Planning Oxford for Families
Planning Oxford for families
Oxford works well with children if you mix the free museums with one or two paid outings and keep the college visits short. Prices are in pounds sterling. Age rules matter more here than in many cities, so they come first.
Age rules at a glance
- Carfax Tower: no under-5s.
- University Church tower: minimum age 8, with 127 steps.
- Bodleian library tours: minimum age 11.
- Cherwell Boathouse punt hire: nobody under 16.
- Magdalen College: free for under-7s.
Free and indoors
The Oxford University Museum of Natural History opens daily 10:00 to 17:00 and costs nothing. The Dodo and the Megalosaurus are the stars, and the touchable minerals are back on display. Through the same building you reach the Pitt Rivers Museum, also free, open Monday 12:00 to 17:00 and the rest of the week 10:00 to 17:00. There are no human remains on show there. Neither museum needs a ticket, so they suit a spare hour or a wet afternoon.
The Ashmolean is free and open every day 10:00 to 17:00. Special exhibitions are ticketed.
The Story Museum
The Story Museum at 42 Pembroke Street is about children’s books and storytelling. Galleries entry is £16 for anyone aged 5 and over, adults included. Ages 1 to 4 pay £8.25, and under-1s are free. A Small Worlds session for the under-5s is £8.25. In term time it is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 16:30 and closed Monday, and in school holidays it opens daily 10:00 to 17:30. See the Story Museum visitor page for details.
Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park
This park has three playgrounds, an aviary, mini-golf and a cafe, with a splash feature that starts around the first May bank holiday. The miniature railway belongs to the City of Oxford Society of Model Engineers and runs from April to October on a short list of days, with last admission around 16:30. The society’s site has the dates. If your children want a playground, aim for Cutteslowe rather than University Parks.
Christ Church with children
The Alice-themed family version of the multimedia guide comes with admission. A child aged 5 to 17 pays £17.50 on weekdays and £19.50 at weekends in Michaelmas term, and under-5s are free. Hall closures run 12:00 to 14:00 on weekdays, so choose an early slot.
Bigger days out
- Oxford Castle and Prison: children from £10.80 online. The cells and the Spooky Tours may not suit young children, so ask the operator about age guidance first.
- Blenheim Palace: the Adventure Play add-on is about £5 for adults and £7 for children, and a child’s Palace pass is £24.
- Cotswold Wildlife Park: £14.00 for a child aged 3 to 16 at the gate or £12.50 online, with adults at £19.50 or £17.50 online.
Water and weather
Keep children well back from river edges, weirs and locks. Port Meadow floods in winter, so boots help outside summer.
Tickets
Children’s tours and attractions can be searched on Viator . For ideas that cover other ages see Oxford activities and the two-day Oxford itinerary .