2 Hour Private Walking Tour in Oxford

I can't say enough nice things about our tour! Firstly, Hannah is so approachable and feels like a safe person to be around. She tailored our tour around the specific physical and health needs of our group, and it made such a difference. She regularly checked in with how everyone was doing and would let us know what was coming up at each stage so everyone felt comfortable to manage what they could, or dip out and rest for a bit if necessary. Her inclusive nature in general, and her professional and sensitive approach to outdated language used during the LGBTQ+ history parts of our tour was appreciated more than I have words to say. Then there's the knowledge! Hannah is a treasure trove of history and had an amazing ability to answer so many of the unexpected questions our group threw at her (and there were many!) She knows about the people, the buildings, the ritual, the unique characters of the different colleges -even their pets! She has a wonderful affinity for the forgotten and minoritised figures in Oxford's history and has uncovered so many unusual stories in her research. Honestly, we could have walked for days - we clearly only scratched the surface of what she knows. Several of us on the tour were Oxford 'born and bred' and yet learned SO much that we had never heard before! I can't recommend Hannah enough, she gave our family a lovely time and some special new memories together.

I was tasked with finding a tour guide in Oxford for a group of American guests on a queer tour of England, and I am SO GLAD I FOUND HANNAH!!!! Communication throughout the enquiry and booking stages was exemplary, but the tour itself completely exceeded my expectations. We had specifically asked Hannah for a queer history tour of Oxford, and she delivered everything we could have hoped for and more. She began by giving us a comprehensive but concise introduction to Oxford and the University – invaluable context which helped us understand the stories that followed, while also giving our group a much fuller picture of the famous place we were visiting. From there, Hannah took us through more than 500 years of fascinating LGBTQ+ history, covering all the bits I had asked for while bringing a huge amount of additional knowledge, research and insight of her own. A particular highlight was Hannah arranging special access to the room where Oscar Wilde once appeared before a university court over his debts – including, wonderfully, money spent on far too many clothes! The room isn’t normally open to the public, so being able to actually stand in the space while hearing the story was incredibly special. She also made sure we had plenty of time at Oscar’s college - Magdalen College - which had been one of my particular requests. What really impressed me was the depth of Hannah’s knowledge. Whatever question we threw at her, she seemed to know the answer, and she was intelligent, thoughtful and engaging in discussion throughout. As a tour guide myself, I particularly appreciated how skilfully she balanced the wider history of Oxford with the queer stories we had come to explore. No prior knowledge was assumed and everything was pitched perfectly - It was superb tour guiding. She even went above and beyond at the end of the tour, taking us somewhere for lunch and having already warned the staff that a large group would be arriving quite late – meaning they were ready for us and we could simply sit down and enjoy ourselves. Knowledgeable, organised, generous with her time and an absolute pleasure to spend the day with. I genuinely couldn’t have asked for a better guide to queer Oxford, or Oxford in general, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Hannah.

+4

Hanna was a terrific guide. Her descriptions of the town and college history was fascinating. It was a wonderful way to get a snapshot of Oxfords history and traditions.

We did this tour in a small group as part of a longer organized tour of England. Hannah provided an excellent, extended tour of Oxford University. She was a joy as she brought us through the narrow streets and ancient buildings of the University. We were lucky in that we happened to be there during exam time and saw students in their academic robes going to and from their exams (a sight totally alien to us Americans). Hannah led us through several of the more well known and beautiful colleges, where we admired the architecture, the sense of history, and ancient academic atmosphere of the place. We spent extra time at Magdalen College, Oscar Wilde's college, and of special interest to our group. We had a quick lunch at the oldest continuously operating coffee shop in Europe, between our visits to the colleges and the Bodleian Library. Hannah was wonderful, with excellent knowledge of the town and the University. This tour was invaluable in appreciating Oxford and its University and was made extra special by having Hannah as our guide.

+5

I generally avoid tours but as we were having our christmas family meet up, my sister arranged a tour for us all. It was amazing! Hannah was friendly, kind and informed. The information was really interesting and she was able to answer all our questions. Would have been happy to extend the tour longer as she made it so interesting but was also really patient with my son who was lively and very eager to ask questions. Really an amazing tour! Thank you Hannah.

Hannah was awesome! She started the tour by inviting us to ask as many questions as we wanted, and even offered to tailor the trajectory of the tour based on our interests. We never felt rushed at all, as she really took her time to let us enjoy and take in the details of the sights. She is also clearly incredibly passionate and knowledgeable of the area, having been born and raised in Oxford. Thank you Hannah for a very pleasant tour experience!

This tour far exceeded my expectations. I had been to Oxford before and I done a walking tour but decided to go back again and do another walking tour with my family who hadn’t been before. The tour was amazing! I feel like I learnt so much this time. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable and made the tour memorable! Highly recommend

Excellent tour with the very knowledgeable and friendly Hannah, who tailored our experience to our specific requests (Queer history, accessible for people who use mobility aids) and kept us informed and entertained as we walked around the colleges and sights, bringing historical figures such as Laurence Michael Dillon and Catherine Duleep Singh to life. All of us thought we knew the city reasonably well, but we all saw things we’d never noticed before and learned a lot about the history of the city and the university from an LGBTQ+ perspective. Hannah was very well prepared but not prescriptive, and able to answer our questions and respond to things in which we were particularly interested, including snippets from her His Dark Materials and A Discovery of Witches tours, and a ghost story in time for Halloween. She has a detailed working knowledge and obvious love of the city which made for a very enjoyable afternoon. We all came away smiling and with buzzing brains. Heartily recommended.

Hannah is the perfect tourist guide. She is extremely knowledgeable , very pleasant and dynamic. She gave us lots of good advice and excellent suggestions. Thanks to her we really enjoyed our stay in Oxford!

Hannah was brilliant- knowledge and patient and able to answer all of our questions. If it’s you first time to Oxford would recommend this tour.