Tolkien Lewis Walking Tour, with Magdalen College visit, + Alice!

5.0

based on 6 reviews

| Oxford, United Kingdom

Features

Free Cancellation

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Instant ticket delivery

Mobile Ticket

Pickup available

Duration

2.5 hours

Wheelchair accessible

Audio guide

Live guide

Your Personal Guide - Contrada Tours uses only experienced local guides
After the tour you are free to visit the riverside café and Addison's walk and deer park.
Entry to one College of the University, usually Magdalen College. The entry ticket is included.
At Magdalen College, we can usually visit the chapel, dining hall, cloister, café and gardens.

Please note: the colleges are usually closed between 21 Dec - 3 January and over Easter.
When it is not possible to visit Magdalen college, we will visit another suitable college.
Please note, Colleges are working academic institutions. Some areas may close at short notice.
Crowds! Our maximum group size is 12.
The Eagle and Child pub - it is closed for restoration work until 2027.

Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Explore the fascinating world of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis on this guided walking tour through Oxford. See iconic locations such as Exeter College, the Sheldonian Theatre, the Bodleian Library, and Magdalen College, where the Inklings met. Discover how these writers inspired and helped one another. Enjoy a visit to...

Duration 2 Hours and 30 Minutes
Group Tour
Max 12 people in the group

1
Broad Street
Your guide will meet you here and will give you an introduction to the tour.
- Duration 10 Minutes•
- No Admission Ticket Required
2
University of Oxford
Learn about the workings of the University of Oxford, where Tolkien and Lewis were students and where they taught for most of their careers.
- Duration 10 Minutes•
- Admission Ticket Not Included

St Giles'

See the pub where the Inklings met. The pub is currently closed for repairs and can be viewed from the outside only (2025).

Duration 10 Minutes•
Admission Ticket Not Included

Sheldonian Theatre

See the Sheldonian Theatre, where Tolkien and Lewis matriculated and graduated and attended many other events of importance in their Oxford careers.

Duration 10 Minutes•
Admission Ticket Not Included

Bodleian Library

See the world famous Bodleian library.

Duration 5 Minutes•
Admission Ticket Not Included

Broad Street

See the original site of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum, where Tolkien worked as a lexicographer on the Oxford English Dictionary. Hear about his time there.

Duration 5 Minutes•
No Admission Ticket Required

Exeter College

See the College where Tolkien was an undergraduate. Learn about his time in Oxford. We view Exeter College from the outside - internal visits are not normally permitted.

Duration 10 Minutes•
Admission Ticket Not Included

High Street

See the famous Mitre Inn (now also called Gusto), where C.S.Lewis met T.S.Eliot. Hear about their stormy relationship!

Duration 5 Minutes•
Admission Ticket Included

Radcliffe Camera

See the iconic Radcliffe Camera - a great spot for some memorable photos

Duration 5 Minutes•
Admission Ticket Not Included

Radcliffe Square

Visit Radcliffe Square and see the iconic Radcliffe Camera, Brasenose College, All Souls College and the University Church of St Mary.

Duration 5 Minutes•
No Admission Ticket Required

Oriel College

See this lovely small college where Tolkien and Lewis sat their scholarship examinations before coming up to Oxford as students.

Duration 5 Minutes•
Admission Ticket Not Included

Saint Aldate's

See the Canterbury gate of Christ Church College. Learn how Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) met the young Alice Liddell at Christ Church College and how she inspired him to write Alice in Wonderland. Learn also about recent developments at Christ Church including the new Alice collection.

Duration 10 Minutes•
Admission Ticket Not Included

Merton College

See the College where Lewis and Tolkien first met in the 1920s, and where Tolkien was Professor of English during the 1940s and 1950s when he was working on the Lord of the Rings.

Duration 5 Minutes•
Admission Ticket Not Included

Merton Street

Walk down beautiful Merton Street, often used as a backdrop when films are made in Oxford

Duration 5 Minutes•
No Admission Ticket Required

University College

See the college where C.S.Lewis was an undergraduate and where we worked as a tutor from 1925 - 1947.

Duration 5 Minutes•
Admission Ticket Not Included

Magdalen College

The tour includes a visit inside Magdalen College, one of Oxford's most beautiful and historic colleges. See the chapel where Lewis worshipped daily after he became a Christian and the College dining hall where he ate. See the New Building where the Inklinks met. If you have time you can...