Live courses & workshops
If you're coming from further afield and want to make a weekend trip of it, Oxford's a joy to visit: all the books, history, greenery, and water a writerly heart could desire.
My guide to a weekend in Oxford, with my favourite suggestions for the perfect Oxford weekend. Includes tips on where to stay, places to eat, go for a drink, visit books, museumy joy, and where to punt. Curated, of course, around your writing workshop on Saturday! Read my guide to a weekend in Oxford here.
Punting's a must for an Oxford visit. Happily, this article on writing habits will also teach you how to punt. (Full disclosure: I punt Cambridge-style, standing on the flat platform, instead of on the sloping bit. I recommend you do the same. Just tell the boat-hire people, "Sorry, I punt Cambridge-style," with a suitably shame-faced wince.) Read how to punt (and develop good writing habits) here.
For the most Oxfordian experience possible, you can book a room in one of the gorgeous colleges through University Bookings. The students are on holiday in the summer, so the colleges are open to guests. Many of them offer a Full English Breakfast as well, often in the Dining Hall. The prices range according to the college's whims and availability, starting around £70 for a Friday night. (Last checked June 2026.)
Leonardo Royal Hotel Oxford (previously Jury's Inn) is 5 mins walk away from the house. Holiday Inn Oxford and Travelodge Oxford are both nearby (1 mile), by the Peartree Park 'n Ride. Leonardo starts around £180 a night, Holiday Inn around £180, and Travelodge around £110.
Central Backpackers Oxford has beds in shared dorms (8 people, single-sex dorms available) from around £36 a night. It's just about opposite the main Oxford train station.
The other two hostels in Oxford, Oxford Backpackers on Hythe Bridge Street and the YHA behind the train station no longer seem to be running. Both websites have taken their Oxford branches off their websites and are no longer answering their Oxford-based phone numbers.
There are heaps of B&Bs and small hotels. Daily Info (our local Classifieds site) has a comprehensive list of them and Trip Advisor will give you a map view of where they are. AirBnB is also a good option, especially as we're a university town so students may be subletting their rooms.
Where to book: The workshops are in Upper Wolvercote, in the north of Oxford just inside the ring road. The most convenient areas to stay for getting to the workshops are: Wolvercote; Summertown; Woodstock Road area (A4144 on maps); Banbury Road area; North Oxford; Walton Manor; Jericho; Central Oxford. Those are the yellow-shaded areas on the map below.
Want more info before you sign up? Click here.
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