See also: Oxford Exhibitions Page

Museum of the History of Science, Old Ashmolean Building, Broad Street, 277280
(Currently showing English Country Clocks, 1600-1840)
Normal Opening Hours: Tues - Sat 12-4pm Sun 2-5pm. Admission free.
Closed Sun 24th December - Tue 2nd Jan inclusive.

Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street. Tel: 278000
(One of the oldest public museums in the world - currently being refurbished but still open. Information on gallery closures can be found here.)
Normal Opening Hours: Tues-Sat and Bank Holiday 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm. Admission free.
Closed Sun 24th - Tue 26th December inclusive, and Mon 1st January.

Cast Gallery, off St John Street, back of the Ashmolean
(Casts of classical statuary)
Normal Opening Hours: Open Tue-Sat 10am-5pm
Closed Sun 24th - Tue 26th December inclusive, and Mon 1st January.

University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road. Tel: 272950
(Dinosaur skeletons and live invertebrate exhibits: great place for children)
Normal Opening Hours: 12 - 5pm every day. Admission free.
Closed Sun 24th, Mon 25th, Tue 26th and Sun 31st December and Mon 1st January inclusive.

Pitt Rivers Museum, Through the Natural History Museum, Parks Road. Tel: 272950
(Anthropological delights, newly re-organised)
Normal Opening Hours: 12 - 4.30pm every day. Admission free.
Closed Sun 24th, Mon 25th, Tue 26th and Sun 31st December and Mon 1st January inclusive

Christ Church Picture Gallery, Christ Church (entrance via Canterbury Gate / Oriel Square) 276172
(Changing selections from the college's collection of Old Masters' drawings and paintings - see our Exhibitions page)
Normal Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 10.30-1. 2-4.30; Sun 2-4.30. Adults-£2, Conc-£1
Closed Mon 18th December - Sun 7th January inclusive

Museum of Oxford, St Aldates. Tel: 815559
(Oxford City Council's Museum of the history of Oxford)
Normal Opening Hours: Tue-Fri 10-5, Sat & Sun 12-5, closed Mon.
Closed Sun 24th, Mon 25th, Tue 26th; Sun 31st and Mon 1st. Open Wed 27th - Sat 30th.

Modern Art Oxford, 30 Pembroke Street. Tel: 722733
(Now showing French and Estonian contemporary art)
Normal Opening Hours: Tues-Sat: 10am-5pm, Sun: 12-5pm. Admission free.
Closed Sun 24th December - Mon 1st January inclusive.

 

Christmas Walking Tours

The Oxford Tourist Information Centre is running walking tours over the festive season. These include University and City tours on 24th - 29th December (inclusive) at both 11am and 2pm. Additional University and City Tours will be run on Saturday 30th December at 10.30am and 1pm. University and City Tours cost £6.50 for adults and £3 for children.

There will be a Family Tour on 1.30pm on Friday 29th December and an Inspector Morse tour at 1.30pm on 30th December.Tickets for family tours are £5 for adults and £3 for children and for Inspector Morse tickets are £7 for adults and £3.50 for children.

Tickets are available from the walking tour desk at 15-16 Broad Street or from the guide directly outside the Centre when the TIC is closed.

The TIC will be open over the Christmas period, except for 25-27th December and 1st January. There will be a late night opening on Thurs 21st December until 8pm.

Christmas Lectures / Events for Families

See also: Oxford Family Events Page

At Hands On at Science Oxford, 1-5 London Place, St Clements. 10am - 4pm
All welcome. Adults £5, children £3.50, families £15.
Sat 16th Dec: Christmas Construction - Create your own christmas decoration or build a sleigh for Santa

At the Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, 2 - 4pm
Aimed at 5-11 yr olds, but all welcome. Free.
Wed 20th Dec: Festive Fun - make pop-up cards, stretchy Santas and sparkly angels.

At the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, 2pm
Aimed at 8-13 yr olds, but all welcome. Adults £2, children £1, families £5

Thurs 28th Dec : "Two Million Years of Life in Oxfordshire" - Lesley Dunlop

Fri 29th Dec: "Ponds and Wildlife - Myths and Facts" - Rod D'Ayala

Tues Jan 2nd : "Be a Mammal Detective" - Philippa Burrell

A Mogford Miscellany/Christmas Lunches

Thurs 21st Dec : at 6pm the Old Parsonage Hotel is having Mr Peacocke to read "A Christmas Carol" by the fire.

And Gee's will be open for the first time on Christmas Day, serving Christmas dinner from 12-2.30pm.

Further details from www.mogford.co.uk

Are you lonely this Christmas? Nowhere to go?
The People's People invite you to Christmas Lunch at Blackbird Leys Community Centre, 12-6pm on Christmas Day.
£1 adult £2 family. Call 07907 105127 / email sophiamarshall@hotmail.co.uk for more info.

For a list of other places offering Christmas Lunch in and around Oxford click here.

 

Local and London Buses

Stagecoach Oxford For detailed timetable, click here

CHRISTMAS EVE - normal timetables, but buses stop around 6-7pm
CHRISTMAS DAY - no services
BOXING DAY - limited service between 9am and 6pm

Weds 27th & Thu 28th - limited Saturday Service. Some routes not running. See link above.
Fri 29th & Sat 30th - normal Saturday Service.

NEW YEAR'S EVE - Normal Sunday timetable, but with last buses around 11pm and NO NIGHT SERVICE.
NEW YEAR'S DAY - Certain special services operating, mainly at 20-30min intervals.
Tuesday Jan 2nd - normal service resumes.

The Oxford Bus Company

Much the same services as Stagecoach, except last buses around 7pm on New Year's Eve; for full details click here

The Oxford Tube - services to London

CHRISTMAS EVE - normal service until last departure at 1910 from Oxford, 2135 from London
CHRISTMAS DAY - every hour, BUT via Heathrow. Oxford to London 0600 - 1700. London to Oxford 0800-1900. No stop at Hillingdon, premium fares charged.
BOXING DAY - Oxford to London every 30 minutes from 0700 until 1800, 1900. London to Oxford every 30 mins from 0900 to 2000, 2100

Weds 27th - Fri 29th - from 0410 Weds (Ox) & 06.05 Weds (Lon) Sunday service, with a promise of extra coaches as necessary.
Sat 30th - normal Saturday service.

NEW YEAR'S EVE - Sunday service, with a promise of extra coaches as necessary until
Oxford - London 2210 then 0010, 0020 0040, 0110, 0210, 0310
London - Oxford 2205, 0005, then every 15 minutes until 0220, 0310

NEW YEAR'S DAY: Oxford to London - 0410, 0510, 0610, 0710, then every 30 mins to 1910, then every hour to 0310.
London to Oxford - 0610, 0710,0810,0910, then every 30 mins to 2110, then every hour to 0310.

Tuesday Jan 2nd - normal service resumes.

Oxford Espress - services to London

CHRISTMAS EVE - normal Sunday service until last departure at 1830 from Oxford, 2030 from London
CHRISTMAS DAY - no services
BOXING DAY - Oxford to London every 30 mins from 0645, 0745, until 1845. London to Oxford every 30 mins from 0845, 0945, to 2045

Wednesday 27th & Thursday 28th - Sunday service from 4.30am to 11pm from Oxford, 6.30am to 1am from London.
Friday 29th - Sunday service from 4.30am from Oxford, 6.30am from London, continuing into normal overnight service, then:
Saturday 30th - normal service.

NEW YEAR'S EVE - As Christmas eve.
NEW YEAR'S DAY - Oxford to London 0600, then hourly to 1900. London to Oxford 0800, then hourly to 2100
Tuesday Jan 2ND - normal service from 4.10am Oxford, 6.10am London

Shopping (Opening Times)

See also: Fairs, Festivals and Markets

Jericho Traditional Christmas Fairtrade Fair, Jericho Community Centre
Sun 17th - Mon 18th December, 12 noon - 5.30pm
Local producers join Fairtraders from around the world: Shawls, jumpers and scarves from Peru and Bolivia,
silk scarves and pashminas from Bangladesh and India, Coffee from Nicaragua, organic fresh meat and vegetables
from Oxfordshire.

Oxford Farmers' Markets
Sat 16th and Sat 23rd East Oxford Farmers' Market, Asian Cultural Centre, Manzil Way, 12 - 3pm
Sun 17th and Sun 24th Wolvercote Farmers' Market, Wolvercote School, 10am- 1pm
Thur 21st Oxford Farmers' Market, Gloucester Green, 9am - 3pm

The Clarendon Centre (individual shop times may vary)
Sat 16th 9.00am – 7.00pm
Mon 18th - Fri 22nd 9.00am – 8.00pm
Sat 23rd 9.00am – 7.00pm
Christmas Eve Sun 24th 10.00am – 4.00pm
Christmas Day Mon 25th CLOSED
Boxing Day Tue 26th 10.00am – 5.00pm
Wed 27th - Sat 30th (presumably) normal hours
Sun 31st 11.00am – 5.00pm
New Year’s Day Mon 1st 10.00am – 5.00pm
Hours revert to normal from Tuesday 2nd January 2006

The Westgate Centre (725 455)
Thu 14th: 9am – 9pm
Fri 15th & Sat 16th: 9am – 6pm
Sun 17th: 11am – 5pm
Mon 18th & Tue 19th: 8.30am – 8pm
Wed 20th- Fri 22nd: 8.30am – 9pm
Sat 23rd: 8.30am – 6pm
Sun 24th: 11am – 5pm
Christmas Day Mon 25th: CLOSED
Boxing Day Tue 26th: 11am – 5pm
Wed 27th: 9am – 6pm
Thu 28th: 9am – 8pm
Fri 29th & Sat 30th: 9am – 6pm
Sun 31st & Mon 1st Jan: 11am – 5pm

Covered Market
Monday – Saturday: 8.30am – 5.30pm
Thursdays (14th & 21st December): 8.30am – 7.00pm
Sundays to 24th December: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Closed 25th & 26th December 2006 and 1st January

Bicester Village Shopping Outlet
www.bicestervillage.com/bicester/home.asp
Sat 23rd: 9.30am – 7pm
Sun 24th: 10am – 6pm
Christmas Day : CLOSED
Tues 26th – Fri 29th: 10am – 7pm
Sat 30th: 9.30am – 7pm
Sun 31st: 10am – 6pm
Mon 1st & Tue 2nd January: 10am –7pm

Supermarkets

Sainsbury's Local, Magdalen St 204969		Sainsbury's - Westgate Centre 722179	Tesco's - Cowley Road 447600	Co-Op London Rd Headington 766132	Co-Op Walton St Jericho 511884	Marks & Spencers, Summertown 316873
Christmas		Christmas	Christmas	Christmas	Christmas	Christmas
Saturday 23rd December	7am - 11pm	7am-8pm	6am-12am	7am - 10pm	7am - 12pm	7am - 11pm
Sunday 24th December	11am-5pm	11am-5pm	10am-4pm	10am-4pm	7am - 7pm	10am-4pm
Monday 25th December	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed
Tuesday 26th December	11am-5pm	Closed	Closed	Closed	9am-2pm	Closed
Weds 27th December	7am - 11pm	7am-8pm	6am-12am	9am-5pm	8am-8pm	8am-8pm
New Year		New Year	New Year	New Year	New Year	New Year
Sunday 31st December	11am-5pm	11am-5pm	10am-4pm	10am-4pm	7am - 7pm	11am-5pm
Monday 1st January	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	9am-2pm	Closed
Tuesday 2nd January	7am-11pm	7am-8pm	6am-12am	8am - 10pm	7am - midnight	8am - 7pm

 

Chemists

The 10 O'Clock Pharmacy, 59 Woodstock Road (515226) is open on Christmas Day: 4pm-7.30pm and likewise New Year's Day: 4pm-7.30pm. All other days 9am-7.30pm, as usual.

Lloyds on Walton Street (557219) is open until the 22nd, cloesd thereafter until they reopen on the 27th, and closed on Sat 30th, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, reopening Tuesday 2nd. Normal hours whenever they are open: 8.45am - 6.15pm.

Boots on Cornmarket (247461) is open 11am - 5pm on the 24th. It's closed on the 25th, open 11am - 5pm on the 26th; open as normal (8.30am - 8pm) from the 27th - 30th, then 11am - 5pm on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Back to normal from the 2nd.

Boots on the Cowley Road (243633) is closed on the actual Bank Holidays, open 10am-4pm on the two Sundays, and 9am - 6pm otherwise.

Jenners 236-238 Cowley Road (248963) is closed on the Sundays and Bank Holidays, open 10am-4pm on the Saturdays and 9am - 6.15pm otherwise.

Petrol

Blenheim Service Station 93 Woodstock Rd, Kidlington 01865 375373 will be open 6.30am - 6pm on the 24th, shut on the 25th, 10am-6pm on the 26th, 6.30am - 6pm New Year's Eve and 10am - 6pm on New Year's Day. Otherwise 6.30am - 10pm as usual.

BP Wolvercote Roundabout, 311625. Will probably be open 24/7 as in previous years, though at the moment they are too busy to answer the phone.. There is a hatch service at night, and various items of the petrol station mini-market variety can be bought .

Cherwell Filling Station Cherwell Drive, 742834. Will be open 7am - 9pm every day without a break. They may open an hour late on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, if they're feeling especially festive. Bless.

Esso Oxpens Road, 721397. Will be open 24 hours solidly over Christmas and New Year, as will the attached shop.

Murco Service Station Between Towns Rd, 714377 Will be open 6am - 11pm every day as usual.

Shell/Sainsbury's, 59 London Road, Headington, 765437 Will be open all day every day, except between 10.30pm and 11.30pm, when they sort themselves out a bit. From 11.30pm to 7am there is a hatch service, whereby you can by fuel, cigarettes and up to five items from the shop. You have to know exactly what the items are and say them all in one go. No messing about, basically.

Tesco Marcham Road, Abingdon, 01235 707445 Closed from 5pm on the 24th, reopening on Boxing Day 9am. Normal hours: Manned 6am - midnight; pay at pump midnight - 6am.

 

(you can also look at royalmail.com)

There will be no deliveries or collections on:

Christmas Day
Boxing Day
Monday 1st January

Last Postal Dates:

 

Advent Calendars

Here are a few free online advent calendars which we thought were rather fun.

There's a rather devout one at smmp.com,

one with animals at fridayanimal.com,

one with curious Finnish rabbit animations at www.kolumbus.fi/juva.kersti/index.htm (requires enabling of pop-ups)

one for cat-lovers in Oxford by Penelope Schenk,

and two at Woodlands Junior School, Kent
a very informative one and one with games for younger people

We can recommend this last site as a remarkable mine of information on many English festivals and customs besides Christmas.

and finally, it's not exactly an advent calendar, but you can view the story of Jesus through the medium of Lego here.

Here is the distilled wisdom of the staff at Daily Info on the subject of locally-available warming winter beverages. If anyone has any suggestions for further exploration in this area, do let us know.

Winter Pimms

Available from most off-licences, this is a rather gorgeous winter version of Oxford's favourite drink. 1 part Pimm's Winter to 3 parts clear apple juice (although we had rather good results with cloudy Copella), warmed gently.
You can taste the resemblance to its summer persona if you put your mind to it, but essentially it's like liquid spicy baked apple with a moderate kick. Quick to make, ideal for lots of people, £12.99 for 70cl from Bottoms Up. 8/10

Norfolk Punch

A non-alcoholic alternative to your usual seasonal mulled beverage, this bottle is based on a traditional recipe made by Benedictine monks and contains all sorts of wild and wonderful herbs and spices. The office tee-totaller gave this 9/10 for its sheer proximity to mulled booze, and others felt similarly until asked to consider its resemblance to warm cola. Available from Holland and Barrett (£3.19), Uhuru (Cowley Rd), etc. 6/10

If you are lucky enough to live in an area and a household which allows you to have fires, you will be able to luxuriate in blazes as Dickensian as your ecological conscience will allow.

You can buy log offcuts from Eynsham Park Sawmills, Cuckoo Lane, North Leigh (off the A40 to Witney). Their wood is £12.50 a 'box' (bootload) - it is softwood, so it doesn't last as long as hardwood, which is available from Blenheim Sawmills, Combe, tel. 01993 881206. A hardwood bootload from Blenheim Sawmills costs £25, and might be better in proper woodburning stoves. 

Chestnuts are easy. With a small, sharp knife, cut across the round side of each chestnut, getting through the shell but trying not to go too far into the nut (if you don't do this and then microwave them, they explode, which can be fun too). Then roast them on a baking dish at 180 - 200°C for about half an hour. They are ready when the cut in the side splits open and leaves a gap at the side of the nut.

Organise yourself in 2007! In fact, as our superb A2 Year Planner runs from Oct 2006 - Dec 2007, you can organise yourself right now!

Cartoon:

Recycle your trees:

The City Council will once again be collecting and composting used Christmas trees. We have been asked to emphasise that this will only work with real trees that have lived and breathed: don't bring plastic ones! You can drop off your tree between 3rd - 15th January to any of the following sites:

Alexandra Court, Alexandra Road, North Oxford . Northway Road, Barton . Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre Car Park . Blackbird Leys Park . Bury Knowle Park, Headington . Manzil Gardens, Cowley Road . Cutteslowe Park . Florence Park . Hinksey Park . Long Lane, Littlemore . Meadow Lane Recreation Ground, near Donnington Bridge . Westlands Drive, Northway Estate . Oatlands Recreation Ground, Oatlands Road . Quarry Recreation Ground, Headington . Green Road, Risinghurst . South Park, Morrell Avenue . Sunnymeade Recreation Ground . Atkins Road, Wood Farm.

Suggestions: