Philip Pullman’s Oxford Tour

Discover the Secrets of Philip Pullman’s Books

Rediscover the world of His Dark Materials and explore the setting of the new The Book of Dust series with a walk around Philip Pullman’s Oxford, led by a professional guide.

This 2-hour tour (on alternate Saturdays at 2pm), endorsed by the author himself, provides a fascinating insight into the stories and places that inspired his world-renowned books.

This tour will show you from the outside many of the key locations from Lyra’s Oxford and La Belle Sauvage, including the Bodley’s Library, The Covered Market, Jordan College and the Pitt Rivers Museum. It will provide a fascinating insight into the stories and places that inspired the world-renowned books.

Lyra’s stomping ground, and that of new character Malcolm, reaches beyond central Oxford. If you’d like to extend the experience, other places which could be visited before or after your tour could include:

• Botanic Gardens Bench: In The Amber Spyglass, Lyra and Will promise to sit on this bench at the back of the Botanic Gardens for an hour at noon on Midsummer’s Day every year so that they may feel each other’s presence next to one another in their own worlds. See the actual bench!
• Jericho: Where Gyptians board boats in Northern Lights. It is also where the main character lives in La Belle Sauvage and where some of the action takes place.
• The Trout Inn, Wolvercote: This real pub is where Malcolm lives with his parents, the landlords, in La Belle Sauvage.
• Port Meadow: In Northern Lights, this is the site of the Horse Fair where the disappearance of a young boy ‘from a gyptian family she knew’ helps to trigger Lyra’s adventures. It’s referenced in the other His Dark Materials books and in La Belle Sauvage.