Eccentric Oxford

This new edition of Ben le Vay’s irrepressible and irreverent guide to one of the greatest of English cities has been updated and expanded to include even more entertaining tales. There are more civilian/non-academic eccentrics, there is more local history, and there’s a particularly fascinating bit of military history about Oxford that even many locals have never heard of. 

Have a pint in the superb central Oxford pub garden where Bill Clinton didn’t inhale wacky backy and TV’s Inspector Morse downed his pints. Stroll through the college quads and cloisters where founders of several US states, American revolutionaries and US Supreme Court judges studied. But best of all, learn how to punt like an English gentleman in our humorous guide to this strange method of transport!

Dreaming spires, honeyed stone, cycling dons ... forget all that tourist twaddle, says Benedict le Vay. Find out the secrets the colleges don't want you to know, the inside track on the best pubs and eating places, the scandal and gossip about nutty professors and disgraceful students past and present, the brilliant stories about the great, the good and the bad. With 8 maps and a mix of colour and black and white illustrations and photographs, this is the essential guide to take you beyond the normal sights.

William Morris called Oxford 'a perfect jewel' of a city; Benedict le Vay goes in search of the quirkier gems among its medieval back alleys. Here roam batty dons, daft students, barmy aristocrats and political firebrands. Who does that gargoyle remind you of? Why is a shark plunging into that man's house? When do students jump naked into the River Cherwell as Latin hymns are sung? How do you control a punt without looking like an idiot?

• Where to eat a great fry-up in a unique setting

• Where to find a weird museum

• Calendar of annual eccentric events

Press acclaim for le Vay's previous Bradt Eccentric guides: 'Wonderfully barmy', 'The ultimate guide', 'A must', 'Endlessly fascinating', 'One of the best'