Amenities
Oxford is a compact city – you can walk into the City Centre from the FLoC venues in 10 minutes, and from there you should be able to find anything you need. See also the local buses and taxi information on our travel information page.
Pharmacy
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The nearest option to the central FLoC venues is the Woodstock Road Chemist, open 7 days a week,
details here.
Boots in Cornmarket Street is a 12-minute walk away and has absolutely everything (optician, dispensing pharmacy, toiletries, makeup, medicines and other personal care needs).
Shopping
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The
Westgate Centre shopping mall in Central Oxford was just opened in November and has a wide range of shopping and dining options (including a very nice cinema and several restaurants on the roof). There is plenty of shopping on the way there: Cornmarket and Queen’s Street are pedestrianised and have all of the usual shops (clothes, toiletries, gifts, etc.). Broad Street and High Street in particular have lots of tourist-friendly shops selling Oxford memorabilia – but don’t forget about the gorgeous
FLoC hoodies…
For a unique Oxford experience go to the Covered Market, and if you like books, do not miss the legendary original Blackwell’s bookshop (with its sister art and poster shop across the road). Boswells is a local institution that sells a little bit of everything (souvenirs, umbrellas, travel alarm clocks, toys…).
Medical care
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The
John Radcliffe Hospital has everything (maternity, pediatrics, eye hospital, emergency room, etc.) and is only 10 minutes away by taxi. For anything not urgent enough to require a trip to the emergency room, dial 111 from any UK landline or mobile and you will be put through to an NHS healthcare professional. Depending on your needs, they will help you book an emergency appointment, give you an over-the phone prescription, or advise you to go straight to the hospital. See also
Sexual Health Oxfordshire, which offers a range of emergency and out-of-hours services. Here is information on
using the NHS if you’re not resident in the UK.
Food
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We will provide lunches and coffee breaks at FLoC but the venues are very close to a number of cafes if you’d like to pop out (or catch breakfast on your way in): St Giles and Little Clarendon Street are full of options. For food shopping, the nearest branch is a small
Co-Operative grocery store on Walton Street. Walking into town down St Giles, you will see a (small)
Sainsbury’s next door to a (larger)
Tesco. Inside the Westgate Centre there is an even larger
Sainsbury’s. If you’d like something a little more upmarket, try
Marks and Spencer’s on Queen Street. Walk in, go straight to the back of the shop (past all the clothes) and there is a nice selection of food, including things that might make good souvenirs or gifts to bring home.
Tourism
See also our family-friendly page for suggestions for children (or curious adults!)
Museums
There are a number of fantastic free-of-charge museums in Oxford. Favourites of the organising team (all within an easy walk of each other, in central Oxford) include the Natural History Museum, Ashmolean, Pitt-Rivers and Museum of the History of Science. Oxford University Bodleian Libraries collections are showcased in a variety of exhibitions and events for all audiences.
For fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the Weston Library has an excellent exhibition of JRR Tolkien’s papers (artwork, manuscripts and personal documents). Entry is free but you need a ticket: Book here!
See also
Oxford Daily Info (local events and nightlife)
Oxford City Guide
Experience Oxfordshire (tourism in the Oxford area)
We hope to arrange for walking tours to make pickups from FLoC venues, at the end of our sessions on some days (details TBC). You can also independently walk into many Oxford colleges for an impromptu tour, for a nominal fee – see for example New College, Keble, Christ Church, Merton and Balliol. Don’t miss the opportunity to have dinner in hall, as part of FLoC!
See our social events page for information on FloC-linked events (dinners, etc.).
