Oxford, Hertford-Bridge--New College Lane
Before you go:
You might want to consider that while most students want their materials unbound so they only need carry what is necessary to class, it is cheaper to have them bound here than in Oxford. Also, buying your 'Let's Go Britain/Ireland' or 'Let's Go Europe'- would be cheaper if bought in the U.S., it may be double the price in London or Oxford.
GETTING TO OXFORD FROM THE AIRPORT
(All information and prices are subject to change without notice at anytime.)
ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND:
- From Heathrow: There is direct coach service to Gloucester Green in Oxford. From Terminals 1, 2 or 3, departures are from the Central Bus Station, Bay 14a. Follow the signs and underpasses, using a trolley for your luggage. From Terminal 4, departures are from the terminal itself at bay 15. The coach runs every 20 -30 minutes during the day, and the journey takes about 70-80 minutes. From Terminal 4, service is less frequent and takes 20 minutes longer. The fare is about £20 for a period return, and you can buy a ticket on board. There is no train service from Heathrow, except the Heathrow Express into Paddington Station in London, which is expensive and not covered by any rail passes. (If you are arriving into an UK airport and want to go directly to Oxford, do not go into central London first. This would needlessly extend your journey by several hours, and cost at least £20-30 pounds extra.)
- From Gatwick: There is direct coach service to Gloucester Green in Oxford. The coach departs from both the South Terminal (upper forecourt) and the North Terminal (bay 4) about once an hour, and the journey takes about 2.5 hours. The fare is around £28 for a period return, and you can by a ticket on board. If for some reason you wish to travel by train (i.e., you have a train pass and the cost is included), there is a train station at Gatwick on the lower level. First take the train to Reading (journey time of about 1.5 hours) then connect to another train to Oxford (journey time of about 30 minutes on fast service). However, this is less convenient than the coach.
- From London: If you are already in central London enjoying a visit prior to the start of the Oxford program, you have two main ways to get to Oxford. By coach, you can depart from the Victoria coach station or the bus-stop near Marble Arch (by Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park) for direct service to Gloucester Green. Two companies service this route every few minutes – Oxford Tube (red) and Oxford Espress (green). Journey time is about 1.5 hours; longer in traffic. Fares are about £12 for a single and £17 for a period return, and you can buy a ticket on board. By train, you can leave from Paddington Station for a direct journey that takes about an hour on the fast service. There are usually 2-3 fast trains to Oxford per hour (avoid the so-called stopping service, which can add nearly an hour to your journey). The fare is about £17.40 for a single. Check about return fares, as these are very restricted by date and time of travel, but may be suitable depending on your plans. You must buy a ticket prior to boarding the train, or face an expensive penalty. For further information and timetables, see National Rail
Reminder: If you are uncertain about what to do, ask at the nearest information office. A return ticket (roundtrip) is substantially cheaper than two singles (one ways), both for coaches and trains, but do check that the dates and other restrictions are suitable for your plans. The second part of your return ticket has no value whatsoever if it is not used as required. Be sure to keep your tickets for inspection. Upon arriving in Oxford at the train station, you are likely to need a taxi if you are going to WISC offices or to New College. If you arrive at the Gloucester Green Coach Station, WISC is a two-minute walk, and taxis are available for the short trip to New College. Please keep your luggage with you at all times. Again, for further local information, please refer to Oxford by clicking on the ‘Maps of Colleges and Halls’ under Colleges, you can access a variety of university maps; on the bottom of the main map page is a link to all the major bus, and train services to and from Oxford, including the airports.
You can also pickup the Oxford bus map, free from the bus company in Oxford on High Street about 2 blocks towards City Centre on the left hand side of the street.
The main bus terminal is close to the train station and about 2 blocks from WISC in Oxford where you must check in between 10:30 and 3:30pm only.
You can also pickup the Oxford bus map, free from the bus company in Oxford on High Street about 2 blocks towards City Centre on the left hand side of the street (unless they have moved).
British rail offers discount passes for disabled travellers. Check with your travel agent before you go! Usually 1/3 to 1/2 off.
You will not be able to arrive and check-in for your housing at the WISC offices prior to 10:30am on June 30th or after 3:30pm. Please make your plans carefully to arrive in Oxford and at WISC between these times. Orientation will be at 4:30pm on June 30th at the Manor Road Building where classes will be held. The WISC offices are not open on Saturdays or Sundays.
Please go to Oxford Housing for more information on both WISC, New College and information on off-campus housing.
You cannot send any luggage or packages to WISC or New College housing ahead of time. There are no storage facilities. If you do send anything, it will be refused and returned back to sender. The WISC and New College offices are not open on Saturdays or Sundays.
You may stay at your assigned housing location for free until August 3rd at 3:00pm. However, if you wish to stay past this deadline, you must arrange this the first week you are in Oxford with the WISC office. There is a possibility that you may be able to stay in your housing you originally stayed in, but there is no guarantee of this. The WISC or New College offices are not open on Saturdays or Sundays. Be aware that WISC office's may move you to other WISC housing if you stay after August 3rd, 3:00pm.
If you wish to stay in Oxford after 3:00pm on August 3rd and you are not able to stay at WISC or New College housing, you may consider contacting - starting in July - The Isis Guest House, 45-53 Iffley Rd, Oxford OX4 1ED ENGLAND, phone, from the U.S. is 021-441-865-242-466 or by fax at 021-441-865-243-492, for prices and availability or check these web sites out: Visiting Oxford or Daily Info or Oxford University Gazette When doing your search, use the words like "short lets" or "self-catering accommodations" vs a Studio apartment or a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment. You will have better results in finding housing. Unfortunately USD will not be able to help you find housing outside of WISC, before or after the program.
There will be one (1) house phone and one (1) computer line to be shared with 4-5 people. However, there are also many public phones and internet cafes available around Oxford. They public phones will either be just coin or may accept both coin and phone card, or just a phone card which you can purchase once you get to Oxford.
No phone messages will be taken for you should someone call you at the WISC offices. You will not know your house phone number until you actually check-in at the WISC offices on Monday, June 30th. The WISC offices are not open on Saturdays or Sundays. The USD office phone number is (from U.S.) 011-44-1865-281-297. We have arranged it so that you will be able to leave a message here. Both the Director and Administrative Assistant, Ms Kathryn Bevis will be using their cell phones. Their numbers will be provided to you at Orientation. If there is an emergency, then calls should be directed to one of them (regular class hours are 9am - 12:30pm (remember England is 8 hours ahead of Calif)), but only in an emergency. Otherwise, in an emergency, calls can also be made to the USD-San Diego office, 1-619-260-4597 during regular business hours, 8am - 4:15pm Mon - Fri, 619-260-4597 and USD-San Diego will do their best to contact the student or the Director.
There are plenty of car rental places and travel agents and many of last years students received great prices for the weekend for car rental and travel, but you should always check around for the best price. Car rentals in summer require advance reservations (by a few days). They do sell out at busy times. On weekends you cannot rent a car for just one day, it must be for the whole weekend. Bring your U.S. drivers license, you will need it! Also, you must be at least 25 years old to rent a car.
Bike rentals are available from 6-10 weeks and they start at $80 or $20 for just the weekend. There are about 14 bike shops in Oxford - pick up the "Cycling in Oxford Guide" from the Tourist Information Centre off to the left of the tower on High Street. There will be signs to guide you.
Also, the USD-Oxford office will have more information on this for you at Orientation.
This is a great place to pick up your much needed, "Town and Heritage Map of Central Oxford" and the "What's On In Oxford" magazine. Or check in the program director's office to see if there is one there you can look at, but not take. You can also pick it up at the tourist information shop, in Gloucester Green (near the bus station), the "This Month in Oxford" which is free and lists other happenings in Oxford. There are inexpensive nightly concerts, plays, fireworks etc. to choose from. And just when you thought you had a handle on what was going on, that's when you will see notices plastered all over informing you of more happenings!!
The following places to eat have been provided to us by former students. Prices and addresses can change without any notice, so call ahead before you go, just in case.
If you prefer fast food - McDonald's is cheaper than Burger King and both are usually packed to the rafters with people. Pizza Land on George St, turn right off of High St, then turn left onto George St. There is also Pizza Express, on Corn Market St off of High St. Fatty Arbuckles, and New Orleans, on George Street, Carfax Fish and Chips on High St . A313 Restaurant on High St. Moonlight Restaurant on High St. These were several of previous students favorite. Wykeham Tea Room open from 10-5p. Also the Turlbar at St. Helens Passage. Pak Fook Chinese Restaurant at 100 Cowley Rd was very nice and modest in price. A favorite of several students. Lunch from 12:30p to 2:30p Sunday to Saturday; dinner 6:00p -11:30p Sunday thru Thursday and Friday and Saturday 6:00p - 12:00 midnight. Their B-l special is recommended and you receive quite a lot of food for the price. Both the service and the food were excellent! Also another favorite of several previous students. Jamacian Eating House 70 Crowley Rd. Paramenteers - for sandwiches; The Turf - off Holywell St - for food and drink; Moonlight Tandoori - Indian and vegetarian specials - 56-58 Crowley Rd, a bit expensive but good food.Gourmet Pizza Place on Glouster Green, special student prices for lunches. Hi Lo - Jamaican a little pricey but worth it (about $12 for dinner). The better deals are usually the pub lunches and sandwich shops. Whether any of these places are still around is another matter. You will have to investigate once you have arrived.
Past students favorite - Bottoms Up on High St - good wine-beer selection.
The Stratford Trip to the Shakespeare Theatre cost the 2006 students about $70 each for the bus and either around $50 for balcony seats or around $60 for front row seats. The Inns of Court cost students last year about $60 which included a tour and dinner. The dress code for the Inns of Court is quite strident - only black and white, no colors (black tie (for men), black jacket, black pants (for men), black skirt (for women), black shoes and black socks or stockings with a white shirt or blouse). A lot of times even if you have paid your money and you are NOT deemed to dressed properly by the scouts, they will turn you away and could care less if you paid or not! So be aware of this rule! Warwick Castle - open from 10:00a - 5:00p. This is a fantastic place to visit. It dates back to the 14th century and it has a current resident who lives in France most of the time. This is one of the better castles along with Highclere Castle where everything is kept in excellent condition, furniture, paintings, tapestries, etc. You can choose to visit the dungeons or the ramparts (there are about 800 steps round trip on the ramparts). It's on the way to Stratford. If you get the chance, stop in. There is an entrance fee. Check with the bus station to see which bus goes to Warwick Castle. Blenheim Palace, open from 10:30a-5:30p, Mon-Sun, mid-March thru October, admission about $20. You can take a bus from the main bus terminal to Blenheim Palace for about $8 round trip. For Highclere Castle (where the movie, "The Secret Garden" was filmed), open from 10:00a - 5:00p you need to take the train from Oxford to Newbury then a taxi or possibly a bus from Newbury to Highclere Castle. The home of the Earl and Counts of Carnarvon, ancestors of Lord Carnarvon who discovered King Tut's tomb with Mr. Carter. Admission is around $12, children/disabled around $8. There is a museum of various finds that they took from Tut's tomb. Plus the gardens and surrounding area are great for exploring.
There is a Thomas Cooke Exchange inside the train station at Oxford. They charge commission for travelers checks other than theirs. They also charge a very dear commission on Saturdays and Sundays if you cash travelers checks that are not theirs! The American Express office is located in the 'City Centre' area of town. So change your money on weekdays! You can also change your money at various banks in town. They may or may not charge a commission, depends on the bank.
Tips from former students: Shower shoes, walkman or portable radio, Equal or Sweet and Low, towels, toilet paper, and American mustard. Or anything you simply cannot do without!
You will have access to both. Either at your WISC house or in the area of your housing.
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All prices and schedules are subject to change without notice. They are provided as a relative guide. Many things in England are almost double the U.S. price.
Oxford Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
THE MAIN BUS TERMINAL
BUS ANNEX STATION
ARRIVING EARLY AND WANT TO STAY IN OXFORD??
HOUSING
SENDING LUGGAGE and OTHER ITEMS AHEAD OF THE PROGRAM DATES
STAYING AFTER AUGUST 3rd IN OXFORD
TELEPHONES
Phone calls to you at WISC or your house in Oxford:
CAR RENTAL/TRAVEL AGENTS
BIKE RENTALS
TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE
EATING PLACES
PUBS and CLUBS
TRIPS
CYBER CAFES
TRAVELER'S CHECKS
THINGS TO BRING
WASHER and DRYER