Carfax Tower
Standing at the dead centre of Oxford where four ancient streets collide, Carfax Tower is the last survivor of a 12th-century church and the one climb every first-timer owes themselves. Ninety-nine steps of spiralling iron staircase deliver you to a rooftop panorama that has been legally protected — no building in central Oxford is permitted to rise above its 23-metre silhouette.
A thousand years at the crossroads
Carfax Tower is all that remains of St Martin's Church, Oxford's official city church from 1122. Most of the building was demolished in 1896 to ease the traffic choking the junction of Queen Street, Cornmarket, St Aldate's and the High — leaving only this elegant tower as a medieval full-stop at the heart of the modern city.
Look up before you go in: the ornate clock on the exterior is a replica of the original church clock, and the two mechanical figures beneath it — the Quarter Boys — have been striking the quarter-hour on their bells for centuries. The originals are now kept in the Museum of Oxford, just down the road.
The view and the law
Climb the 99 steps to the top and you'll understand why Oxford is called the City of Dreaming Spires. The rooftop offers a 360-degree sweep of honey-coloured college towers, Gothic pinnacles and the great dome of the Radcliffe Camera, all roughly level with your eyes — because a local law forbids any building in this part of the city from exceeding the tower's height of 74 feet.
A halfway information room screens a short film about the tower and Oxford's history, so the ascent is as educational as it is breathless. Budget around 20 minutes for the whole visit, more if you linger at the top with a camera.
Making the most of it
Carfax Tower sits at the junction of Oxford's busiest shopping streets, making it the perfect anchor for a morning's exploration. From here you can walk south to Christ Church College, east along the High Street towards the Radcliffe Camera, or duck north into the Covered Market — all within five minutes on foot.
Go on a clear weekday morning for the sharpest light and the thinnest crowds. The tower closes earlier in winter (from 3 pm in January and February) so check seasonal hours before you go.
Carfax Tower on video
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