Items | Tolkien Lewis Walking Tour, with Magdalen College visit, + Alice!
Tolkien Lewis Walking Tour, with Magdalen College visit, + Alice!
(8) Reviews
Oxford
Important Information
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Service animals allowed
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Public transportation options are available nearby
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Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
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For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
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Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
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If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
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This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
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Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
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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 Magdalen College, where Lewis spent nearly three decades. This tour provides a unique insight into the lives of these authors and the city that inspired them.
- 2.5 hour guided walking tour of Oxford’s literary landmarks - Visit Magdalen College, where Lewis worked from 1925 to 1954 - Suitable for teenagers and adults; private tours are also available for families with young...
Highlights
2 hours and 30 minutes
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
2 hours and 30 minutes
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
What's Included
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.
Meeting Points
Departure
Italiamo Cafe
We meet near the Italiamo Cafe on Broad Street, near the red telephone box.
Return
Magdalen College
The tour ends at Magdalen College. Visitors are free to explore the college further after the tour ends.
Itinerary
1
Broad Street
Your guide will meet you here and will give you an introduction to the tour.
10 minutes
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.
10 minutes
3
The Eagle and Child
See the pub where the Inklings met. The pub is currently closed for repairs and can be viewed from the outside only (2025).
10 minutes
4
Sheldonian Theatre
See the Sheldonian Theatre, where Tolkien and Lewis matriculated and graduated and attended many other events of importance in their Oxford careers.
10 minutes
5
Bodleian Library
See the world famous Bodleian library.
5 minutes
6
History of Science Museum
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.
5 minutes
7
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.
10 minutes
8
Gusto Italian
See the famous Mitre Inn (now also called Gusto), where C.S.Lewis met T.S.Eliot. Hear about their stormy relationship!
5 minutes
9
Radcliffe Camera
See the iconic Radcliffe Camera - a great spot for some memorable photos
5 minutes
10
Radcliffe Square
Visit Radcliffe Square and see the iconic Radcliffe Camera, Brasenose College, All Souls College and the University Church of St Mary.
5 minutes
11
Oriel College
See this lovely small college where Tolkien and Lewis sat their scholarship examinations before coming up to Oxford as students.
5 minutes
12
Christ Church
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.
10 minutes
13
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.
5 minutes
14
Merton Street
Walk down beautiful Merton Street, often used as a backdrop when films are made in Oxford
5 minutes
15
University College
See the college where C.S.Lewis was an undergraduate and where we worked as a tutor from 1925 - 1947.
5 minutes
16
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 walk around Addison's Walk which is a beautiful circular walk around an island on the River Cherwell within the grounds the college. You can recreate the walk which Lewis, Tolkien and Hugo Dyson did in 1931 and which had such important consequences for Lewis. The College also has a Cafe by the river Cherwell serving drinks, light lunches and tea.
45 minutes
Tolkien Lewis Walking Tour, with Magdalen College visit, + Alice!
(8) Reviews
Oxford
About
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 Magdalen College, where Lewis spent nearly three decades. This tour provides a unique insight into the lives of these authors and the city that inspired them.
- 2.5 hour guided walking tour of Oxford’s literary landmarks - Visit Magdalen College, where Lewis worked from 1925 to 1954 - Suitable for teenagers and adults; private tours are also available for families with young...
Highlights
2 hours and 30 minutes
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
2 hours and 30 minutes
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
What's Included
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.
Meeting Points
Departure
Italiamo Cafe
We meet near the Italiamo Cafe on Broad Street, near the red telephone box.
Return
Magdalen College
The tour ends at Magdalen College. Visitors are free to explore the college further after the tour ends.