British Quest

An exciting new addition to all things Alice in Wonderland in Oxford is Alice in Puzzleland, a new escape room created by Escape Hunt Oxford. Alice in Wonderland fans will love this immersive experience. It’s up to your team to save the Mad Hatter who has been accused of stealing tarts from the Queen of Hearts. You’ll have 60 minutes to solve the puzzle left at the Mad Hatter’s cottage, save the Hatter, and avoid getting your heads chopped off by the evil Queen of Hearts! There are 8 slots to choose from each day and there are two rooms in which you can participate in the puzzle so bring a group of friends and add a dose of healthy competition.

Alice aficionados in London got excited back in 2012 when Alice Through The Looking Glass opened in Cecil Court, a mere rabbit’s hop from Leicester Square. It sells chessboards, t-shirts and rare and unusual Alice iconography, dating from the 1860s through to the 1960s, alongside first editions and early copies of the Alice stories, and is worth a visit to say hello to Harley, a live British giant white rabbit, who can be found patrolling the premises on certain days. The co-founder, Jake Fior, has written a book reimagining Alice Through The Looking Glass, referencing real ceremonial magic, early feminism and actual events in Victorian London at the turn of the century.

Just outside the Meadows entrance to Christ Church, you’ll find Alice’s shop, the original Alice in Wonderland Shop in Oxford. The building dates back to the 15th century and was once a Victorian sweet shop. It is actually where Alice Liddell bought sweets as a child and features in Through the Looking Glass! As the name suggests, here you can buy all manner of things related to Alice in wonderland.

Christ Church is the most famous Oxford college because of its grandeur and the numerous Harry Potter Oxford locations here. It’s also where Lewis Carroll first met Alice Liddell and there are lots of Alice in Wonderland locations for those with a keen eye.

And then of course, there’s the staircase that looks like the Cheshire Cat.

The story began on a boating trip so we’ll begin our Alice in Wonderland tour of Oxford with Folly Bridge on the River Thames. This is where Lewis Carroll and the Liddell sisters set out on their outing where Alice in Wonderland was first thought up.

Most visitors (indeed, most residents!) have never heard of the Museum in Oxford. This micro-museum can be found in the Town Hall on St Aldate’s and its exhibits tell the story of Oxford and the people who have lived here over the centuries. The museum displays several personal items belonging to Alice Liddell and Charles Dodgson. Here you’ll find Alice’s calling-card case, scissors and seal. There’s also Dodgson’s pocket watch, which no longer works and stopped at 1:17. It’s very, very small museum but if you’ve got a moment then make a short pit stop after your visit to Christ Church as it’s just 2 minutes away!

In the dining hall at Christ Church, there is a tiny tribute to Alice in Wonderland in the stained glass. In the bottom left of one of the stained glass panels is a small Alice in Wonderland with long blonde hair in her iconic blue dress. In the centre of the panel is a girl’s face and this is Alice Liddell. It’s about halfway down the hall, above the fireplace. There are 8 panels of stained glass and Alice is in the bottom left corner of the top left panel. There’s always a custodian at the door so I suggest you ask them where you can find Alice if you can’t see her. The hall is very large and you could be looking for a long time otherwise! Halfway down the dining hall you will find a fireplace on either side of the hall. Flanking the fire are two brass firedogs, which were the inspiration for Alice’s long neck in Chapter 5, Advice from a Caterpillar. The Caterpillar tells Alice that one side will make her taller and the other will make her shorter. As she grows taller, she finds that she has an enormously elongated neck and can barely see her own hands! You can see the resemblance between their long necks and the illustrations of Alice with a long neck.

[TEMPORARILY CLOSED] The Walrus and The Carpenter pub in the City is named after Carroll’s poem, published in Through The Looking Glass: upstairs is the Lewis Carroll Dining Room.