Restrictions due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have
eased, and we have been able to resume our regular daytime
tours, subject to certain limitations (see below).
If you fancy a day trip out, or a short break or Autumn holiday in the
UK, we can assure you that Oxford is still much quieter than normal.
As far as we are aware, none of our guides or sellers have been
infected with COVID-19 or shown any of the symptoms.
However, we ask that you (and our guides) follow WHO advice and UK
government social distancing guidance to minimize transmission of the
virus, in particular keeping two metres apart from anyone outside your
household (or ‘support bubble’).
When visiting inside the Divinity School, you will be required to wear a
face covering (unless you have an exemption).
Please see the sections below for more information.
Tours
Content
Most colleges remain closed to visitors for the foreseeable future, so
we are currently unlikely to be able to take you inside colleges.
We will instead intend to visit the Old Schools Quad (a Harry
Potter film location) and inside the Divinity School (which is
now open to visitiors). However, there are restrictions on visitor
numbers to these locations and we cannot absolutely guarantee they will
be included. Also, they close at 4pm and cannot be included in a
tour starting at 4pm.
We will of course show you the colleges from the outside, and you will
still be able to see most of Oxford’s fine architecture.
Although Magdalen and Christ Church colleges are now open to visitors,
the former is somewhat off the beaten track to include with less than
one mile of walking, and both charge a significant entrance fee that we
would not be able to include in the current ticket price.
With agreement from the entire group (including paying the additional
admission charge), we may be able to take you inside one of these
colleges.
Otherwise, it should be possible to stand briefly outside college
gatehouses and peek in, but please be mindful of social distancing and
allow plenty of space for anyone going in or out.
If you would like to visit inside a college with a professional guide,
we would suggest booking a
private tour – please
contact us to discuss your requirements.
Our guides have a great knowledge of history, and many
uniquely-researched stories to tell.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the current restrictions, one recent
customer was more than satisfied:
Availability and Pricing
At the moment, we are not receiving significant numbers of visitors and
group sizes are usually very small, so you can expect a
socially-distanced, intimate tour.
We recommend
advance booking online
directly via our website, though will soon be able to accept contactless
payment at the time of the tour if you have not pre-booked.
Other speciality tours may be booked, but please bear in mind that most
colleges and many other buildings are currently closed to visitors.
Our guide, Iain, spoke to
BBC South Today
on
about the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on tourism in the
region:
Advice to Minimize Transmission of the Virus
We are not health experts, and in the first instance would refer you to
the following resources:
Keep at least two metres apart from anyone not in your own household
(or ‘support bubble’);
Wash your hands regularly with hot water and soap/detergent for at
least 20 seconds:
in particular, do so as soon as you come in to your place of
residence or anywhere you are going to be spending any length of
time, before touching anything;
if soap/detergent and hot water is not available, a hand sanitizer
with a greater than 60% alcohol content is recommended;
“antibacterial” products might be ineffective
unless they have other qualities – COVID-19 is a
virus;
Catch any sneezes or coughs in a tissue and properly dispose of the
tissue in a bin as soon as possible; wash your hands afterwards;
This applies regardless of whether a sneeze or cough may be
related to another issue such as hay fever or smoking;
If you don’t have a tissue to hand, use the inside of your
elbow;
Try to avoid hand contact with your face.
Studies have shown that humans instinctively touch their face almost
subconsciously, thus we think it might also be prudent to regularly wash
your face according to the same guidelines.
Walking-Tour-Specific Advice
In the sections below we have interpreted the guidance and law for the
context of a walking tour.
Group Size Limits
You must not attend a tour as an individual group of more than six
people (including all children), except as a single household or
‘support bubble’ (or, before
,
no more than two households or ‘support bubbles’).
There may be other groups on the tour, but you should not socialize with
them even if they include people you know.
Social Distancing
You should always keep at least two metres apart from anyone not
in your own household (or ‘support bubble’).
It should be at all times possible to maintain such a distance on a
walking tour and therefore there is no reason to relax this to one metre
in any but the most exceptional circumstances.
Given that the guide will be doing most of the talking, projecting
breath forwards, we suggest standing further back from the guide than
this.
When moving between one place and the next, avoid walking in single file
if possible (to avoid breathing in air that has just been exhaled by the
person in front). If that is not possible, leave a bigger gap than
2m and walk slowly. The guide will wait.
(Outdoors, when at each location, perhaps also be aware of which way the
wind is blowing and try to avoid standing directly downwind or upwind of
another person.)
Masks
When visiting inside the Divinity School, you will be required to wear a
face covering (unless you are exempt on grounds of age, health or
disability); however, these are not mandatory for the outdoor parts of
the tour.
If You Think You Might Have Coronavirus
If you have any of main the symptoms, or have been in contact with
anyone who has within the last seven days, we respectfully
ask, for the benefit of everyone, that you do not attend the tour (we
will refund your ticket price).
you will “know about it” without necessarily needing a
thermometer, and
if someone were to touch your chest or back (they should wash
their hands afterwards), you would feel hot to them – and/or
loss of sense of smell or taste (anosmia).
Other symptoms
may include fatigue, muscle aches (myalgia) or headache.
Refunds and Cancellations
If you have booked a tour scheduled for between
and
,
you are entitled to a refund of the purchase price of the tickets.
If you booked directly through us, please
contact us
to arrange a refund or reschedule.
If you booked through GetYourGuide, you should already have been
refunded; if not, please contact them.
If you booked through Tripadvisor Experiences,
please contact them to arrange a refund or reschedule.
We will also refund any cancellation due to COVID-19 after this,
provided that you advise us before the time of the tour.
As this is our livelihood (we need to feed our children, etc.),
if there’s any possibility that you could postpone rather than
cancel your booking, we would be exceedingly grateful.
Nuisances
Anyone wilfully not following health guidelines, advice or instruction
will be removed from the tour in accordance with our
terms and conditions,
for the benefit of everyone.
Feedback
If you have any concerns that the content of this page is misleading or
inaccurate, please direct them to
.
