Getting Around Oxford
Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire and the home of the University of Oxford, whose colleges, libraries and museums fill much of the city centre.
The city has two main stations. Oxford station, just west of the colleges, links the city by rail with London Paddington and Birmingham, and Oxford Parkway, on the northern edge, has Chiltern Railways services to London Marylebone. Add the train and its arrival time to the booking, and the car is scheduled for that arrival.
Part of the centre is a Zero Emission Zone. For a college lodge or a hotel in the old centre, send the full address with the booking and we will tell you how close the car can go.
A day of meetings at the university and a hospital site, with dinner at a college, can be booked by the hour: one chauffeur and one vehicle stay with you for the time you reserve.
Airport Transfers in Oxford
Oxford has no large airport of its own, and four are within a two-hour drive. Heathrow, the main long-haul choice, is 50 miles south-east, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes; it handled 84.5 million passengers in 2025 across Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5. Heathrow does not allow pick-ups on the terminal forecourts; collections take place from the terminal car parks.
Southampton Airport is 65 miles, 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 55 minutes. Birmingham Airport is 67 miles, 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 55 minutes, and Luton Airport 68 miles, 1 hour 35 minutes to 2 hours 5 minutes. The right one depends on your airline and route.
Book with your flight number. For a guest flying in, your chauffeur checks the flight status and times the pick-up to when you actually land, and your booking confirmation shows where to meet the chauffeur. For a departure from Oxford, what counts is the length of the drive, not the time on the clock: the M40 and the M25 both lie between the city and Heathrow. Journey times vary with traffic and weather. You set the pick-up time yourself, and the confirmation shows it.
Long-Distance & Day-Trip Travel from Oxford
Blenheim Palace at Woodstock, where Churchill was born and now on UNESCO's World Heritage list, is 11 miles north, 30–40 minutes. Bicester, with its designer outlet village, is 15 miles, 35–50 minutes.
The Cotswolds start west of the city; Bourton-on-the-Water is 29 miles, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes. Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's town, is 53 miles, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes.
Cambridge, the other ancient English university city, is 102 miles east, 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 55 minutes. For academic visitors moving between the two universities, a one-way transfer carries you and your luggage to the next college; for a there-and-back day, reserve the chauffeur by the hour.
Groups & Event Travel in Oxford
If you are bringing a delegation, a summer school or a panel of speakers to an Oxford college, plan their travel as one programme. For a delegation of fourteen arriving at Heathrow for a week of seminars, a Sprinter van carries up to 12 people with their bags, and bigger groups go by coach, with up to 56 seats; the vehicle is matched to the load, including books and equipment cases.
When you book for other people, all their transfers can be kept in one account, each with its own booking and confirmation. If speakers come in on several flights, every arrival gets a transfer of its own.
If you are moving a student into college, book the date as soon as it is known. Local vehicles and drivers are booked up early for the first and last weekends of term. If your plans go beyond a standard booking, write to support with the dates, addresses, number of passengers, flights and luggage, and the team will arrange it.
