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Published: 6/3/2026
What to Do in Oxford For One Day as a Literature Enthusiast
If you love literature, you’re going to love Oxford.
As an English major and Anglophile, it took me just a couple minutes to assemble a list of Oxford sites and activities to keep me on my (blistered) toes during my brief one-day visit while walking the first half of the Thames Path National Trail.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to approach Oxford like I did. In fact, you can reach this charming medieval college town with a quick, one-hour direct train from London’s Paddington Station. It’s truly the perfect London day trip and deserves a spot on any London itinerary.
Sometimes called the City of Dreaming Spires, Oxford is where rivers and great minds (and imaginations!) converge. I’ve created a perfect Oxford day for book lovers that’s based mostly in the city’s medieval center, but also takes you for a dreamy walk along the Thames River to reach the Godstow Abbey ruins and Trout Inn.
It only makes sense that this university city, which has been a bastion for higher learning since the 12th century, is responsible for some of the most beloved literature in the English-speaking world, including Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and His Dark Materials. (I’ll be the first to admit this itinerary leans heavily towards fantasy!)
Let’s spend a perfect day in beautiful Oxford, England seeing sites connected with Harry Potter, Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Phillip Pullman, and more.
One Day in Oxford for Book Lovers
Breakfast at Brown’s Café
We’re going to be covering a lot of ground today, so start your day off on the right foot with a pot of strong tea and a full English breakfast at Brown’s Café in the Oxford Covered Market.
Located in the heart of Oxford’s numerous colleges, Brown’s has been an institution since the 1920s. It also happens to be a favorite haunt of Diana Bishop, the main character in Deborah Harkness’s All Souls series, which includes A Discovery of Witches.
Although the café is known for its traditional English breakfasts, its lease was taken over by Portuguese immigrants in the 1970s so you can also sample Portuguese pastries. Don’t leave without having at least one pastel de nata. I fell in love with these egg custard tarts in the Azores; no shade if you decide to take one (or two) for the road as well!
Stroll through scenic Oxford highlights
Take the round-about way to our next itinerary stop (New College) to see some of Oxford’s most Instagram-worthy spots. From Brown’s Café, exit the Covered Market onto High Street, then turn up St. Mary’s Passage.
Along the way you’ll pass an ornate wooden door framed by two golden fawns. It’s easy to see why many people claim that the lamppost in the distance inspired C.S. Lewis to write the Chronicles of Narnia when he passed this spot one snowy evening. (In The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, the first thing Lucy spies after entering Narnia through the wardrobe is a fawn walking past a lamppost in the snow.)
As you make your way to New College Lane, you can’t miss the iconic Radcliffe Camera of the Bodleian Library and the spire of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin.
Turn down New College Lane and you’ll be immediately greeted by the Bridge of Sighs. Actually called the Hereford Bridge, this 20th century passage connects Hereford College’s two quadrangles. It’s often called the Bridge of Sighs because of its similarity to the famous Bridge of Sighs in Venice.
Explore New College
The University of Oxford is comprised of 43 colleges and considering that it’s the oldest university in the English-speaking world, it’s should come as no surprise that New College isn’t exactly “new.” It was founded in 1379!
This is Diana Bishop’s college in a Discovery of Witches, but I actually ended up here because of its Harry Potter connection. In Goblet of Fire, many of the outdoor Hogwarts scenes were filmed in the New College cloisters, including a particularly memorable scene with the cloisters’ impressive helm oak tree where Mad-Eye Moody transfigures Malfoy into a ferret.
You can do a self-guided tour of the college which features audio narration you can listen to on your phone. (Remember to have your Airpods along!) While I came chiefly for the cloisters, I especially loved the dining hall and the garden which features a section of Oxford’s old city wall.
Find Lyra’s Bench in Oxford Botanic Garden
From New College make your way over to the Oxford Botanic Garden. This beautiful peaceful spot is filled with literary references, including an entire literary garden filled with plants that inspired famous English literature from the likes of Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Agatha Christie, and J.K. Rowling.
You can also see the “child” of J.R.R. Tolkien’s favorite pine tree which planted in 2001 from a seed from the original tree that the Hobbit author knew and loved.
My very favorite literary spot is tucked in the very back of the garden near the River Cherwell. Now known as “Lyra’s bench,” author Philip Pullman references this bench in the closing scene of The Amber Spyglass.
To commemorate its significance in literature, a statue featuring the daemons of Lyra and Will – Pantalaimon the polecat (very similar to a pine marten) and Kirjava the cat – has been placed behind the bench. At the top of the statue is a raven, representing Pullman’s own daemon.
Tour the Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library is an Oxford must-see and I certainly wasn’t going to leave it off a literary inspired Oxford itinerary! However, with just have one day in town, you may find it tricky to work into your visit. Still, if you can find your way in, you won’t forget a visit to this famous reference library which includes a Divinity School and the famous Radcliffe Camera (pictured above).
Only limited tours are available to book online. If online tours are sold out, or you don’t like the time slots available, you’ll need to head to the Weston Library ticket office off Broad Street at 11 a.m. to queue for day-of tickets. If possible, book the 90-minute tour, although this is only offered on Saturdays and Sundays.
Lunch at The Trout Inn
Breakfast is probably starting to feel a long ways off, so grab a taxi or take the bus to head about four miles out of town to the Trout Inn. Located on the banks of the Thames (although locals call the river as “Isis” rather than Thames) this 17th century riverside inn is “owned” by Malcolm Polstead’s parents in Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust trilogy.
It’s the perfect place to tuck into some hearty traditional British fare like the delicious steak and ale pie I ordered. If you visit on a sunny day, the outdoor patio overlooking the Thames and Godstow Bridge is an especially nice spot to take your lunch.
Bonus: If you’re an Inspector Morse fan, you might recognize the inn from a few episodes.
Meander through the Godstow Abbey ruins
After lunch, cross over Godstow Bridge to visit the ruins of Godstow Abbey, a 12th century Benedictine nunnery. After the Reformation, the Abbey was used as a personal residence, but was eventually abandoned during the English Civil War. Today, only the chapel survives. There really isn’t much to see, but I have a soft spot for a good English ruin and this one doesn’t disappoint.
In Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust trilogy, Godstow Abbey is still complete and functional. Baby Lyra is placed in the care of the Godstow nuns in La Belle Sauvage.
Walk the Thames Path back to Oxford
You don’t have to walk three miles from Godstow Bridge back to the centre of Oxford, but I would.
The walk will only take you a little over an hour and it takes you along one of the most beautiful (and popular) sections of the Thames Path National Trail. Lewis Carroll’s original inspiration for Alice in Wonderland came when he rowed up this section of river.
As you walk, you’ll pass by Port Meadow, an ancient grazing ground that’s still used today. Expect to walk through at least one group of friendly, unphased grazing cows. You can spy the campanile of St. Barnabas Church in Jericho which Malcolm and Alice notice from the canoe as they travel down the Thames with baby Lyra during a great flooding event in La Belle Sauvage.
Shop at Blackwell’s bookstore
Once you’re back in the heart of Oxford, head straight to Blackwell’s bookstore on Broad Street. If you’re looking for a souvenir of your Oxford day, you won’t do much better than picking up a copy of Lyra’s Oxford in children’s section on the first (second to us Yanks) floor.
You could also grab a tea and treat at the in-store cafe, just like Diana Bishop on her lunch breaks in A Discovery of Witches.
Have a pint at The Eagle and Child or Lamb and Flag
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No literary itinerary for Oxford is complete without the Eagle and Child, the pub on St. Giles Street which has become notorious as the favorite watering hole of the Inklings, a literary discussion group that included J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. There’s just one little problem . . . the pub’s been closed since 2020!
But don’t despair: after years of being shuttered, the Eagle and Child finally has a reopening plan and is slated to open sometime in 2027. Sometimes referred to as The Bird and Baby, Oracle’s Larry Ellison bought the famous pub in 2023.
In the meantime, you can grab your pints across the street to the Lamb and Flag pub, which is said to be where the Inklings would head if they got kicked out of the Eagle and Child.
Other activity suggestions
One day in Oxford really only scratches the surface of what the university city offers. If you can stay longer, I recommend checking out these activities.
Climb the Tower of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin
Climb 127 stairs up this medieval church tower to get an epic view of Oxford, including the nearby Radcliffe Camera, and numerous colleges, as well as the Thames and Cherwell rivers and their various meadows.
Christ Church College
Lewis Carroll taught mathematics here, although today he’s better known for the fanciful tales he told the dean’s three daughters over dinner. Those stories became the children’s classic, Alice in Wonderland.
More recently, it’s become a popular tourist destination because many Hogwarts scenes in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone were filmed here.The Hogwarts’ Great Hall is modeled after Christ Church’s dining hall (where Carroll spun his Alice in Wonderland stories), although the scenes were actually filmed on a set at Warner Bros. Studios London.
Ashmolean Museum
England’s first public museum, the Ashmolean’s extensive collection features art and archeology including mummies, Guy Fawkes’ lantern, vases, and sculptures and is free to visit. Fans of the BBC series The Detectorists will want to visit the Alfred Jewel, an Anglo-Saxon ornament featured in the second season.
Pitts Rivers Museum
Another free Oxford museum devoted to archeology and anthropology, many visitors consider the Pitts River Museum even more fascinating than the Ashmolean. Collection highlights include everything from Roman shoes to modern USB sticks.
Rowing boathouses
If you continue down the Thames Path out of Oxford towards Abingdon, you’ll pass various Oxford colleges’ boathouses and likely spot several rowers out on the river. Look for the solid purple door to located New College’s boathouse. This is where Diana heads for her early morning row in the start of A Discovery of Witches.
Plan Your Perfect Oxford Day
Suggested Reads Before Your Visit
Make your time in Oxford even more meaningful by doing some reading that’s inspired or set in Oxford.
Places To Eat and Drink
Turf Tavern – Located via a narrow alley that connects St. Helen’s Passage and Holywell St. this 18th century’s pub has a lively, slightly illicit feel. It feels like the sort of place where you might get a pint and observe an argument between William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe!
Paper Boat Café – A sweet little coffee shop right on Folly Bridge over the Thames, it’s the perfect spot to grab your daily flat white and a homemade pastry.
Dishoom Permit Room – This modern Indian restaurant is the perfect place to head at the end of the day for a delicious curry and one of their excellent signature cocktails like the Thums Up Sazerac or Clover Club. Yes, I also ate the Dishoom in Notting Hill and will continue to seek them out across the UK!
Where To Stay
I know this technically a one-day itinerary which I designed with the day tripper in mind, but if you want to see Oxford at its absolute dreamiest, spend the night. Day trippers clear out around 6 p.m. Watching the sun set behind Radcliffe Camera on a semi-deserted street was truly magical.
Bath Place Hotel is the perfectly placed hotel for this itinerary. While the 17th century rooms are decidedly old-fashioned – that’s really part of the charm; I felt like I was experiencing the England that my grandparents fell in love with during their visits in the 1980s and 1990s! They do a fantastic classic full English cooked breakfast.
Bonus: You might end up in a room that Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor stayed in during one of their stays.
Malmaison – For something a little more modern, check the Malmaison. This boutique hotel repurposes former prison cells for its rooms!
New College Guest Rooms – Want to feel like an Oxford student? You can actually stay in simple guest rooms at New College, which gives you complimentary access to the grounds.
Christ Church Bed and Breakfast – If you’re visiting Oxford in the summer or over Easter break, Christ Church College turns their vacant dorm rooms into short-term rentals. You’ll get to take your breakfast in the Hogwarts-esque dining hall!
Conclusion: Disappear into a storybook during your day in Oxford
Even though my time in Oxford was all too brief, I really had the most magical visit tracking down all these places with connections with some of my favorite literature.
If you’re also a fan of Harry Potter, A Discovery of Witches, His Dark Materials, The Chronicles of Narnia, or many other beloved books with connections to Oxford, this itinerary provides you with a fun, efficient way to see some Oxford’s most iconic sites while also sneaking in hidden gems like Godstow Abbey, the Trout Inn, and the Thames Path.
Whether you’re in town for a single day or you’re lucky enough to spend several days in “the city of dreaming spires,” I hope I’ve helped you create a truly memorable and charming Oxford day filled with literary inspiration. As always, reach out if you have any questions about this itinerary or your Oxford visit.
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