23rd December
Enjoy late night shopping evenings at Bicester Village and enjoy performances while you shop from The Creation Theatre until Christmas Eve! Or enjoy Jack & The Beanstalk at the Oxford Playhouse – but hurry, tickets are selling fast for this popular pantomime! The North Wall Arts Centre will be transformed into Victorian London for Creation Theatre’s A Christmas Carol – again, tickets are selling fast so hurry and get your tickets to avoid disappointment! Fairytale Farm will be open for you to enjoy their Illuminated Weekends and magical Christmas Fairytale event open until Christmas Eve. Waterperry Gardens will be open throughout the weekend (except on Christmas Day) and you can help Santa find all his lost reindeer until Christmas Eve!
24th December
Blenheim Palace in Woodstock will be keeping their doors open today and on Boxing Day for visitors to enjoy a festive time in its magnificent grounds and palace. There are still tickets available for their Christmas at Blenheim event for you to enjoy an after-dark festive trail of lights!
For all those last-minute Christmas shoppers, Westgate Oxford will be open on Christmas Eve from 11am – 5pm to make sure you have everything you need for Christmas!
25th December
The Oxford Food Bank will be hosting a festive Christmas Lunch at the King’s Centre in Oxford. This is entirely free for all and will be from 12.30pm – 4pm. Enjoy some delicious food, great music and fun and make some new friends! Transport can be arranged by the organisers if necessary.
26th December
The Oxford Visitor Information Centre on Broad Street will be open from 10am to 3.30pm today and will be starting an exciting competition! Pop inside and try to find 20 Oxford literary Characters for a chance to WIN a themed walking tour of your choice and a guide to the literary city of Oxford.
There will also be two Oxford Official Walking Tours available on this day at 10:45am and 2pm for you to explore Oxford and War Horse will be showing at the Oxford New Theatre at 7.30pm.
Blenheim Palace, Christ Church and Trinity colleges and the Ashmolean Museum will be open to the public to explore.
Travel
Buses/Coaches
Oxford Bus Company
Sunday 24 December: Services will operate to normal times with an early finish.
Monday 25 December: The airline LHR and LGW will operate to special timetables. No city, BROOKESbus, park&ride or X90 will operate on Christmas Day.
Tuesday 26 December: The park&ride300 service will run every 12 minutes for most of the day, with the first services into town leaving Redbridge and Pear Tree at 0800. The park&ride400 service will also run every 20 minutes during the day, with the first services into town leaving Thornhill and Seacourt at 0820.
All city services will operate to special timetables.
See the full Christmas Timetable here.
Stagecoach
Sunday 24 December: Normal service on all routes with last buses finishing earlier on some routes.
Monday 25 December: No service except on route 1 and the Oxford Tube.
Tuesday 26 December: Special service on a number of routes, including Oxford Tube.
Trains
Please check your train’s website before planning your journey.
Great Western Railway
Saturday 23 December: Some of the platforms at London Paddington will be unavailable, affecting a small number of trains to and from the capital. Buses replace trains between Reigate and Gatwick Airport.
Sunday 24 December: There will be no trains to or from London Paddington. Some trains will be diverted into London Marylebone, but these will be limited. Local trains in the Thames Valley will run as far as Slough, from where there will be various options to continue your journey towards London.
Monday 25 December: No services operating on this day.
Tuesday 26 December: No services operating on this day.
Find out more here.
Chiltern Railways
Sunday 24 December: An amended Sunday timetable will operate, with an earlier-than-usual finish.
Find out more here.
Monday 25 December: No services operating on this day.
Tuesday 26 December: A special service of two trains per hour in each direction will operate over the following route, between approximately 08.00 and 20.00: Marylebone – Gerrards Cross – Beaconsfield – High Wycombe – Princes Risborough – Haddenham & Thame Parkway – Bicester Village – Oxford Parkway. Please note that NO trains will call at Wembley Stadium on this date. No other Chiltern Railways services will operate.
Find out more here.