The information is divided up by distance:

181 KM / 2 HOURS 10 MINUTES

In 866 AD the Vikings captured York and over the next two centuries transformed the city, establishing JORVIK as capital of the North and laying the foundations for its medieval successes. At Jorvik Viking Centre Viking Age York is captured.

Open

* Closed on Christmas day

Duration of visit - One hour minimum

York Castle Museum is England’s most popular museum of everyday life. It is housed in two converted eighteenth century prison buildings, which are Grade 1 listed, and are now joined by a modern Concourse area.

* Closed 25-26 December and 1 January

Duration of visit - 1 - 1½ hours

Nowhere tells the story of the train better than the National Railway Museum. From Stephenson’s Rocket to Eurostar, rail travel is brought dramatically to life with interactive displays and lavish exhbitions.

Mon-Sun: 10.00am-6.00pm
Closed 24-26 December inclusive

Duration of visit - 2 hours

York Minster is notable for its size – the largest medieval cathedral north of the Alps – and for its wealth of stained glass, most of which is original to the building.

Duration of visit - 1/1½ hours

147 KM / 2 HOURS

Tourist Information Centre
The Old Library
Wheeler Street
Cambridge CB2 3QB
Tel: 01223 322640
E-mail: tours@cambridge.gov.uk
The following tours should be booked through the Guided Tours Service who are based at the Tourist Information Centre (details above)

The City with Colleges as available; city churches and "The Backs" may also be included. Can also be Themed (some guides have trained for or have a special interest in conducting tours on Ghosts, Architecture, Famous People, Gardens, The History of Science in Cambridge, Royalty.

Open - Office open 10.00-5.30pm. Guided tours available at any time – to be arranged with office

Duration of visit - 2 hours

Combined Walking and Chauffeur Punting on the river along "The Backs"

Open - Office open 10.00-5.30pm. Guided tours available at any time – to be arranged with office

Duration of visit - 2 hours

Budget City and College Tour for people on tight schedules or tight budgets. Colleges included as available, or King’s College Only tour, excluding entrance fee

Open - Office open 10.00-5.30pm. Guided tours available at any time – to be arranged with office

Duration of visit - 1 hour

Evening "Drama" Tours (May-September). You may meet Darwin, Queens Victoria and Elizabeth I, Lord Byron, Henry VIII or others. No colleges are included in this tour.

Open - Office open 10.00-5.30pm. Guided tours available at any time – to be arranged with office

Duration of visit - 1½ hours

Panoramic Coach Tour. Cambridge City and environs, could include American War Cemetery and Grantchester

Open - Office open 10.00-5.30pm. Guided tours available at any time – to be arranged with office

Duration of visit - 1½ hours

The University of Cambridge is made up of thirty-one colleges, the oldest of which is Peterhouse (founded in 1284). The colleges are private places where people live and work throughout the year. Visitors are usually welcome to walk through the courts, to visit the chapels and in some cases halls and libraries, but please remember that quietness is important.

Christ’s College - Founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort whose arms and statue grace the gate.

Clare College - The oldest surviving river bridge in Cambridge. Beautiful garden.

Corpus Christi College – Founded in 1352 by two town guilds. Old court is the best surviving early Medieval court in Cambridge.

Emmanuel College – The chapel by Sir Christopher Wren contains a plaque to John Harvard, a former student, who sailed on the Mayflower in 1636 and gave his name to Harvard University. Fine gardens.

Jesus College – Built on the site of a 12th century nunnery; spacious grounds and pretty 16th century Cloister Court.

King’s College – The Chapel is simply the grandest and most beautiful building in Cambridge.

Newnham College – Founded in 1871; the second college for women. Pretty red and white Edwardian buildings in large grounds.

Pembroke College – The chapel was Sir Christopher Wren’s first building. Delightful gardens.

Peterhouse College – Founded in 1284 by the Bishop of Ely, the first Cambridge college.

Queens’ College – An intimate college founded by Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth Woodville. The 16th century President’s Lodge is one of the few half-timbered college buildings.

St. John’s College – The Bridge of Sighs; the most beautiful of the college gatehouses; and the School of Pythagoras, the oldest house in Cambridge, Wordsworth had rooms here.

Trinity College – Great Court is the largest of its kind; the magnificent library is by Wren.

181 KM / 1 HOUR 55 MINUTES

Largest museum in the county, housing the University’s internationally renowned collections of European and oriental paintings/ glass, silver, ceramics, and aretefacts from Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Open - Tues-Sat – 1000-1700; Sun – 1400-1700 (Closed Monday and Christmas, Easter and St. Giles’ Fair

Duration of visit - 1 hour

A rich collection of historical woodwind, brass and percussion instruments; over a dozen historical keyboard instruments; a complete bow-maker’s workshop and a collection of bows.

Open - All year, Mon-Fri, 14.00-17.00; University Terms – Sat 10.00-12.00, pre-bookings available at other times

Duration of visit - 1 hour

Carfax Tower offers unforgettable views of the Oxford spires and the High Street. Cameras strongly recommended!

Open

All year, Summer 10.00-17.15 (last admission);
Winter 10.00-15.30

Duration of visit - 30 minutes-1 hour

Magnificent college dating from 1524. The visit includes the Cathedral, Chapter House with displays of diocesan and college plate, the Quad and the Great Hall with its portrait of Lewis Carroll.

Open - Mon-Sat 09.00-17.30; Sun. 11.30-17.30. Closed Xmas Day

Duration of visit - 1 hour

Oxford Past and Present – this is the main introductory tour, taking you round the ancient heart of the city. There are about twenty medieval to pre-Victorian colleges as well as the great gothic and Restoration buildings of the University and Bodleian Library. Your guide will describe their history and architecture and how the University operates today. The colleges that make up Oxford University are all private and self-governing. COLLEGES ARE CLOSED IN THE MORNING. A number of colleges will only admit visitors accompanied by an official guide. Colleges are open from 14.00-17.00.

A guided tour of Oxford will not include any of the colleges or buildings that charge an admission fee unless you specifically request them. At present these include Christ Church, New, Exeter, Magdalen, Trinity and Brasenose.

Allow plenty of time for your journey as the city and its approach roads are often heavily congested.

Open - Preferably afternoons when colleges are open

Duration of tour - 2 hours, but you may request a shorter tour

The seven colleges listed below are those which are open to the public most often:

Christ Church – open every day and therefore Oxford’s most visited college.

All Souls College – founded in 1438 by Henry VI and Henry Chichele. Its past fellows include T E Lawrence – Lawrence of Arabia.

Balliol College – founded in 1263 by John Balliol.

Exeter College – founded in 1314, making it one of the University’s oldest colleges.

Magdalen College – its extensive grounds include a deer park and river walk ideal for a stroll on a summer’s day.

New College – founded in 1379, this was the first Oxford College to be built around a defined quadrangle. Its beautiful gardens are dominated by a well-preserved section of Oxford’s medieval city wall.

Queen’s College – founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield, the ‘hall of the Queen’s scholars at Oxford’. Daniel Defoe once described this magnificent collection of 17th and 18th century buildings as "the most beautiful college in the university"