The view over the spires
From the roof the Radcliffe Camera and the college towers surround you with nothing in the way, thanks to the height rule the tower itself sets.
ozeye — CC BY 3.0 · GermanOle — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0
Oxford runs on an odd rule: nothing new in the city centre may rise higher than this stubby stone tower, about 23 metres tall. That is why the skyline still looks the way it did centuries ago, and the tower itself is the platform you view it from. Carfax Tower is all that survives of St Martin's, the city's official church from 1122, which was knocked down in 1896 to widen the road for traffic. The tower was spared and left standing alone at the crossroads that Oxford people have always treated as the exact middle of town. Before you go in, look up at the east face. Above the clock stand two small figures, the 'quarter boys', who strike the bells every quarter hour. It is a short show and most of the shoppers heading down Cornmarket never notice it, but it is one of the details that make this more than a stump of masonry. The climb is 99 stone steps up a spiral so narrow that two people cannot pass, and there is no lift. The operator says the climb is not suitable for children under five, and children aged five to fifteen must be accompanied by an adult throughout; a pushchair cannot go up the stair anyway, so this is not a stop for families with toddlers. Older children usually love it. The reward is a small railed roof with a view across the dome of the Radcliffe Camera, the towers of Christ Church and the High Street bending away towards the river. The platform is tiny, and in the summer holidays you may wait a few minutes for it to clear. Adult entry is £4 and children £3, paid at the door or online, with no need to book ahead. It opens daily at 10:00 and closes at 18:00 in June, July and August, at 17:00 in April, May and September, at 16:00 in March and October, and at 15:00 from November to February, with last admission fifteen minutes before closing. Allow twenty to forty minutes. If you only climb one tower in Oxford, the University Church of St Mary on the High Street is taller and looks straight down on the Radcliffe Camera; Carfax is cheaper, quicker, an easier climb, and sits where you will be walking past anyway.
From the roof the Radcliffe Camera and the college towers surround you with nothing in the way, thanks to the height rule the tower itself sets.
Two small figures above the east-face clock strike the bells every quarter hour, a show most passers-by miss.
The tower is all that remains of St Martin's, Oxford's official city church from 1122, which was demolished in 1896 to widen the road.
Carfax Tower, Queen Street, Oxford OX1 1ET
Christ ChurchThe dining hall your children know from the Harry Potter films is not here; it w3 minutes walk4.4
Oxford Castle & PrisonUntil 1996 this was a working prison in the middle of Oxford, a few minutes' wal4 minutes walk4.3
Bodleian LibraryNobody has been allowed to borrow a book from this library since it opened in 164 minutes walk4.5
University Church of St Mary the VirginThe best photograph in Oxford is not taken from any street. It is taken from a n4 minutes walk4.8
Radcliffe CameraOxford's most famous building is one you cannot walk into. The Radcliffe Camera,4 minutes walk4.6If you have time for one, choose St Mary's: it is taller and its view straight down onto the Radcliffe Camera is the Oxford picture you know. Carfax is cheaper and a shorter climb, handy with children over five or when you are in a hurry, but there is no need to do both.
The climb is not suitable for children under five, and a pushchair cannot go up the narrow spiral anyway. Children from about seven upwards usually enjoy it, and the operator requires an adult to stay with anyone under sixteen on the stairs and on the roof.