Harry Potter Walking Tour with New College Visit Oxford

The Bodleian Library and the Divinity School

The Bodleian Library is the main research library of Oxford University and one of the oldest in Europe, opened to scholars in 1602. Its oldest part, the Divinity School, was built between 1427 and 1483 for teaching theology, and its stone fan-vaulted ceiling, covered in hundreds of carved bosses, is one of the masterpieces of English Gothic architecture.

In the films the Divinity School became the Hogwarts infirmary, with rows of beds under the vaulted ceiling. On this Harry Potter tour in Oxford you go inside when it is open; in peak season, June to August, access is very limited and may not be possible, so the guide adapts the route. The Divinity School opening hours depend on university events, which is why it is honestly marked as subject to availability.

New College, cloisters and the famous oak

New College was founded in 1379 and, despite its name, is one of the oldest colleges in Oxford. Its medieval cloisters, a quiet covered walkway around a square lawn, and the great holm oak growing in the corner of the quad are instantly recognisable to fans: this is where a young wizard was turned into a ferret in the fourth film.

Entry to New College is included in your tour. Inside, your student guide shows you the cloisters, the quad and the chapel area, and explains how college life works, from formal dinners to exams. The college gardens also hold one of the best-preserved sections of Oxford's medieval city wall. New College is a highlight that many day visitors miss.

Radcliffe Square and the old university streets

Radcliffe Square is the heart of historic Oxford, a cobbled square framed by the domed Radcliffe Camera of the 1740s, the Bodleian Library, the University Church and the walls of old colleges. The narrow lanes around it, such as New College Lane with its arched bridge, are among the most photogenic streets in England.

Your guide uses these streets to share Oxford's link with classic children's stories, many written by university teachers, and the trivia of how the city appears on screen. You also hear how the colleges, libraries and lanes have changed little in centuries, which is why the city feels so magical on foot. The tour does not include entry to Christ Church, but your guide can tell you how to visit it afterwards.

Oxford day trip from London

Oxford is about an hour and a half from London by road or under an hour by fast train from Paddington or Marylebone, which makes a Harry Potter day trip from London to Oxford easy to plan. If you prefer not to arrange transport yourself, choose the option with return transport from Gloucester Road in London.

With that option you are collected in the morning, enjoy the same 90-minute tour with New College entry and have free time in Oxford for lunch and exploring before returning to London in the early evening, for a full day of about ten hours. The best time to visit Oxford is spring or early autumn, when the colleges are lively and the Divinity School is easier to access.