Now the country’s third largest Heritage Open Day (behind Norwich and Brighton & Hove), Oxford Open Doors will see more than 200 venues open for free this weekend allowing access to some of the most fascinating, beautiful, weird and wonderful locations our city has to offer.

Organisers Oxford Preservation Trust (OPT) and the University of Oxford say this year’s programme is more varied than last year’s and they hope its sports heritage theme will prompt even more visitors to hunt out hidden treasures. OPT director Debbie Dance said: “As we look forward to London 2012 we are encouraging local sports fans to come and celebrate this exciting part of the city’s history.

“The Town Hall will be hosting an exhibition – Oxford’s Sporting Heritage – which will feature a wealth of information, memorabilia and photography pulled together by the Museum of Oxford and local schools, including Oxford’s Olympians, the Boat Race, real tennis, and even skateboarding.

“Oxford School of Fencing and Oxford School of Gymnastics will also be putting on some fabulous displays as part of the event and this mini exhibition will provide visitors with a sneak peak of a much larger exhibition at the Town Hall next July.”

Mrs Dance added: “Open Doors is always very popular but we are hoping the exhibition and our many other great sporting venues will tempt even more people into the city and persuade them to go on to spend the rest of their day maybe climbing Carfax, visiting one of our wonderful colleges or soaking up the atmosphere at Christ Church.”

Oxford Brookes University is also playing an important role this year, offering people the chance to visit its Headington campus and have a go at scaling its amazing Rock Solid climbing wall, as well as catching hockey and basketball games and learning about the science of sport.

And sports history fans will also get the chance to visit the hallowed Roger Bannister Running Track, at Oxford University Sports Club, Iffley Road, and see the 400-metre athletics running track where he broke the four-minute mile on May 6, 1954.

Football fans are also in for a treat – as well as the chance to visit the director’s box at Oxford United’s ground, Oxford City Football Club celebrates its 130th season and is inviting visitors to drop in and photographs and memorabilia from 1882 at White House Ground in Grandpont to the current stadium in Marsh Lane, Marston.

Although sport is the theme this year but there are also dozens of attractions to suit all tastes, from art fans to historians and transport buffs to architecture enthusiasts.

The Story Museum is currently moving into Rochester House, Pembroke Street, in a major four-year project and is not yet open to the public, but is giving Open Doors visitors a special glimpse. The site is a few paces from where Lewis Carroll wrote his Alice stories and where Tolkein began The Hobbit.

Until 10 years ago it was the General Post Office; 100 years ago it was a college lodging, pub and stables and 750 years ago it was the site of the first student accommodation for the university.

Details of all the events in this year’s Open Doors (including accessibility for people with disabilities), dates, times and whether you need to book, feature in the Oxford Open Door 2011 brochure, available from libraries, Oxford Tourist Information Centre and Oxford Castle Unlocked.

Or for the most recently updated list of locations look online at oxfordopendoors.org.uk