National lockdown restrictions ease from
,
allowing up to six people or two households to meet outdoors (other than
for exercise).
Thus we are able to resume providing walking tours, which for the time
being will be outdoors only.
We are now accepting bookings for all tours, and will
refund any cancellations due to COVID-19.
We’re accredited by
Visit England
as “Good To Go”, which confirms our tours are
COVID-secure
– i.e. an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out, and
suitable processes are in place.
We ask that you (and our guides) follow WHO advice and UK
government guidance to minimize transmission of the virus, in particular
keeping two metres apart from anyone outside your household (or
support bubble).
Please see the sections below for more information.
Tours
Content
Most colleges remain closed to visitors for the foreseeable future, so
we are currently unable to take you inside colleges.
While meeting indoors is restricted to a single household (or
support bubble), it is unlikely you will be able to see
inside buildings on a public tour.
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.
It should be possible to stand briefly outside college gatehouses and
peek in, but please be mindful of physical distancing and allow plenty
of space for anyone going in or out.
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, Pricing, and Group Sizes
At the moment, we are not receiving significant numbers of visitors and
group sizes are usually very small, so you can expect an intimate yet
socially-distanced tour.
We are limiting overall group sizes to make it easier to
maintain physical distancing (see
below
for more details).
While most large private group tours would not be permitted, we are
offering
Private ‘Bubble’ Tours
priced at
£50.00 per group,
with a maximum group size of 5.
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-paid.
Tours will be running on-demand only until
;
booking 20 hours in advance is required for tours before then.
Ghost Tours will similarly be on-demand until
.
Other speciality tours may be booked, but please bear in mind that most
colleges and 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.
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 party that exceeds the limit
on the number of people who may meet socially in an outdoor public
place.
From
,
this is no more than 6 people (including all children), except as a single
household or support bubble.
There may be other groups on public tours, but you should not socialize
with them even if they include people you know.
Note that the restrictions on people meeting do not apply to the overall
tour group size (just as they would not apply to the total number of
people in, say, a garden centre), but apply to individual groups who
arrange to attend a tour together.
We are currently aiming to keep tour group sizes to a maximum of around
15, so that it should be easily possible to maintain physical distancing
at all times during the tour.
However, if you feel uncomfortable with number of people in your tour
group in relation to this aspect, please alert us as soon as possible so
that we can take account of it.
Physical (‘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
If visiting inside a building, you would 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.
The guide will not normally be wearing a mask outdoors, as this would
impede communication, but can do so on request when conducting private
tours.
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 that has to be cancelled due to COVID-19
restrictions you are entitled to a refund of the purchase price of the
tickets.
We will also refund any other cancellation due to COVID-19 (e.g. you
have symptoms), provided you advise us before the time of the tour, and
any cancellation made at least 48 hours in advance.
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
.
