Bodleian Library

Oxford

A day out at the Bodleian

Oxford is barely thirty minutes from the cottage, and when we want a proper day of it rather than a quick pootle, the Bodleian is where we start. It is one of the oldest working libraries in Europe, still collecting a copy of nearly every book published in Britain, and the stonework alone tells you something serious has been going on here for six centuries. The best part is that you can taste a good deal of it for free. Walk in off Broad Street and the Old Schools Quadrangle opens up around you, a honey-coloured courtyard ringed with the painted names of the old faculties, and the shop and café sit just off it with no ticket required.

The famous interiors, though, are the reason to plan ahead. Duke Humfrey's Library, the medieval reading room used as the Hogwarts library, is still a working space for researchers, so you can only see it on a booked guided tour. We've learned to reserve a slot online before we leave, because tours sell out and turning up on spec often means a wait or a miss. Prices and times shift through the year, so we always check the official site the night before rather than trusting a half-remembered figure.

What you can see, and how

It helps to know before you go which spaces are free, which carry a small charge and which need a guide. Here is roughly how it breaks down.

• The courtyard, freeThe Old Schools Quadrangle, the shop and the café are open to wander without a ticket. Lovely for a first look and a coffee even if you do nothing else.
• Weston Library, freeAcross the road, the Weston runs free changing exhibitions drawn from the collections, plus its own shop and café. An easy, no-booking add-on to any Oxford day.
• Divinity School, small chargeThe 15th-century vaulted hall carries a modest admission fee and can be visited on your own, no guide needed. The ceiling alone is worth the few pounds.
• Guided tours, book aheadDuke Humfrey's Library and the older reading rooms open only on ticketed guided tours of varying lengths. Book online in advance and check current times and prices on the day.

Making a day of it in Oxford

We tend to book a morning tour and let the rest of the day unfold on foot, because everything sits within a few cobbled minutes. The Radcliffe Camera, that domed rotunda from every Oxford postcard, is part of the same library and stands just across Radcliffe Square; the Bridge of Sighs and the lanes around it reward a slow wander. Lunch is usually the Covered Market or a pint tucked down an alley at the Turf Tavern. If the group still has energy, the Ashmolean is free and endless, and New College is one of the prettiest quads in the city. Our full guide to Oxford pulls the rest of a day together.

Getting there from the cottage

It is around fifteen miles down from Ledwell, roughly thirty-five to forty minutes by car depending on the ring road. Oxford is not a place to drive into the centre, so we always leave the car at one of the park-and-ride sites on the edge of the city, Water Eaton or Pear Tree coming from our direction, and take the bus in for a few pounds. It drops you a short walk from Broad Street and saves the misery of hunting for a space. For everything else within reach, our hub of things to do and see lays out the wider area.

“Standing in Duke Humfrey's is one of those moments where you forget to breathe. Book the tour, wander the free courtyard first, then let Oxford take the rest of the day.”

Visit the official site →

Also nearby

• Ashmolean Museum · Museum · Oxford
• Christ Church College · College · Oxford
• Punting in Oxford · River · Oxford