28 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Oxford - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Oxford

Oxford, England

The Story Museum

An Oxford museum where visitors can have tea with the Mad Hatter and climb through the wardrobe to a fantasy land.

Oxford, England

J.R.R. Tolkien's Grave

The names Lúthien and Beren can be found inscribed on the shared grave of the famous writer and his beloved wife and muse.

Oxford, England

The Eagle and Child

J.R.R Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and other "Inklings" met at the Oxford pub to discuss the now legendary fantasy stories they were writing.

Oxford, England

Duke Humfrey's Library at the Old Bodleian Library

One of Europe's oldest libraries.

Oxford, England

Pitt Rivers Museum

Ancient Egyptian wigs, South American feather headresses, a bounty of anthropological artifacts in Oxford.

Oxford, England

C.S. Lewis's Grave

The beloved fantasy novelist is buried near a church containing a whimsical etched glass window full of Narnia favorites.

Oxford, England

Oxford Museum of Natural History

Home to the most complete dodo remains known - one head, and one foot.

Oxford, England

Codrington Library At All Souls College

Oxford University's stateliest library seems designed to make students truly feel the weight of knowledge.

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Unique
Food & Drink
in Oxford

Pancake Racing

What better way to celebrate Shrove Tuesday than to run with a pancake-laden skillet?

Trashing

For some students at the University of Oxford, the end of the year means getting covered with eggs, shaving cream, and champagne.

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Stories
About Oxford

This illustration of <em>The Love Books of Ovid</em> was, apparently, too much for young minds.

Oxford’s Library Once Branded Its Sauciest Books With a Greek Letter

How James Joyce, Madonna, and Monty Python ended up on the same restricted shelf.

by Matthew Taub

November 15, 2018

<em>An Ostrich Saving Its Young with the Blood of an Asp</em>, from <em>Miroir de l’Humaine Salvation</em>, France, 15th century.

The Secret Meanings Behind the Beasts in a Medieval Menagerie

In Middle Age Europe, animals were popular storytellers.

by Anika Burgess

August 17, 2018

Snazzy.

The Great Oxford Poop Prank

Don't you guano know what happened?

Drawing, 1932.

J.R.R. Tolkien Is Our Favorite Father Christmas

For 23 years he role-played in holiday letters to his children.

by Anika Burgess

December 21, 2017

Reverend Bob Wilkes points the way.

The Delightful English Tradition of Beating Parish Boundaries With Sticks

Or, why you may have seen 40 branch-wielding people in Oxford shouting "Mark, mark!"

by Emily Cleaver

A balloon view of London, 1851.

Take a Journey Into One of the World’s Most Impressive Map Collections

Peek inside the Bodleian Library's Map Room.

by Anika Burgess

December 23, 2016