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Oxford Audio Admissions Tours - Blue Route - Historical Oxford

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Worcester College Sports Ground

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This Blue Route will give you a chance to explore Historical Oxford, and will take you to some of the oldest parts of the City including the Castle and Mound, Merton Street, the Bodleian Library, six Oxford undergraduate colleges and other University locations.
It will take you approximately 90 minutes to take the full walking tour and listen to all the tracks along the route. Alternatively, you can pick any particular tracks that you would like to listen to and choose your own route. The six undergraduate colleges included have been chosen because they are near the other stops on this route they are not specifically colleges for history. No colleges specialise in any particular subject, and most colleges offer most courses. To see around the grounds of a college please visit the porters lodge (reception) at that college, and ask if you can have a look around. Most colleges have specific opening times during the day so please check their individual websites or ask in the Admissions Information Centre on Little Clarendon Street. Central Oxford is relatively flat but there are several cobbled streets, steps and narrow pavements, as well as other pedestrians and traffic. Please be careful, especially when crossing roads, and take extra care to look out for bicycles. We recommend that you dont listen to the tour while you are walking: the tracks are designed for you to listen to when you arrive at each location.
We have attempted to make both the route and the information on this tour as accessible as possible. If you require the guide in an alternative format please contact the Admissions Information Centre. We will be glad to help with any queries about specific accessibility requests.

Merton Street (see 11)

1 2 How to use & navigate the tour These introductory tracks explain how to use the tour and how to safely navigate your way around the city of Oxford. It is recommended to listen to these first two tracks before you set off so that you can plan your visit and consider whether you will have time for the full walking tour. This tour starts at Oxford Railway Station. From the front of the station, cross the zebra crossings (with the bronze sculpture of an ox ahead) and turn right. Cross Hythe Bridge Street and Park End Street using pedestrian crossing, and then turn left. Make your way up the right hand side of Park End Street until you reach New Road. Continue up New Road and stop just before you reach the large grassy mound to your right to listen to the next track. 3 What is a College? This track explains how the collegiate system works. The Blue Route takes you past six colleges to demonstrate how the University is spread across the city. All of the colleges have many more similarities than differences. Keep walking ahead past the grassy mound until you reach the entrance to the Oxford Castle, you should be able to see a sign on your right.
This track gives a brief history of Oxford Castle and the old prison. From the Castle and Mound, continue up New Road. Cross at the zebra crossing and make your way up Queen Street, stopping at Bonn Square on the left.

sharp bend in the road. Stop outside Corpus Christi College, immediately on your right.

left & stop at the entrance to Hertford College on the left hand side of the road. Founded: 1282 Number of undergraduates: 398 Listen to this track outside the main entrance to the college. After you have listened to this track, continue along Catte Street until you reach Radcliffe Square.

9 Corpus Christi College

Founded: 1517 Number of undergraduates: 251 Listen to this track outside the entrance to the college. After leaving Corpus Christi, continue down the right hand side of Merton Street until you reach Merton College to your right. Founded: 1264 Number of undergraduates: 314 Listen to this track outside Merton College; you should be able to spot the Colleges gatehouse tower at the entrance. Cross the street, taking care on the cobbles to listen to the next track. Stop & listen to this track looking ahead at Merton Street. This track will give you a brief history of this beautiful unspoiled street. Keep walking along Merton Street to reach the next stop.

17 Hertford College

10 Merton College

18 Radcliffe Camera Stop at a safe place in Radcliffe Square to listen to this track about the famous circular, domed Radcliffe Camera in the centre. After listening to this track, walk clockwise around Radcliffe Square until you reach the main entrance to Brasenose College at the far side of the Square. Please be aware that most of Radcliffe Square is cobbled, although there is paving around the perimeter.
Founded: 1509 Number of undergraduates: 367 Listen to the Brasenose College track at the main entrance. Continue around Radcliffe Square until you reach Catte Street & Hertford College once again. Return along Catte Street, & stop opposite the Bridge of Sighs, in front of the iron gates leading to the Old Bodleian Library & the Sheldonian Theatre.

11 Merton Street

19 Brasenose College

4 Castle & Mound

5 College life To listen to this track, you can sit on one of the benches in Bonn Square (please note, there are no more benches until Stop 20). The track will give you an overview of the facilities you can expect to find in any of Oxfords 30 undergraduate colleges. From Bonn Square, make your way up Queen Street past the shops to Carfax Tower (next to HSBC). Cross Queen Street, taking care to avoid buses, & then cross St Aldates at the pedestrian crossing. Turn right down St Aldates, & then take the first left down Blue Boar Street.
Listen to this track outside the Bear Inn on the left hand side of Blue Boar Street; it will give you an insight into the city of Oxford from a students perspective. To reach your next stop, continue down Blue Boar Street which eventually becomes Bear Lane.

12 Student Life Listen to this track outside the Examination Schools gates which gives you the opportunity to listen to an Earth Sciences students perspective on life at University College Oxford. Continue down Merton Street until you reach the High Street. Turn right down the High Street until you reach the pedestrian crossing, & then cross the road & turn left back up the street. Turn right into Queens Lane, & make your way to the entrance to St Edmund Hall on the right.
Founded: c.1278 Number of undergraduates: 405 Listen to this track outside the main entrance, or enquire at the porters lodge about visiting. On leaving St Edmund Hall, continue down Queens Lane. After the first left turn, stop & listen to this track, which explains how to make an application to Oxford for an undergraduate course. You may like to discuss a potential application with our staff in the Admissions Information Centre in Little Clarendon Street. To reach the next stop, continue along Queens Lane. After passing a small stone bridge over the lane, you will come to one of the entrances to New College on your right. At this point, Queens Lane becomes New College Lane. Keep walking down New College Lane until you see a high wall on your right (the southernmost wall of New College). Look carefully at the top of this wall to see some examples of gargoyles & grotesques. Youre in the right place if you can see an assortment of animals, including a fish, a lemur & some squirrels. Stop here to listen to this track. Continue along New College Lane until you see a large stone bridge (known as the Bridge of Sighs).

20 Bodleian & Sheldonian The Sheldonian Theatre is the building straight ahead of you, whilst the Bodleian is to your left. Stop inside the gravel area outside the Library & Theatre whilst listening to this track. Continue along Catte Street & turn left onto Broad Street. 21 Interviews Follow Broad Street until you cross Turl Street, & then find somewhere safe to stop & listen to this track (there is a bench outside Blackwells Music Shop). This track will help you to understand the interview process at Oxford. After listening to this track, continue down Broad Street until you reach Cornmarket Street. If you would like to return to the rail station where this tour started make your way down the left hand side of George Street, crossing at the pedestrian crossing when you reach the end of the road. Then, cross Hythe Bridge Street at the next crossing. 22 Finish Make your way down Hythe Bridge Street past the Said Business School on your right until you return to the rail station. Now that you have reached the end of the tour you may like to listen to this final track before you return home. If you have any further questions about the University, the colleges or anything else, our experienced admissions staff at the Admissions Information Centre will be happy to help. You may prefer to browse our web pages at www.admissions. ox.ac.uk
Thank you for listening to the Oxford Audio Admissions Tour. Admissions Information Centre 55 Little Clarendon Street, Oxford OX1 2HS T: 01865 288000 E: undergraduate.admissions@admin.ox.ac.uk
The University of Oxford 2010

13 St Edmund Hall

14 How to make an application

6 The City of Oxford

15 Gargoyles & Grotesques

7 Student Life Stop and listen to this track on student life at Oxford before you reach Oriel Square. This track gives you the opportunity to listen to a Maths students perspective on life at Hertford College Oxford. To continue to the next stop, turn right into the square, & stop outside the main entrance to Oriel College, on your left.
Founded: 1326 Number of undergraduates: 302 Listen to the Oriel College track outside the entrance. After leaving Oriel, continue up Oriel Square, and turn left onto Merton Street, taking care of cars coming round the

8 Oriel College

16 The History of the University Stop before you pass under the bridge to listen to this track which gives you a brief history of Oxford University. Continue until you reach Catte Street. Turn