Explore the Oxford of the Victorian age and find out what Victorian Oxford did for fun on this unique 90-minute circular walking tour visiting the sites of historic entertainment venues in the city centre.

Led by local historian Liz Woolley, this city walking tour will introduce you to a different side of Oxford’s urban history. See the ‘city of dreaming spires’ from the perspective of ordinary townspeople, who found themselves with leisure time – and the money to spend on it – for the first time.

You will learn about both the rash and the rational sides of Victorian entertainment, visiting sites including the Pembroke Street Public Baths, where you could be attended by a “first-class shampooer and teacher of swimming”, and the YMCA on George Street which promised to guide young men away from the “temptations of city life”.

As part of the tour, you will see: The Town Hall and Public Library, the Wilberforce Temperance hotel (where alcohol was banned), The Jolly Farmers Pub, the New Theatre – and more historic Oxford locations.

Join the Museum of Oxford’s Rash or Rational? Victorian Leisure and Entertainment Walk to see Oxford through the eyes of an expert and discover a different side to this famous city’s history.

£10