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Divinity-school Image credit: K T Bruce ©

Bodleian Library: Divinity School

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The Weston Library is both a venue and a festival cafe

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Location and travel

Getting to the festival.

Venues



Festival events mostly take place around two vibrant hubs – the Blackwell’s Marquee, next to the Sheldonian Theatre, Bodleian Library and Weston Library, and Worcester College, in Walton Street. There is a ten-minute walk between the two hubs

Blackwell’s Marquee

Blackwell's marqueeThe Blackwell’s Marquee sits in the middle of the biggest festival venues – the Bodleian Library, the Weston Library, the Sheldonian Theatre and Oxford Martin School. The marquee is open all day throughout the festival and will house the festival box office and enquiry point, the festival bookstore, and a café. It will also host some events and book-signings. There is also a café with toilets in the main hall of the Weston Library opposite the Sheldonian Theatre.

Worcester College

Worcester CollegeWorcester College hosts a large number of events at this year’s festival. A festival cafe bar will be open in the college’s new Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre. Festival-goers can book accommodation at the college during the festival.


Other venues

Exeter College, and Lincoln College venues are in Turl Street, a short walk from the Blackwell’s Marquee.  Afternoon tea is being served in the Jacobean dining hall of Exeter College, Monday-Saturday of the festival, 2pm-5pm.

St Cross College is in St Giles, a five-minute walk from both Worcester College and the Blackwell’s Marquee.

Keble College is a five-ten-minute walk up Parks Road from the Blackwell’s Marquee.

The Ashmolean Museum is on Beaumont Street, a five-minute walk from both Worcester College and the Blackwell’s Marquee.

The Story Museum, Pembroke Street, is a ten-minute walk from the Blackwell’s Marquee.

Download the festival map.

Please note: venues for festival events sometimes change after you have purchased your ticket to accommodate the specific requirements of authors or to meet demand for tickets. Please check the website to confirm the venue for your event and always arrive in good time.

Accessibility

All the main festival venues are accessible and many have hearing loops. For full details, visit the relevant venue websites by clicking on the links below.

  • Sheldonian Theatre

  • Oxford Martin School

  • Worcester College

  • Jesus College

  • Keble College

  • Exeter College

  • Lincoln College

  • St Cross College

  • St John’s College

  • Ashmolean Museum

  • Museum of Natural History

  • The Story Museum

  • Oxford City Council accessibility guide to Oxford

    Many festival venues operate a disability equality scheme. This is kept under review, taking into account the views of visitors and others. Comments and suggestions are therefore welcome and may be directed to the disability librarian at the Bodleian Library (for the Divinity School and Weston Library) and the custodian at the Sheldonian Theatre. For other college and university venues please contact the domestic bursar or department administrator.

    To ensure the safe evacuation of wheelchair users in case of emergency, it may occasionally be necessary to limit the number of wheelchair users at a given event. Evac-chairs are provided and duty volunteers trained to assist. A safety briefing for all festival-goers is provided at the start of each event.

    Arriving


    By train

    Oxford is well served from all areas of the country. Chiltern Railways’ service from London Marylebone and High Wycombe terminates in the centre of Oxford. Worcester College is a ten-minute walk from the central station and the Blackwell’s Marquee a 20-minute walk. There is a taxi rank at the station.

    By coach

    There is a fast and frequent coach service to Oxford from London, the Oxford Tube, with several departures every hour. In Oxford, festival-goers can alight at High Street stops which are within a few minutes’ walk of festival venues. The coach station at Gloucester Green is a five-minute walk from Worcester College and a ten-minute walk from the Blackwell’s Marquee.

    By car

    Street parking is extremely limited. There are car parks at the Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxpens, at Gloucester Street and in Worcester Street, all within 10 minutes’ walk of festival venues. Oxford is well served by a regular park-and-ride bus service from several points at the city perimeter.

    Blue badge parking

    For events at the Bodleian Library, Weston Library, Lincoln College, Oxford Martin School and the Sheldonian Theatre, disabled badge holder designated parking is available in Broad Street. For The Story Museum, disabled badge holder designated parking is available in St Aldate’s. Designated parking is available in Beaumont Street for Worcester College and the Ashmolean, and in St Giles for St Cross College.

     

     

    • FT Weekend Title partner BBC World Service International radio partner Oxford Martin School Festival ideas partner Bodleian Libraries Festival cultural partner University of Oxford New College Jewish Book Week Partner of Jewish programme Italian Embassy Supporter of Italian programme Irish Embassy, London Supporters of the Irish programme MIT Press MIT Press. Sponsors of the programme of American literature and culture The Dorchester Hotels Collection Festival London hotel partner Blackwell’s Festival on-site and online bookseller Princeton University Press British Academy Festival academic partner Ian and Carol Sellars Emily Rose and James Marrow Lady Hatch Patron donor for the programme of Irish literature and culture George Warren Mary and Cecil Quillen Jesus College Worcester College Worcester College Lincoln College Lincoln College St Hilda’s College 11th St Hilda's day at the festival St Cross College St Cross College The Feathers Hotel Woodstock Macdonald Bear Hotel Woodstock Critchleys The Royal Society of Literature Royal Literary Fund Felicity Bryan Associates Oxford University Press Conference Oxford University of Oxford Mathematical Institute Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies University of Oxford Alumni Office Alumni Office Said Business School Bear Ram Elk Festival Digital Strategy & Web Design BBC Radio Oxford Local radio partner The Oxford Times Regional media partner Oxford Brookes University Oxford University Images Oxford University Images The Sheldonian Theatre Floris of London City Audio Visual Sloane Club British Humanist Association Schoolreaders Oxford City Council The Litmus Partnership K T Bruce Photography K T Bruce Photography OX magazine History of War All About History Glyndebourne Chamberlain Evans Estate agents Steer Oxford Botanic Garden Cinnamon Kitchen Compassion in World Farming

    FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival sponsors, donors & partners

    FT Weekend Title partner BBC World Service International radio partner Oxford Martin School Festival ideas partner Bodleian Libraries Festival cultural partner University of Oxford New College Jewish Book Week Partner of Jewish programme Italian Embassy Supporter of Italian programme Irish Embassy, London Supporters of the Irish programme MIT Press MIT Press. Sponsors of the programme of American literature and culture The Dorchester Hotels Collection Festival London hotel partner Blackwell’s Festival on-site and online bookseller Princeton University Press British Academy Festival academic partner Ian and Carol Sellars Emily Rose and James Marrow Lady Hatch Patron donor for the programme of Irish literature and culture George Warren Mary and Cecil Quillen Jesus College Worcester College Worcester College Lincoln College Lincoln College St Hilda’s College 11th St Hilda's day at the festival St Cross College St Cross College The Feathers Hotel Woodstock Macdonald Bear Hotel Woodstock Critchleys The Royal Society of Literature Royal Literary Fund Felicity Bryan Associates Oxford University Press Conference Oxford University of Oxford Mathematical Institute Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies University of Oxford Alumni Office Alumni Office Said Business School Bear Ram Elk Festival Digital Strategy & Web Design BBC Radio Oxford Local radio partner The Oxford Times Regional media partner Oxford Brookes University Oxford University Images Oxford University Images The Sheldonian Theatre Floris of London City Audio Visual Sloane Club British Humanist Association Schoolreaders Oxford City Council The Litmus Partnership K T Bruce Photography K T Bruce Photography OX magazine History of War All About History Glyndebourne Chamberlain Evans Estate agents Steer Oxford Botanic Garden Cinnamon Kitchen Compassion in World Farming