everyones benefit so it’s best to book, if there is a tour running that day walk ups are usually fine if we have space!
Everything you need to know
Frequently Asked Questions
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Simple really, instead of paying a fixed price we operate a pay what you like model through tipping at the end. This could mean you choose not to pay us, please do though!
Our guides take tips, ideally in cash but we have card machines as well!
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There are many tour companies in Oxford so its easy to get confused
We meet outside New Ground Coffee on Ship Street OX13DE
Please be there 5-10 minutes before the tour, you ay even have time for a coffee!
All our guides wear orange lanyards and have British or Irish accents
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Booking is best , however walk ups are welcome so long as we have space. Please only walk up on days tours are operating to avoid dissapointment (Check our instagram for monthly tour schedules)
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Were Oxford locals! Some of us have been to the university, some haven’t, all of us have stories of life here
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This depends on the kids, they are often great fun to have along. Please be aware though that given Oxfords history there are adult themes
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Please just bring appropriate clothing for the weather. Comfy shoes are always a good idea, water is also recommended , especially in summer
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We stay in our start location for around 5 minutes at the beginning of each tour so no worries if you are only slightly late. Sadly after that we have to move on. Our guides wear orange lanyards and carry orange umbrellas though so can be easily found .
if you wish to cancel please contact us in advance .
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We take our groups around the publicly accessible highlights of Oxford. No locations that require paid tickets are included in the tour, ie Duke Humfrey’s library is not included.
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At this time the tour is only in English
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The tour requires 120 minutes of walking through the older parts of Oxford. It’s mostly flat with some road crossings and cobbles.
We as such don’t reccomend the tour for those with mosre limited mobility.
For specific accessibility requirments please get in touch.
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Certainly! Get in touch with us directly and we can arrange this
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For everyone’s benefit we cap group size at 20. We dont include small children in this number.
Groups bigger than this get in the way of Oxford residents, are hard to get around the narrow streets of the city and often make it hard for groups to hear the guide .
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Our starting point is in the middle of Oxford. If travelling from outside of town :
By Car: Park in one of Oxfords 5 park and rides and take the bus to the city centre. DO NOT try and park in central Oxford, parking is very hard to find and expensive!
By Train: Direct trains to Oxford run from around the country. If coming from London trains from Paddington take around an hour. Oxford station is a short 10 minute walk from the town centre from there
Bus: Oxford bus station is in the centre of the city 5-10 minutes walk from where we start. Coaches and local buses leave and arrive here all the time
We Meet on Ship Street!
You can find us on Ship Street, OX1 3DE outside the coffee shop, our guides wear orange lanyards and often have orange umbrellas.