Oxford has many tourist attractions, but the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour was one which until relatively recently I had missed.

Of course, it’s hard not to notice the big red buses touring the historic city, but as a way of visiting Oxford, this was not something I had considered.

Instead of trying to cram all the key sites in at once, the City Sightseeing Tour means you can see Oxford from above, and at your own pace.

So, when in my first week at the Oxford Mail we had the opportunity to give it a go, this seemed like a no-brainer.

Oxford Mail:

And of course, it was a good excuse to get out the office and get to grips with the city in a more practical way!

There are 20 different stops and a tour guide who explains the history behind all the attractions along the way.

An audio guide is also available in up to 14 languages.

We boarded the bus at Oxford Station, but it is possible to join the tour at any of the stops enroute.

The tour if done in one chunk, takes around 60 minutes or you can hop off the bus to explore the sites yourself and then hop back on to re-join the tour at a later time.

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You can purchase tickets that are valid for either 24 hours or 48 hours.

We sat at the back of the top deck which is in the open air and definitely offers the best photo opportunities.

But this certainly turned out to be the braver option, so if you don’t want to embrace the February weather, I would recommend sitting inside at the front.

Oxford Mail:

First stop on our tour was Oxford castle and we were soon learning about how the fortress was built by William the Conqueror and the role it played in affirming the Norman conquest of England.

We then moved on to the Oxford bus station which surprising was once used as a bowling green up until the in English Civil War (1642-1651) when it was destroyed.  

As a bit of a history fan, this was definitely up my street!

The tour also focused on some of Oxford’s famous faces and their connections to the city.

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A highlight was finding out that JR Tolkein had studied 15 languages at Oxford including Anglo Saxon and Old Norse as he deemed Latin too easy.

We also learned that some scenes from Harry Potter were filmed in the dining hall of Christ Church college.

If you would like to purchase a ticket for the Oxford Hop-On-Hop-Off tour, you can access the website here.