Oxford Guild of Tour Guides Walking Tours, Oxford (2026)

28/04/2026

🌿 Looking for something special in Oxford this summer?

Tucked behind ancient walls, the gardens of Worcester College are hosting a wonderful exhibition: The Storytellers.

This unique outdoor experience brings together sculpture, landscape and literature, with works by artists including Antony Gormley and Elisabeth Frink, arranged in five acts inspired by William Shakespeare.

It’s a rare chance to explore these beautiful gardens while discovering contemporary art from around the world.

📅 1 May – 5 July 2026 🎟️ Free entry
Highly recommended for visitors and locals alike 🌿

If you would like to learn more about Oxford, such as how colleges like Worcester fit into the wider University, or combine this exhibition with highlights across the city, a knowledgeable guide from the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides can bring an extra dimension to your visit. Simply visit toursoxford.com to transform your visit into something really memorable.

27/04/2026

A wonderful afternoon at the Lord Mayor’s reception celebrating Step into Oxford 👏

Hosted by the Lord Mayor, Louise Upton, the event brought together guides and guests to mark the success of this inspiring initiative - created by Amanda Ponsonby (High Sheriff of Oxford, 2021) to help tackle loneliness and encourage people to reconnect with the city after Covid.

Delivered in partnership with Age UK and the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides, the programme offers free guided walks around Oxford, often followed by tea and coffee - creating not just learning opportunities, but real connections.

It was a pleasure to hear from Martyn Sené, who shared the story behind the initiative, and from guide Christine Bainbridge, who brought the history of the Town Hall and St Aldates to life.

With the 150th tour coming up this summer, Step into Oxford continues to make a meaningful difference - bringing people together through shared stories and experiences 💙

Photos:
📸 The Lord Mayor Louise Upton with guides Martyn Sené and Christine Bainbridge
📸 Martyn Sené
📸 Louise Upton
📸 Members of Age UK enjoying the afternoon

21/02/2026

Happy International Tour Guide Day 2026 🎉

The Oxford Guild of Tour Guides represents professionally qualified, accredited guides dedicated to excellence, accuracy and insight.

We are always reading books and refreshing our knowledge…

To bring you the very best sights and stories Oxford has to offer.

From medieval colleges to modern discoveries, every corner of Oxford has a story worth telling.

Today we celebrate not just the city we love, but the community of guides who bring it to life.

Book your tour today at toursoxford.com and prepare to be surprised and entertained.

01/02/2026

Oxford Guild of Tour Guides are preparing for a busy 2026!

During the quieter, winter months we work hard to refresh and deepen our knowledge of this fabulous city.

This week we attended a fascinating lecture by Dr Duncan Taylor on his research project for the Bodleian Library “A new understanding of Oxford’s Divinity School vault.”

He showed his mapping of the superb decoration of the vault and explained how these amazing carvings, called bosses, have many different themes and include animals, monograms, heraldic shields and stories from the Bible.

During the 15th century, when the Divinity School was built, many people couldn’t read or write, but would have understood pictures and carvings and their layers of meaning.

Come and learn more about these amazing carvings and what they can tell us with The Oxford Guild of Tour Guides at toursoxford.com.

You’ll be standing in the room where Harry Potter met Dumbledore in the infirmary and where Professor McGonagall taught Ron Weasley how to dance too!

The Divinity School is a must on any Oxford visit!

29/01/2026

Last night members of The Oxford Guild of Tour Guides enjoyed an evening at formal hall in the beautiful Exeter College.

We were invited by members of ExVac, the Exeter College Vacation Project which has been helping children have fun since 1982. This entirely student-led charity runs two holidays a year for local children from families facing difficult times, having been put in touch with the charity via social services.

It was wonderful to hear the uplifting stories from these lovely students: .dunne President, Chairperson and Treasurer

The Oxford Guild of Tour Guides was delighted to have raised just over £500 from their carol singing - enough to send a child on an adventure holiday with ExVac!

Huge thanks to all involved 🙏🏻

20/12/2025

Christ Church College has recently announced that they have received an historic gift from American philanthropist Ellen A Michelson. It is the personal copy of the 1865 suppressed edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. She views the college where Lewis Caroll was a don and the home of the real Alice as the natural home for his book.
A group of Oxford Guild of Tour Guides visited the college in preparation to take visitors to its Festival of Christmas Trees. The group saw several beautifully decorated trees, including the Alice themed tree. The tree highlights parts of the story in its decorations. The dried orange slices represent the jar labelled “Orange Marmalade” 🍊 Alice took it from the shelf on her descent down the rabbit hole to find it sadly empty! Apparently Lewis Carol was very fond of marmalade and used to sell jars in the college common room for 10d for 1 lb jar! 🫙

15/12/2025

🎶✨ Festive Fun in Oxford! ✨🎶
Come and hear the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides spread some Christmas cheer with carols in aid of ExVac 🎄
This brilliant student-led charity has been taking Oxfordshire children on adventure holidays since 1982 ❤️

📍 19 December
🕒 3.30pm – Covered Market (outside Tap Social)
🕟 4.30pm – Outside The Store on Broad Street

Wrap up warm and sing along!

25/06/2025

🌟 Encaenia: 2025 Honorary Degree Recipients
🎓✨ Today Oxford is celebrating Encaenia, the annual ceremony of honour and tradition.
We are proud to welcome this year’s honorary degree recipients:
🇳🇿 Dame Jacinda Ardern – former Prime Minister of New Zealand 📚 Lord Melvyn Bragg – broadcaster and author 📰 Clive Myrie – BBC journalist and presenter 🇺🇦 Prof Serhii Plokhii – Ukrainian historian 📖 Prof Timothy Snyder – historian of Central Europe ✍️ Prof Colm Tóibín – celebrated novelist 🏅 Sir Mo Farah – Olympic gold medallist 🧪 Prof Robert S. Langer – biotech pioneer 🧬 Prof Erwin Neher – Nobel Laureate in Physiology/Medicine

🏛️ Held in the historic Sheldonian Theatre, Encaenia honours individuals of exceptional achievement and pays tribute to the University’s benefactors.
It’s a moment where past, present, and future meet – in full academic splendour. 🎓📖
Keep an eye on our stories for more, or check out our latest blog at toursoxford.com

📚 Encaenia Fun Fact
Did you know? The word Encaenia comes from the Greek for “festival of renewal” - a perfect name for a ceremony that celebrates new ideas, timeless values, and the people who shape our world. 🌍📜

16/06/2025

🎉 Celebrating 43 Years of ExVac! 🎉

The Oxford Guild of Tour Guides was honoured to attend the recent AGM of ExVac, held in the beautiful Rector’s Garden at Exeter College. 🌿

This incredible student-led charity has been creating life-changing holiday experiences for Oxford children for an amazing 43 years! 🏕️ From planning and fundraising to running the trips, the students do it all — giving kids the chance to enjoy fun, adventure, and build resilience in the New Forest 🌲✨

We’re proud to have supported ExVac over the years and were truly inspired by the passion and dedication of the committee members. 💙

👏 Huge congratulations to the outgoing committee – and good luck to the new team taking the reins. You’re doing something truly special!

12/06/2025

📣 Congratulations to Oxford’s new Lord Mayor, Councillor Dr Louise Upton!

The Oxford Guild of Tour Guides had the honour of meeting Dr Upton at a recent gathering in the Mayor’s Parlour. 🏛️

🎙️ Our very own Jess Worth gave a whirlwind tour through 800+ years of mayoral history — from Philip the Miller in 1209 (involved in the first town-and-gown clash!) to the trailblazing Lilly Tawney, Mistress Mayor in 1933, and the indomitable Olive Gibbs, who helped bring down the Cutteslowe Wall. 💪

Thankfully, the days of arrows and angry mobs are long gone – the role of Lord Mayor is much more civil now! 😉

Welcome, Dr Upton – we’re excited for what the year holds! 💙👑

12/05/2025

Today we post a little tribute to Dorothy Hodgkin, born on this day 1910. The only British woman to receive a Nobel Prize in science, she transformed our understanding of molecules including penicillin, vitamin B12 and insulin.
Read more about this remarkable woman in our blog, or book a science and medicine walking tour of Oxford with an accredited guide at toursoxford.com.

Oxford Guild of Tour Guides Walking Tours

28/04/2026

27/04/2026

21/02/2026

01/02/2026

29/01/2026

20/12/2025

15/12/2025

25/06/2025

16/06/2025

12/06/2025

12/05/2025

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category