Oxford Scenic Cycle Tour

Escape Oxford’s crowds on a scenic bike tour. Enjoy river views, narrow boats, and a pub stop. Perfect for families and all ages.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Port Meadow - Our route heads out of Oxford and leaves the crowds behind to enjoy a leisurely cycle to and beyond the Port Meadow and along the Thames path
  • Iffley Village - Our secondary alternative shorter route visits Iffley village. Our primary default longer route takes us to the Port Meadow and to Binsey hamlet
  • St Margaret of Antioch Church - Our primary default route goes to visit this quaint medieval church
  • Balliol College - We briefly introduce a range of colleges such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Trinity College - We briefly introduce a range of colleges such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Exeter College - We briefly introduce a range of colleges such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Jesus College - We briefly introduce a range of colleges such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Brasenose College - We briefly introduce a range of colleges such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • All Souls College - We briefly introduce a range of colleges such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • University Church of St. Mary the Virgin - We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Hertford College - We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • New College - We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Bridge of Sighs - We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Radcliffe Camera - We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Bodleian Library - We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Wadham College - We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Keble College - We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
  • Oxford University Museum of Natural History - We briefly introduce a range of colleges or sightseeing spots such as this one, on our route. We do not visit inside colleges though on this tour.
What's Included
  • Local guide
  • Bike rental (our normal stock of bikes will fit anyone from 1.3 metres or taller)
  • Children will automatically be given helmets. Adult Helmets only included if you request with notice
What's Not Included
  • Children of height under 1.3m (4 foot 2), requires us to hire in bikes so advance notice is required
  • We do NOT visit inside colleges on any of the shorter cycle tours, so if you wish to see inside a college, please select the cycle and walk combined tour option. We also cannot guarantee entry into colleges, as it is subject to their being open eg graduation days is problematic.
  • Gratuities
  • We do not stock tandem bikes but we can hire in one tandem bike trailer only, if you give us adequate advance notice. This is why we charge you a booking fee for infants to cover that cost. Alternatively, we have one infants child back seat suitable for infants weighing under 17 pounds weight.
  • Any requests for infant seat, the parent must ride the bike with the one infant seat we can attach.
  • If you plan to bring children along, please provide ages and heights, at time of booking. Our stock of bikes includes two bikes only which will fit someone of height from 1.4m to 1.5 metres tall. We stock no bikes shorter than that, nor any bikes with tandem child seat on the back. Any such bike requests need to be made known to us, at least 24 hours in advance, as we need to hire in such bikes!
Additional Information

Leave Oxford city & the crowds behind on this small-group tour and enjoy a 3 hour bike ride with scenic views. Cycle past traditional narrow boats, ducks, swans, and of course Oxford’s famous teams of rowers out on the Thames river. There are two routes available, both of which include an optional garden pub stop. Fun for all ages but a good family activity too.

Learn about the rowing races and the historical importance of trade along the river, and the various writers, including Lewis Carroll, whose story-telling is the result of days messing about with boats on the river.

  • You must be at least 1.3 metres (4 foot 2) to fit our normal stock of bikes. Anything smaller & we need to hire in smaller bikes which requires usually at least 24 hours notice.
  • MINIMUM 3 PERSONS REQUIRED TO BOOK ANY PUBLIC CYCLE TOURS
  • If you plan to bring children along, please provide ages and heights, at time of booking. Our stock of bikes includes two bikes only which will fit someone of height from 1.4m to 1.5 metres tall. We stock no bikes shorter than that, nor any bikes with tandem child seat on the back. Any such bike requests need to be made known to us, at least 24 hours in advance, as we need to hire in such bikes!
  • This tour may not be suitable for younger children. If you are shorter than the required height, a fold out bike is available but not recommended for children. The balance on these bikes takes some time to get used to
  • Please dress for all types of weather and bring water
  • Helmets are only offered to adults if you ask (at least 1 day in advance). There is no obligation in Oxford to wear a helmet on bikes. This tour will be avoiding busy roads. If you would like us to provide helmets, please mention if you want S, M, L adult-size
  • A minimum of 2 adults per booking is required- otherwise you could choose to pay for 2 persons
  • A maximum of 12 people per booking is set here but we can accommodate larger groups with significant advance notice given.
  • PLEASE ARRIVE ON TIME:
  • Please arrive 5 minutes early for your tour at our meeting point. If you arrive more than 5 minutes later than the scheduled tour, then you will likely forfeit and lose your booking as it interrupts the guide and other customers, if we are trying to find you after a guide has started and left the meeting point.
  • INFO FOR DRIVERS AND PARKING:
  • If you are driving, then please allow extra 30-60 minutes over whatever time you think it will take you to get here. Oxford is NOT car friendly and it is congested roads and hard to find parking spaces….unless you park at the sign posted ‘park and rides’ on edge of town on any major road into the city and hop on their buses into city centre. The park and ride buses leave every 15 or every 30 minutes and take anything from 10 min to 30 min (depending on traffic) to reach city centre. So if you are going to drive, then please assume you should be aiming to park your car about one hour before your tour starts.
  • PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
  • We actually recommend instead using the much faster and reliable train services but again please aim to arrive about an hour or earlier before your tour starts as trains can be delayed and the train and coach station are about 15 minutes walk from our meeting point. There is also the coach service from London called the Oxford Tube which leaves every half hour or more but it can take much longer than its advertised 105 minute journey time. It drops you off either at High street Oxford or Gloucester Green coach station. It’s quicker to ask to get off on High street near Carfax tower, then it’s a 10 minutes walk to Broad street.
  • THIS IS A LEISURELY RIDE and Oxford is very flat
Location
15-16 Broad St
Broad Street
Meet your guide wearing red lanyard next to the red sign OUTSIDE Oxford tourist info centre, 15 Broad street, OX1 3AS.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(8 Ratings)
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Gboey1963
Oct 1, 2019
Cycling Tour of Oxford that was almost washed out by rain - I had been looking forward to this tour as I grew up listening to stories of Oxford being a bicycle friendly town. However, the rain made me canceled it. Was deciding then to go to the museum rather than get drenched in rain. My lovely guide Sophie dissuaded me from giving up on the tour totally. Through her quick thinking and initiative, she coordinated with her team in VisitOxfordTour.com to come up with an alternative walking tour that is more manageble in such weather and one that will not overlap with a scheduled walking tour later in the afternoon. We were hardly half an hour through our walking tour when the sun came up. By then my wife and I were already enchanted by Sophie's historical knowledge and so enjoyed it that we did not bother to consider the Cycle Tour. Well done Sophie and thanks Alasdair for sorting out all the unforseen circumstances and making a potential disaster into a win win situation. Cheers!!
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Seaside736257
Aug 30, 2019
Fun Cycling - Oliver was a very good leader on the bikes. He kept us very safe and communicated extremely well. His Knowledge of the area and its history was also very impressive. A very worthwhile and fun way to see and learn about Oxford!
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Sumimiso
Aug 12, 2019
Lovely bike tour with Monika - My family (kids 12, 10, 8) spent a wonderful morning cycling around Oxford country paths with Monika. We said hello to cows and horses, visited an old church, and stopped at a thatched-roof pub in a nearby village. Monika was kind to the children and had lots of good information to share. My daughter said it was “awesome.”
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Acecoeyman
Aug 11, 2019
Delightful Countryside Ride - Monica was a pleasure. Unique facts combined with really beautiful English countryside. Picturesque out of the way area and time to stop for a pint as well.
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Eliora
Jul 14, 2019
Amazing!!! - Alister and Jake were incredible guides. The entire experience was lovely and the bike ride itself was beautiful. Alister was able to accommodate myself and my 3 kids ages 11, 6 and 2. He rode a tandem bike with my 6 year old and Jake road a bike with a baby seat with my 2 year old. They were very accommodating. I would definitely recommend this company for any tour, especially the bike tour. Enjoy!
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Laurac13824
Apr 25, 2019
Enjoyed the biking tour! - Our afternoon with Andrew was fantastic! We started in the city and visited a few historic buildings which he was well versed in explaining. Then we ventured out of town, through a meadow, across the river, into a tiny village and visited an old church. On our way back we stopped at a pub in the village and had a pint. He was a great guide!
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Slck0
Aug 3, 2018
A perfect afternoon! - We did the combination walking tour - bike tour. I would recommend this because the walking tour gets you an overview of the town and university while the bike tour takes you out in the countryside. (You might be disappointed with the bike tour itself if you had your hopes on seeing the city.) We rode through a pasture to Binsey, home to a cool old church and St. Margaret's well, which is the model for Lewis Carroll’s ‘Treacle Well’ from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.We had a drink at The Perch and swung by a couple of C.S. Lewis spots (at our request) on the way back home. Our guide was Andrew and he was awesome. I felt like we hired a local friend for the afternoon. He was patient, informative, responsive, and fun. He knew his history and you can tell he loves the area. He was fun in conversation and we just enjoyed the whole thing - even the rain added to the experience.
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655amy
Jun 11, 2018
Lovely morning biking around oxford! - We had a lovely time on our bike tour of oxford. Alistsir was charming and sweet and terrific with my kids. He was very patient and basically biked at our pace. He shared his knowledge of oxford with us — and was both funny and interesting. I highly recommend this tour to families. We got to see the university, the town, and the countryside. It was wonderful. Thank you, Alastair!
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