The Sun shone and the crowds came as all enjoyed another special weekend at this year’s Oxford Open Doors

There was a warm welcome awaiting the many people who came and joined in over the weekend, as an amazing 25,000 visitors braved the unseasonal heat, heading for the splendid gardens at Worcester College, the riverside grounds at Magdalen and the ancient cloisters of All Souls complete with the Vox Chamber Choir and brass band to lift the spirits. 

Music rang out across the city with everything from a medieval band at the Castle to the Pavlova Quintet’s family-friendly concert in the Sheldonian and the International Song Festival in Holywell Music Rooms, just the right sound to come from the oldest custom-built concert hall in Europe. The Bodleian was centre stage with their twenty-six A-Z events and OPT played our part in opening hidden heritage with the Painted Rooms and the award-winning LMS Railway Swing Bridge featuring across the weekend.

There was plenty for families at the Fire Station, with the Police and the Oxford Bus Museum vintage buses also taking part, and at the University’s Old Road Campus, there was lots to find out about and to join in with the science.  Children’s trails at Castle which also opened free on the Sunday were eagerly completed in turn for balloons and prizes to enjoy. And this year also attracted the cooler young crowd too, upcycling their t-shirts with iconic Oxford stencils and a Graffiti trail alongside.