Oxford Audio Tour: Legends, Lions, and Lost Scholars

Explore Oxford at your own pace

A martyr's stone rises above the rush of Oxford's streets, while a theatre roof-built on a wager against English rain-silently guards ancient secrets just steps away. Every corner here seems steeped in rebellion, hidden ambition, and shadows from centuries past.

On this self-guided audio tour, plunge into Oxford's winding heart to unlock stories many miss: whispered plots at the Martyrs' Memorial, silent standoffs in the Bodleian's grand halls, and electrifying ceremonies beneath the Sheldonian's painted dome.

Which secret sparked flames that forever changed England at Broad Street? What silent agreements echo between the stones of the library? And why did students once send visitors searching for an imaginary underground church beneath a monument?

Photo: Tetiana Shyshkina, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 19 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 2.9 km (1.8 miles)
• Stops: 16 landmarks, including Oxford Castle, Bonn Square, Oxford Union
• Audio: up to 40 minutes of narration
• Starts at: Oxford Castle

Map data by Mapbox and OpenStreetMap contributors

How it works

• Book here and a redemption code arrives by email within minutes.
• Download the free AudaTours app on your phone and enter the code.
• Download the tour once and the whole thing works offline.
• Walk to the first stop and press play. The audio for each landmark starts automatically as you approach it, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

There is no fixed date and no start time. The date you pick at checkout does not matter, and the tour stays on your phone permanently, so you can use it whenever you next visit and walk it again as often as you like.

What is included

• Professionally narrated audio that plays automatically at each stop
• An interactive map showing the walking route between landmarks
• Full offline access once downloaded, so you need no data or signal
• Freedom to start, pause and resume whenever you like
• Lifetime access - your code never expires

Where you will stop

• Oxford Castle
• Bonn Square
• Oxford Union
• Martyrs' Memorial, Oxford
• Sheldonian Theatre
• Bodleian Library
• University Church of St Mary the Virgin
• Radcliffe Camera
• Covered Market, Oxford
• Cornmarket Street
• Carfax, Oxford
• Museum of Oxford
• Tom Tower
• Christ Church, Oxford
• Campion Hall, Oxford
• St Ebbe's Church, Oxford

Image: AudaTours

What is AudaTours?

AudaTours turns a walk through a city into a story. Our guides bring landmarks to life with the history, the scandals and the detail you would never get from a plaque.

• Immersive: real stories about the places in front of you, not a dry commentary
• Offline: download once and use it with no data, anywhere
• At your own pace: start, pause and resume whenever you want
• Accurate: every story is built from verified historical sources and checked before release

Good to know

• This is a self-guided audio tour on your own phone. There is no in-person guide.
• It does not include entry to any building or site along the route.
• The landmarks on the tour are not affiliated with AudaTours.
• You need a smartphone with Android 7.0 or later, or iOS 16 or later.
• Bring headphones and start with a charged phone.

Who it suits

Solo travellers, couples, families and small groups who would rather explore on their own schedule than follow a guide and a fixed departure time. It suits a first visit, and it suits anyone who has already seen the famous sights and wants to know what actually happened in them.

Image credits

Photos: Liv Cashman, Tetiana Shyshkina (Unsplash).