Cultural Tours
90–100 minutes
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 95% of travellers
95% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
£18
per adult
Uncomfortable Oxford Tours
Uncomfortable Oxford Tours
5
City ToursCultural ToursHistorical & Heritage ToursPrivate Tours
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Full view
About
Visit our webpage to book individual tours - running weekly.
About us: We are a student enterprise, running 'uncomfortable' walking tours of Oxford. Our tours are researched and designed to encourage discussion on difficult histories. We feature topics such as: Imperialism and colonialism, race and racism, unethical donations, history of slavery, gender discrimination, class tensions, and more.
This is a Business
This supplier operates as a business.
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Tours and Tickets by Uncomfortable Oxford Tours
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Historical Tours
1–2 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 96% of travellers
96% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
£20
per adult
Historical Tours
1–2 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
£18
per adult
Walking Tours
1–2 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
£20
per adult
Historical Tours
1–2 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
£20
per adult
Travellers talk about
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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5.0
194 reviews
Excellent
178
Very good
11
Average
2
Poor
2
Terrible
2
Sally363
Oxford, UK14 contributions
Jan 2020
This is an intriguing exploration of Oxford and, most importantly, one's own pre-made views of Oxford's literary history. It is skillfully lead by someone who knows what he's talking about. Interaction is encouraged from the first step with all and every view not just welcomed but explored. On the tour I did there was well-managed talk amongst us all about Britain's empire, paedophilia, women's rights and the history line of books themselves. Don't come on this tour if you just want a cosy trot around Oxford gazing vacantly at the pretty architecture. This walk will challenge you and leave you thinking for weeks, if not years, about what you saw and heard. I couldn't recommend this tour enough! Don't visit Oxford without being part of the thought that has been going on her for millenia; this tour makes you part of what Oxford is.
Written 14 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Many thanks, Sally, for this magnificently kind and detailed review. What a pleasure it is to read!
We're really glad that you joined us on the tour. Thank you very much for emphasising our interactive approach as well, and the importance we place on discussions. We work really hard to make the tour a unique and engaging experience for participants.
We all look forward to welcoming you on our future tours :)
Written 16 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
graceb2121
Dublin, Ireland2 contributions
Aug 2022
Really fascinating and enjoyable walking tour. We did the original Uncomfortable Oxford tour and the guide was very knowledgeable and good at engaging those of us on the tour. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who has some background knowledge, or has already done a more standard walking tour of Oxford as it does a great job of going beyond the surface level of the city's history.
Written 9 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Topaz M
1 contribution
Nov 2021
I was absolutely blown away by Uncomfortable Oxford's new 'Hidden Histories' walking tour. Our tour guide, Cameron, was excellent, engaging and enabled some fascinating discussions that I feel really opened my eyes to the multi-faceted histories hidden within Oxford. I feel I came away from the tour having learned so much about the often-neglected women and queer people who have had such an impact building the Oxford we know today, and whom I wish the public would hear more about. I wish incredible educational organisations such as Uncomfortable Oxford existed within every City in the UK. These are exactly the 3-dimensional, conscientious discussions we should be having about our past.
Written 11 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Many thanks for this magnificently kind and detailed review. What a pleasure it is to read!
We're really glad that you joined us on this tour. Thank you very much for emphasising our interactive approach as well, and the importance of our work. We work really hard to make the tour engaging for participants.
We all look forward to welcoming you on our future tours :)
Written 13 February 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
John C
4 contributions
Oct 2022 • Solo
This was a fantastic tour - the guide was really knowledgeable (Rhodes scholar!) and presented the material clearly and in a balanced way. It is fantastic to be able to spend time in an amazing place like Oxford and it was great to be able to understand the full historical picture of what has happened here and what people who have been here have gone on to do. Definitely a highlight was the guide explaining what it means to be a Rhodes scholar and the white supremacist underpinnings that Cecil Rhodes required in his will to feature in the scholarship, and how our guide works through that legacy as a current scholarship recipient in the work she does and what she aspires to do (including giving these tours!)
If you want a full picture that goes beyond buildings you’ll recognise from Harry Potter movies then you can’t go past these tours! A must do while you are here.
If you want a full picture that goes beyond buildings you’ll recognise from Harry Potter movies then you can’t go past these tours! A must do while you are here.
Written 16 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
alirI1502GZ
3 contributions
Jul 2022
We attended The Original Uncomfortable Tour. Very engaging, learnt lots about the History of Oxford and the UK and saw things I wouldn't otherwise have known about. Our guide was excellent, well informed and made the session very interactive. I would definitely recommend not just for the content but it is also Not For Profit and run by students.
Written 12 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks a lot for your kind review, we are glad that you enjoyed taking part in the tour! We hope to host you again, or to see you at one of our public outreach events!
Written 12 July 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
N M
1 contribution
Sept 2023 • Friends
Excellent tours - properly researched while also being accessible. I have been on the Oxford and Empire, Follow the Money, and Literature tours - all were thought-provoking and uncovered fascinating aspects of the city's complex history. The guides were all fantastic!
Written 22 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beckie
3 contributions
Jun 2022
These tours had been on my bucket list for a while and signing up for the "original" walking tour last Sunday did not disappoint. It was an incredibly welcoming and accessible experience and I learned loads about Oxford's history. The tour guide (a Masters student from St Catherine's College) was excellent and I enjoyed hearing the thoughts and insights of other attendees. Overall, I would highly recommend making the time to join one of these tours - I can't wait to sign up for another one the next time I visit Oxford!
Written 15 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
traveltraveltravel
16 contributions
Aug 2022
An amazing and fresh take on what a guided tour can do. With an Oxford graduate, Nikunj, as our guide, we walked around Oxford and discussed the problematic aspects of Oxford's past and present. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and engaging; we were constantly stimulated through discussions. It was so nice to hear from other members of our tour as well; many of them were Oxford students too.
I was shocked and saddened multiple times throughout the tour - this will forever change my opinions of Oxford, and the ways that I construct my knowledge of cities in general as well. A superb experience for the intellectually curious and for those who already have some knowledge of Oxford.
I was shocked and saddened multiple times throughout the tour - this will forever change my opinions of Oxford, and the ways that I construct my knowledge of cities in general as well. A superb experience for the intellectually curious and for those who already have some knowledge of Oxford.
Written 27 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Harrison
1 contribution
Nov 2022
We attended "The Original Uncomfortable Oxford Tour". It was very interesting and encouraged your own thinking, rather than taking a lecture format. There was never any pressure to offer our own thoughts, however, and everyone was respectful. Our guide opened discussions within the group and prompted us on different aspects to consider for each of the "exhibits" we visited.
Locations and themes included: Rhodes statue, All-souls library, emancipation of women, and Christian Frederick Cole.
Highly recommend. We are excited to try the other Uncomfortable Oxford tours that are available.
Total time: 1.5 hours.
Locations and themes included: Rhodes statue, All-souls library, emancipation of women, and Christian Frederick Cole.
Highly recommend. We are excited to try the other Uncomfortable Oxford tours that are available.
Total time: 1.5 hours.
Written 13 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A R
1 contribution
Feb 2023 • Solo
I went on the hidden histories tour led by Chlo and had a great time. The tour was well structured, cohesive and Chlo was an engaging and knowledgeable guide. I really enjoyed the discussion aspects of the tour and learnt a lot more about parts of Oxford history I previously knew very little about. I'm looking forward to going on more of the tours in future!
Written 26 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, what are your times/tour schedule over the summer? How soon in advance should we book?
Written 21 July 2019
Hi ! We have tours running every Friday (4:30pm) Saturday (2:00 pm) and Sunday (2:00pm) for the general tour, and we alternate our specialized tours on either 'Oxford and Empire' and 'Uncomfortable Finance' every other Saturday at 11:00am. We also occasionally have tours on Wednesday afternoon. The full schedule is on our website.
We also take private group booking, for more info you can email us directly through the website's contact form ! (we cannot post the link directly on tripadvisor)
We hope this helps!
Written 22 July 2019
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