What to do · Oxford
New College: the Cloister and the Oak Tree of The Goblet of Fire
Information
- Duration
- 50 min
- Season
- All year · closed on specific dates, published on its website
- Who it's for
- All ages; cloister, dining hall and chapel accessible
A medieval Oxford college, a short step from Radcliffe Square, and a filming location for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The scene is in the cloister, beside the chapel: a square courtyard of medieval arches with a great holm oak in the middle, which the college itself presents as the tree that appears in the film. Today it looks the same: the tree, the grass and the stone galleries around it, with no signs or set-ups.
What else can you see?
The visit continues to the chapel, with its tall ante-chapel and Jacob Epstein's Lazarus, and the dining hall, which the college describes as the oldest and tallest in Oxford and Cambridge, with sixteenth-century wood panelling. At the end, the walled garden. You are given a printed guide on arrival, and there is a leaflet in Spanish and a free audio guide that you download with a QR code.
How do you get in?
With a ticket bought on the college's website, which sells the general self-guided visit and guided tours at £25 to £30. The visitor entrance is on New College Lane; the college's website explains how to walk there from Radcliffe Square. The college closes on specific days for events and exams: check its scheduled closures before you go. It does not admit dogs, except assistance dogs, or tripods, and it has no parking.
Tips
- Check the closures before buying They are published on its website and change with the academic year.
- Download the leaflet in Spanish It is on its self-guided visits page, along with the audio guide.
- Do not walk on the cloister grass The college asks visitors not to walk on the lawn: take the photo with the oak from the gallery.
Frequently asked questions
Can you climb the oak as in the film?
No. You see it from the cloister galleries; the college asks you not to walk on the grass.
Do you need to book?
Yes, the ticket is bought online on the college's website.
Is it accessible?
The cloister, the dining hall (with a lift), the chapel and the gardens are, although the ground is uneven in places.
As a familyWith teenagers
