Gosh the new @schwarzmancentre roof is beautiful! Apparently you could fit the entire Radcliffe Camera in here… #schwarzmancentre #oxforduniversity

My great-grandfather, Alfred Hildesheimer (later Hildesley) studied at @pembrokeoxford in the 1890s. Yesterday Amanda the college archivist very kindly took us on a tour and showed us the records of him that the college has - his rowing achievements, the rooms he stayed in, all his expenses and the fact that he’d switched from Classics to Law on the advice of his doctor who’d said that Greek was too dangerous for his eyesight! It was very special for us descendants to walk in his footsteps and connect a bit more with the man my Dad and Uncle remember well, and I’ve always known only as ‘The Judge’… Many thanks to Pembroke and Amanda for giving our family a very memorable experience.

This week I’ve absolutely loved giving tours to new postgrad students arriving to start their studies at @oxford_uni.🎓✨ On Monday I guided students starting the brand new Fundamentals of AI DPhil (do you know which college coat of arms can be read as binary code 0️⃣1️⃣? Shout out to @fieldtripsoxford for this *excellent* fact). And today I took my second lovely group of MPhil Development Studies students on a Rebels and Radicals tour.✊🏽 It’s been wonderful to get to know some of the new cohort of students - such an exciting buzzy moment in Oxford’s annual cycle! 🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓 I’m an award-winning Oxford Green Badge tour guide. Message me to book a tour - link to my website in bio. #oxford #oxfordshire #oxforduniversity #freshersweek #noughthweek #visitoxford #oxfordtour #discoveroxford #oxfordguide #oxfordtourguide #experienceoxford #britainsbestguides

Fulfilled a lifetime ambition yesterday and visited @pompeii_parco_archeologico. Vesuvius was looking ominous but thankfully stayed calm and we got to explore the ruins and see so many extraordinary frescoes. I particularly enjoyed the special exhibition about the lives of women in Pompeii, connecting with real experiences and faces across 2000 years. We were lucky enough to hire the wonderful @romano_raf_ as our guide via @toursbylocals - delightful to meet a fellow TBL guide (and actual archaeologist!) who’s so knowledgeable and passionate. It made all the difference to our experience. #pompeii #parcoarchaeologicopompei #toursbylocals

I had such a lovely #OxfordOpenDoors yesterday, but it was all underpinned by the deeply unsettling knowledge that the far right were marching through London. So it was timely to encounter the statue of Eleanor Roosevelt in @mansfieldoxford gardens and read the quote accompanying it: “Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.” Photos: Mansfield College - what a glorious library!! @mansfieldcollegelibrary 😍 Pembroke College - I loved having a proper explore of my Great Grandfather’s Alma Mater @pembrokeoxford Bartlemas Chapel - this tiny ancient chapel tucked away just off Cowley Rd is always a haven of tranquility Thank you @oxfordprestrust for another wondrous opportunity to explore Oxford! 🫶 📚⛪️ 📚⛪️📚⛪️📚⛪️📚⛪️📚⛪️📚 I’m an award-winning Oxford Green Badge tour guide. Message me to book a tour - link to my website in bio. #oxford #opendoors #mansfieldcollege #mansfieldlibrary #pembrokeoxford #bartlemaschapel #cowleyroad #oxfordshire #visitoxford #oxfordtour #discoveroxford #oxfordguide #oxfordtourguide #experienceoxford #britainsbestguides

It’s #OxfordOpenDoors today so I paid a visit to my absolute favourite set of stained glass windows - the Burne-Jones/Morris Creation windows in @hmcoxford. What I love is the progression. The first angel represents the first day of creation - God creates light and darkness 🌓. A second angel appears for day two: holding the sky and atmosphere in its globe ☁️. Day three - land, seas, and plants ⛰️🌊🌱 - is followed by the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day ☀️🌙✨and each day’s window gets more crowded, with the previous angels still hanging around in the background, so that by the time humans are created on day six 👫🏻 (after fish and birds have arrived the previous day 🐟🦅) one of the angels has to sit down in front, it’s got so busy! No wonder God needed a rest on day seven. 😴 🌓☁️⛰️🌊🌱☀️🌙✨🐟🦅👫🏻😴 I’m an award-winning Oxford Green Badge tour guide. Message me to book a tour - link to my website in bio. #oxford #stainedglass #williammorris #burnejones #preraphaelite #harrismanchestercollege #opendoors #creation #oxfordshire #visitoxford #oxfordtour #discoveroxford #oxfordguide #oxfordtourguide #experienceoxford #britainsbestguides