17km Oxford Run Route: St. Mary’s Passage, Queen’s College

This 17km run route starts and ends in the city. It starts at St. Mary’s Passage and follows the River Thames past Shotover Country Park to Queen’s College. The route takes you along mostly quiet roads and follows parts of National Cycle Route 57.

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Parts of St. Mary’s Passage may look a little familiar if you’ve watched Narnia. The street lamp, guided fauns, and engraved lion on the old City Arms Pub door are all said to have inspired movie scenes and characters from the book. The City Arms Pub has had a number of owners and lived a varied life; from a book and book printing shop to a pub for the majority of its existence until it closed in 1881. Today, it is used as college dorms by Brasenose College. Imagine living in this iconic building.

Start this route, turning right onto High Street from St. Mary’s Passage. Turn left onto St. Aldate’s, passing Christ Church and Christ Church Meadow on your left. Until you cross over Folly Bridge. Turn left onto the pathway that runs along the River Thames.

Folly Bridge is believed to have been a ford, or crossing, that allowed oxen to cross the Thames River, hence Oxford’s name. You may notice an unusual building with white statues set on the walls: “Caudwell’s Castle.” This bridge was the site of two significant occurrences. One day in 1851, in true mischievous student style, a couple of students wanted to push one of the canons placed in front of the castle into the water.

Naturally, Caudwell tried to stop this by shooting and seriously injuring two of the students but was later found not guilty. The second occurrence, and perhaps most significant, was a seemingly ordinary boat trip in 1862 with Henry Lidell, his three daughters, Lorina, Alice, and Edith and Charles Lutwidge Dodgson better known as Lewis Carroll…  Alice politely asked Carroll to tell her a story; one filled with nonsense, fantasy, and wonder… The rest is history.

Continue along this path for about 2.3km to reach Iffley Lock.

Rebuilt in 1924 and commemorated by a small stone block bridge and landing stage carrying a large bronze bull’s head and coat of arms, Iffley Lock is the starting point of a number of rowing races. You can also book a scenic river cruise here. You can also book to go punting, a tradition in the city which is enjoyed by all ages, especially students and tourists.

Cross over Iffley Lock, turn right, then left over the bridge, and right onto Mill Lane. Turn left onto Church Way and at the roundabout, continue straight onto Iffley Turn. Turn right onto Henley Avenue, then left, where the road splits onto Church Cowley Road.

The road becomes Between Towns Road and ends at Oxford Road. Turn right here then left onto Hollow Way.

After about 550 metres, you can cut across the playground onto Horspath Road. Alternatively, you can continue straight on Hollow Way and turn right onto Horspath Road. At the end of Horspath Road, turn left, then right to cross over the Eastern By-Pass Road along the pedestrian paths and crossings, National Cycle Route 57. Cross all the way over to continue onto Horspath Road.

Horspath Road becomes Oxford Road. After about 1.7km, turn right onto Cuddesdon Road, under a short bridge, then turn left onto Gidley Way. After about 750 metres, turn left onto Sandy Lane.

At the end of the road, turn right onto Blenheim Road, then left onto Old Road to pass Shotover Country Park. Continue straight along Old Road for roughly 3.8km. You will also cross over a bridge that runs over the main road.

Shotover is described as “a mosaic” of hidden valleys, a variety of landscapes, and numerous habitats. Owing to this, Shotover Country Park is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The park evolved from a hunting ground to a grazing farm to woodland, military training and testing, and thankfully today, a wonderful family park.

Continue onto Warneford Lane. This road is split. After the roundabout, follow the path to the right to continue onto Morrell Avenue. At the end of the road, turn left onto St. Clement’s Street. At the roundabout, continue straight onto Magdalen Bridge, which becomes High Street, to see Queen’s College on your right.

Queen’s College may not be much to look at on the outside but down within Queen’s Library is the old law library. All that’s left is rows of empty bookshelves and a lonely table in the middle of the open space. There is a tradition that is rumoured to take place here; final-year law students are said to stay here for days on end during exam season to study (one would assume). However, the space doesn’t seem very conducive to studying, so it’s up for debate whether or not this is true.

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Resources:

This route was curated with assistance from the Headington Road Runners.

If you enjoyed this route, see our 9km Meadow Run.

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Download the GPX file here.