Things to Do in Jericho, Oxford

Explore Jericho - Bookish canal-side neighbourhood where professors share pints with students and piano scales drift from upstairs windows

Explore Activities

Discover Jericho

Jericho lies just northwest of Oxford's medieval core, pressed against the canal where narrowboats knock gently against brick walls and coal smoke drifts from their chimneys. Victorian terraces lean together like old friends, their pastel facades—faded rose, sage green, butter yellow—catching the late afternoon light that skips off the water. This is where Oxford's students and dons escape when the city centre feels too crowded, where browsers linger in Blackwell's art section and cyclists in tweed jackets carry fresh loaves from the bakery on Walton Street. The neighbourhood keeps its own rhythm: mornings start with the hiss of espresso machines and the soft thud of newspapers hitting doorsteps, while evenings bring the murmur of conversations spilling from pubs onto pavements. You'll catch the smell of hops from the Eagle and Child mixing with curry from the Bangladeshi restaurant next door, and hear the bell of St. Barnabas church marking time across the water. It's Oxford's scholarly side made livable, where intellectuals walk dogs along the towpath and the college chaplain might serve you coffee at the Italian place on Great Clarendon.

Why Visit Jericho?

🏙️

Atmosphere

Bookish canal-side neighbourhood where professors share pints with students and piano scales drift from upstairs windows

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Price Level

🛡️

Safety

excellent

Perfect For

Jericho is ideal for these types of travelers

Graduate students

Literature lovers

Long-stay visitors

Canal enthusiasts

Top Attractions in Jericho

Don't miss these Jericho highlights

St. Barnabas Church

Brick-and-flint Victorian church whose bells echo across the water, with stained glass throwing jewel colours onto worn pews. The churchyard smells of damp earth and old roses.

Tip: Climb the tower on Saturday mornings for views over the dreaming spires—arrive by 10am, it's first-come-first-served and only 10 people allowed at once

Oxford Canal Towpath

Narrow path where ducks splash between moored narrowboats painted burgundy and navy. The air carries diesel and canal reeds, with cyclists ringing bells as they pass.

Tip: Start at the Jericho boatyard and walk north—stop at the first bridge for photos where the canal bends past red-brick warehouses

Phoenix Picturehouse

Independent cinema with threadbare velvet seats and the smell of real popcorn butter. Art-house films flicker across three tiny screens tucked inside a converted pub.

Tip: Tuesday evenings are half-price, and they pour wine into proper glasses you can take into the screening

Albert Street

Residential street where pastel houses lean over cobblestones and classical piano drifts from open windows. Spring brings purple wisteria tumbling over doorways.

Tip: Between numbers 14-28, look for the blue plaque marking where J.R.R. Tolkien wrote parts of The Hobbit—it's easy to miss on the right side

Book Jericho Tours →

Where to Eat in Jericho

Taste the best of Jericho's culinary scene

Gee's Restaurant

Modern British

Specialty: Wood-fired lamb with rosemary and honey-glazed carrots around £22, served in a Victorian glasshouse with climbing vines overhead

The Rickety Press

Gastropub

Specialty: Oxford sausage and mash with onion gravy for £14, plus local Hook Norton ale poured from handpulls

Jericho Coffee Traders

Coffee shop

Specialty: Flat whites made with Colombian beans, served alongside cardamom buns that taste of burnt sugar and spice

Branca

Italian

Specialty: Handmade pappardelle with wild boar ragu at £16, accompanied by the owner's grandfather's Chianti poured from unmarked bottles

Jericho After Dark

Experience the nightlife scene

The Eagle and Child

C.S. Lewis and Tolkien's old haunt, where undergraduates still debate metaphysics over warm pints

Literary crowd, low lighting

The Victoria

Corner pub with mismatched furniture and a beer garden that smells of hops and cigarette smoke

Locals and students, quiz nights

The Old Bookbinders

Ale house tucked down a side street where French wine flows and jazz musicians jam on Thursdays

Wine drinkers, live music

Getting Around Jericho

Everything in Jericho is walkable within 10 minutes, though cobblestones punish high heels. Buses 6 and 6A run to the city centre every 10 minutes from Walton Street (£2.20 single). Cyclists dominate—bike lanes run along the canal and you can hire from Bainton Bikes on Great Clarendon. Taxis from the train station cost about £8 and take 7 minutes through residential streets.

Where to Stay in Jericho

Recommended accommodations in the area

The Old Bookbinders Ale House

Boutique

£120-180

Above a historic pub, four rooms

Central Backpackers Oxford

Budget

£25-35

Dorm beds, canal proximity

Vanbrugh House Hotel

Mid-range

£95-150

Georgian townhouse, Jericho edge

The Oxford Townhouse