Our Location

Oxford

Oxford is a vibrant city with a rich cultural history. The architectural masterpieces and beautiful riverside setting are there to be enjoyed by all - but these are only a part of what the city has to offer. With a population of just over 140,000, the city is big enough to offer a wide range of shops, theatres, parks, pubs and cinemas, but small enough to make everything easily accessible.

Oxford is a great place to live and work. Local business is booming and Oxfordshire is now recognised as being one of Europe's leading centres of enterprise, innovation and scientific knowledge. This means that opportunities for work are good, particularly for biotechnology and for high-tech enterprise. The Oxford region is also home to a cluster of Formula 1 teams, including BAR Honda, Williams, Jordan and Renault F1.

Oxford is big enough to offer a wealth of music, festivals, art and theatre, but small enough to make everything easily accessible.

There are 6 theatres, with current productions ranging from Jane Eyre to Trainspotting, Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain to Big Time American Wrestling, and Rentaghost to King Lear. Cinema buffs have plenty to choose from, with 2 mainstream and 1 independent art-house venues. There are plenty of live music venues whether your taste is classical, jazz or live DJ sets.

Information about cultural events can be found at www.oxford-artsculture.net

Oxford and its surrounding area is well served by sporting facilities, including:

• the Kassam Stadium: home of the Oxford United football team
• Oxford Stadium: hosts the Oxford Speedway and regular greyhound racing
• Oxford ice rink: hosts many ice hockey league matches
• Silverstone Circuit: home of British motorsport (30 miles outside Oxford)
• Cheltenham Race Course: home of National Hunt Racing and host to the annual Cheltenham Gold Cup race (45 miles outside Oxford)
• Twickenham Stadium: home of the England rugby squad (50 miles outside Oxford).

Excellent transport links mean that Oxford provides a great base for exploring other parts of the UK, and the rest of the world. A network of regular bus and train services to major cities, including London, Birmingham, Bath and Brighton, mean that there are lots of opportunities to see the sights. For example, frequent and cheaply priced express coaches run between Oxford and London 24 hours a day (one every ten minutes at peak times).

For those who'd prefer to stay closer to home, right on Oxford's doorstep you'll find miles of stunning countryside in the Chiltern Hills and the Cotswolds. Throughout the region there is also a labyrinth of canals to explore, both by foot along the many canal paths, or by hiring a canal boat.

Other popular attractions in the area include:

London's West End with its lavish and colourful musicals historic buildings, such as Blenheim Palace and Windsor Castle, an official residence of Her Majesty the Queen museums and galleries, such as Shakespeare's Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Ashmolean museum in Oxford and the Tate Gallery in London shopping centres, such as London's Oxford Street and Covent Garden and Oxford's 200-year-old covered market.

How to get to Oxford

Oxford is well served by road and rail networks that give fast and direct access locally, nationally and from Europe. Oxford is connected to London, the M25 and the Midlands by the M40 motorway. Junctions 8 and 9 link directly to the city. The Oxford ring road provides direct access to the south and west coast ports of Southampton, Portsmouth and Bristol via the A34. Direct trains from London Paddington connect Oxford by train with also direct links to Birmingham and the north.

Information on distances and routes to and from Oxford is available from maporama.

Just an hour from central London, Oxford is easy to reach from all major airports: Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and Stansted. To the north, it is just over an hour from Birmingham International Airport. From all these airports there are fast and frequent road and rail networks leading to the heart of Oxford. Both the Oxford Bus Company and Oxford Tube operate fast and frequent services linking London and Oxford, with the Oxford Bus Company Airline service linking Heathrow and Gatwick airports direct to the city.