C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien Tour

On this 2 hour tour, we will explore the lives of two of Oxford’s literary greats, C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings).

Both men lived in Oxford for most of their adult lives. They were the greatest of friends, avid supporters, and sometimes critics, of each other’s work.

This tour will explore Lewis’s and Tolkien’s Oxford, a place from which much of their inspiration came. We will see the colleges where they studied, the libraries where they spent many hours, the places where they lectured, as well as the colleges where they wrote their most famous books.

We will of course, get to see the many pubs where their famous literary group, The Inklings, regularly met.

We will discover how Lewis played a vital role in Tolkien’s success as a writer and what influence Tolkien had on Lewis’s religious beliefs.

We will learn about their wives, Edith Bratt, the love of Tolkien’s life, and Joy Davidman, the American poet who Lewis married quite late in life.

Along the way we will see many of Oxford’s highlights including the Radcliffe Camera, the Bridge of Sighs, the Bodleian Library and the Sheldonian Theatre to name a few.

To make the most of this tour an inside visit to one of the following colleges is recommended – Magdalen, Merton, Exeter, University College, or Balliol (subject to availability).