Oxford University England - Guide to a Walk Around Oxford University England

Radcliffe Camera to Turl Street

The Radcliffe Camera at Oxford University

©Ferne Arfin

The Radcliffe Camera, at the center of Radcliffe Square, is surrounded by impressive University and college buildings.

• On the north, it faces the Old Bodleian Library

• On the south, see the impressive, circa 1280 tower of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. The decorative spire was added between 1315 and 1325. The church is open between 9a.m. and 5p.m. throughout the year. Admission to the tower costs £2.50.

• East of the Radcliffe Camera, on Catte Street, are the fortress like, Medieval walls and Gothic windows of All Souls College, founded in the 15th century by King Henry VI.

• To the west is Brasenose College which gets its name from a wonderfully silly story. The school is named for the bronze nose (brazen nose) of a beast on a door knocker that once graced the door of Brazen Nose Hall, a building that predated the foundation of the college by several hundred years. The original door knocker, which was stolen during riots in 1334 and was missing for more than 500 years, is now in the college dining hall.

  After soaking up the atmosphere in Radcliffe Square, turn into the pedestrian alley called Brasenose Lane, passing between Brasenose, Exeter and Lincoln colleges to Turl Street.

• Oxford Rail Station: The Start of a Half-Day Walk Around the Oxford Colleges
• Worcester College to the Ashmolean Museum
• The Ashmolean Museum to Balliol College, Past the Martyrs Memorial
• Balliol College to The Sheldonian Theatre
• The Sheldonian Theatre to Radcliffe Square and the Radcliffe Camera
• Radcliffe Square to the Radcliffe Camera
• Radcliffe Camera to Turl Street
• Turl Street to Oxford Covered Market
• Oxford Covered Market to Lunch and Retail Therapy