The essential features of May Morning are:

the Singing, the Closing of Magdalen Bridge and Rerouting of Traffic, the Morris Dancing, the May Eve gigs and the May Morning Breakfast.

Singing

Singing from Magdalen Tower by the college choir will be at 6.00am for 7 minutes, as ever. Find out about what they sing, and why, here. After the singing Magdalen's 10 bells are rung, and they've just been retuned and rehung so they should sound especially lovely this year.

Closing of Magdalen Bridge and Rerouting of Traffic

This year, it looks like Magdalen Bridge will again be open to people and closed to traffic! Last year saw an experiment to open the bridge to pedestrians, and it was successful enough to do the same again this year, as people seem finally to have got the message that the river is only 2ft deep at the best of times (let alone this year when there is a drought). If it looks like everyone is drunk and threatening to jump off the bridge it'll be summarily closed to pedestrians after all, say the council! It's worth getting there for nearer 5am if you can, as the "Controlled Zone" in earshot of the choristers may well fill up.

So drivers, expect the bridge to be closed between 3.30 and 9am, and probably also Longwall, Merton St and the High St for most of that time too. If all the crowds have cleared by 8.30am the bridge may be open again a bit earlier than scheduled. Check local radio for last minute details.

Buses which usually go over the bridge will be diverted. You can see info on all the changes Oxford Bus Company are making here. In summary, the Queen's Lane bus stops will not be in use at all, and getting between East Oxford and town most services will be routed via Iffley Road - Donnington Bridge - Abingdon Road.

If the bridge does suddenly close you can get in and out of East Oxford via
a) following the buses round Donnington Bridge way
b) the river - head over Donnington Bridge from east Oxford, then walk/cycle up the towpath to Folly Bridge and back up into the city centre
c) via the Marston Road/Marston Ferry Road/Banbury Road to the city centre - probably the longest route in

If you oversleep, how about trying the Marston Road / King's Mill Lane / Mesopotamia / Parson's Pleasure / St Cross Road or South Parks Road route, on foot/bike? It's very scenic and you might see some bits of Oxford you've never seen before! But beware: the gate at the foot of King's Mill Lane doesn't open until 7.45am. Have a look here on Google Earth for full info (and find more scenic Oxford walks on our Riverside Walks page).

If you're still thinking of jumping off the bridge, please don't. Here's a YouTube video with an Oxford paramedic explaining why it's such a terrible idea. Here are our very good reasons not to:

• The water's very shallow (see above)
• It's full of broken bikes, bottles, shopping trolleys, bits of punts / paddles / punt poles
• It might be full of rats with Weil's disease
• Some of the injuries people have to live with last a lifetime, including broken backs and necks. Of course some don't - some people have actually died doing this, through drowning.
• It's taken a long time to get the bridge open again so you can actually hear the singing and don't end up stranded in the wrong part of town.
• It isn't even a proper tradition, having been started some time in the 80's. Like most things (shoulder pads, Jason Donovan...) from that era it's just not cool.

Morris Dancing

May Morning is to Morris what Christmas is to Christianity. Expect to encounter a lot of bells, hankies, costumes and early morning stick-thwacking.

This year's Morris Dancing will begin with a procession from Magdalen bridge after the choir has sung (around 6am) towards Radcliffe Square for dancing and continue for the next few hours. Various sides move so there should be some people stationed about 6.30-7am to the end of New College Lane and about 6.45 - 8am outside the White Horse in Broad Street. At about 8am there will be a further move to a spot outside St John's on St Giles, where dancing continues until about 8.45am. There will then be a break for breakfast. The hardy will head to North Parade for 12noon, where there may also be sword dancing and we're informed the dancing continues until the Morris Men fall over. Let's hope this happens through exuberance not because of rain-drenched pavements.

There is dancing in other locations around the city too, including the Headington Quarry Morris Men and their guests Eynsham Morris and new ladies' side Summertown Morris at Aristotle Lane 6-7am. There's usually something going on in Port Meadow from 6am - with a May bull involved, and dancing in Botley should commence about 11am. In fact there will be dancing across the whole of the county if you know where to look! (5.30am at The Rollright Stones, 10.15am Boughton-on-the-Water, by pedestrian bridge near The Mad Hatter's Cafe, 11.30am Longborough - outside The Coach & Horses, 1pm The Fox at Broadwell, 3pm Stow-on-the-Wold - in corner of car park outside The Old Stocks Hotel, 4pm The Fox at Leafield.)

Sides involved this year include: Oxford City MM, Oxford University MM, Manchester MM, Charlbury MM, Crendon MM Masons Apron, Cry Havoc, Icknield Way, Abingdon Traditional MM, and the Adderbury MM. Thanks very much to our Morris Spy Graham of the Oxford City side for his info. If you know of any dancing near you, let us know and we'll add it to the Morris Dancing page.

Morris dancing on May Morning by Jessica Rose