Travel advice

By car
By train
By coach
From abroad
Around Oxford
Help with travel costs

Oxford is a beautiful city with a huge amount to offer visitors of all ages and we strongly recommend a visit if you are considering applying to the University. For maps and further details about travel, please visit our Maps and directions information.

Travelling by car

Oxford is a small city with many traffic restrictions and parking is limited. If at all possible, please do not drive into the city centre. We recommend that you use the Park & Ride system.

If driving into Oxford cannot be avoided, please refer to up-to-date traffic information for details of all local road works and advance notice of any disruptions. Please note that there is no visitors' parking available at colleges or University buildings (unless you are a Blue Badge holder).

If you are travelling by car, please be aware that the A420 to the west of the city, on Botley road, is currently closed to traffic while maintenance on a railway bridge is carried out. You will not be able to travel via this route by car, so please plan an alternative route.

Oxford City Council has some advice about parking in the city for visitors with disabilities.

Distances from Oxford

London - 56 miles
Southampton - 65 miles
Bristol - 72 miles
Birmingham - 78 miles
Cambridge - 85 miles
Nottingham - 103 miles
Cardiff - 106 miles
Brighton - 106 miles
Sheffield - 143 miles
Norwich - 148 miles
Manchester - 161 miles
Leeds - 172 miles
Liverpool - 173 miles
Plymouth - 193 miles
Aberystwyth - 196 miles
Lancaster - 206 miles
Middlesbrough - 226 miles
Newcastle - 258 miles
Carlisle - 269 miles
Glasgow - 364 miles
Edinburgh - 366 miles
Aberdeen - 498 miles
Belfast - c.450 miles
Londonderry / Derry - c.500 miles

Park & Ride

We recommend using one of the following four Park & Rides conveniently located on the outskirts of Oxford.

Please follow the links below for full details:

Name:	Redbridge Park & Ride	Pear Tree Park & Ride	Thornhill Park & Ride*	Oxford Parkway (Water Eaton) Stagecoach service
Postcode:	OX1 4XG	OX2 8JD	OX3 8DP	OX2 8HA
Location:	Off the A34 from Abingdon, Didcot and Newbury.	Off the A40 from Witney and Cheltenham, A4260 from Kidlington, A34 from Banbury, Bicester and Northampton and the M40.	Off the A40 from Thame, Aylesbury, High Wycombe, London and the M40.	Off the A40 from Witney and Cheltenham, A4260 from Kidlington, A34 from Banbury, Bicester and Northampton and M40.

Please be aware that due to maintenance taking place elsewhere in Oxford, the Park & Rides are likely to be extremely busy. We recommend arriving early.

There will be additional services running on the Open Days, although please be aware that some Park & Ride services on these days will operate as express services to the city centre.

*Resurfacing works taking place at Thornhill Park & Ride mean that parking capacity is limited, with visitors encouraged to use another site where possible.

Paying for parking:

You will need to pay a parking charge when you park at a Park & Ride. The standard parking charge is £2 per vehicle (up to 16 hours) and £4 per vehicle (up to 24 hours). You can pay by cash at designated parking ticket machines.

You can also pre-pay using RingGo for Redbridge, Thornhill, and Pear Tree Park & Rides.

We strongly advise you to pay in advance to avoid lengthy queues at the ticket machines.

View a pdf version of the map.

Paying for the Park & Ride bus:

You will need to buy a return bus ticket to and from Oxford city centre. You can pay by cash or contactless on the bus. A peak adult day return ticket costs £5 for two adults travelling together. Up to 3 under 16s can travel free when accompanied by at least one fare paying adult.

There is also a Freeflow system that allows you to 'tap on' the driver ticket machine at the start of each journey and 'tap off' at the end of each journey using a contactless payment method.

How to pay for a combined ticket:

A combined parking and bus ticket is available to purchase at specific combined ticket machines at each Park & Ride. The cost of a combined ticket is £6.80 and covers two adults and three Under 16s. Combined tickets can only be purchased on the day.

School groups travelling by coach or mini-bus

There is no general coach parking in Oxford city centre, so if you are travelling with a large group of students, we recommend dropping them in the city centre and parking at Redbridge, which offers parking for coaches and mini-buses.

On-street pick-up and drop-off points are provided by Oxfordshire County Council at the following locations:

St Aldate's South (northbound) - just south of the Combined Court OX11TL
Beaumont Street (westbound) - just outside the Playhouse OX1 2LW
St Giles' (northbound) - in the lay-by by the Taylorian OX1 3NA

Travelling by train

There are two railway stations in Oxford: Oxford station and Oxford Parkway station.

Oxford Station

Oxford Station runs regular direct services to London Paddington, Birmingham New Street, Reading and others with less frequent direct services also available to Manchester, Southampton and Bournemouth. Check live travel updates for Oxford station.

Oxford Parkway Station

The connection between Oxford and Oxford Parkway means that Chiltern Railways now offers a twice-hourly direct connection between Oxford and London Marylebone, High Wycombe, Bicester Village and other stations.

Oxford Parkway is on the same site as the Water Eaton Park & Ride car park and the 500 bus route goes past the University Science Area, St Hugh's College and close to Lady Margaret Hall, terminating in the city centre. Check live travel updates for Oxford Parkway station.

General rail information

The National Rail website has a number of travel tools available to alert passengers to any changes or disruptions in service, including the National Rail app and Train tracker: 03457 484950 or text 84950 (charges apply).

Find your way from the station

Find your way from Oxford's railway station to the Examination Schools (Open Day information centre) on foot by following along with our quick video of the route.

Travelling by coach

Coach services run to Oxford from many parts of the UK. The city's coach station is located centrally and within a short walk of many colleges and other facilities. More information about coach services can be found at:

School groups travelling by private coach or mini-bus

Please read our advice on the 'by car' tab.

Travelling from abroad

Oxford is well-connected to the UK's international airports.

Heathrow

Trains from Heathrow run to London Paddington, where you will need to catch a connecting service to Oxford. Coaches run directly to and from London Heathrow every 30 minutes during the day, and with a reduced service overnight.

Gatwick

Trains from Gatwick run to London Victoria. You will then need to travel across the city to London Paddington or to Marylebone to catch a connecting service to Oxford. Coaches run to and from Gatwick every 1-2 hours during the day, and with a reduced service overnight.

London Stansted

Trains from Stansted run to London Liverpool Street. You will then need to travel across the city to London Paddington or to Marylebone to catch a connecting service to Oxford. National Express Coaches run regularly from London Stansted to Oxford.

National Express

Travelling around Oxford

Disabled access

The collegiate University is committed to improving access and is currently continuing to develop its Access guide.

As more of our historic buildings are modified the Access guide will become more comprehensive. In the meantime, the Access guide is a helpful first point for information on accessible buildings. Where there are gaps in the information we suggest you contact the places you wish to visit directly.

The Oxford City Council website provides further information on accessibility. The council also runs a scheme enabling visitors to hire self-propelled or battery operated wheelchairs and scooters for free.

Taxis

There are taxi ranks at Oxford Railway Station, Gloucester Green Coach Station and St Giles' in the city centre. A list of taxi companies can be found on Oxfordshire's Visitor Information Centre website.

Buses

Some Open Day venues that are located outside of the city centre can also be accessed via bus. Please visit the Oxford Bus Company's journey planner to plan your route.

Help with the cost of travelling to an Open Day

It can be expensive to get to Oxford so some colleges are now offering to help with the cost:

Christ Church college travel scheme - typically for UK students at UK schools and colleges
Keble college travel scheme - open to UK students at UK schools and colleges
Magdalen college travel scheme - open to UK students at UK schools and colleges
Merton college travel scheme - open to UK students at UK schools and colleges
Somerville college travel scheme - open to UK students at UK schools and colleges

Terms and conditions apply. Further travel assistance schemes may become available and details will be announced on this page.

If you are travelling far, you might be able to stay the night at an Oxford college. Unfortunately colleges are usually unable to accommodate parents - the Conference Oxford or Experience Oxfordshire websites may help you find somewhere else to stay.

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