Oxford Stag Do

An Oxford stag do is like walking around a period drama with a pint in your hand. Golden stone colleges, cobbled lanes and pubs that were already old when your great-great-grandad was learning to walk. It’s a city that does classy very well, and with students and young professionals everywhere, it does a decent night out too.

That makes it ideal for a stag who’d rather have a pub with some history than a foam party. You can make the weekend as refined or as daft as you like, and almost all of it is walkable.

Start with the old pubs. The Turf Tavern is tucked down an alley off Holywell Street and has been pouring pints for centuries, and the Bear Inn, just behind the High Street, is often called the city’s oldest pub. Both are small, so go early and in waves rather than as one big gang.

For later on, Cowley Road has the rough-and-ready pubs, live music and late bars, Jericho is where to go for cocktails, and the clubs are mostly in the city centre, with Park End Street near the station the usual end point. A pub crawl works brilliantly here, as long as you pick one area and stick to it.

In the daytime, punting is the classic. Hire a punt on the Cherwell (Magdalen Bridge is the usual spot) and watch the stag try to steer. Somebody always ends up in the river, and it’s usually the one who said he’d done it before.

If punting is a bit gentle for your lot, the countryside around Oxford has the usual stag favourites. Clay pigeon shooting fits the country gent theme nicely, and go karting settles once and for all who’s the best driver in the group (it’s never the one who says it is).

For Saturday evening, I’d seriously consider the dogs. Greyhound racing is back at Oxford Stadium on Sandy Lane, and a night at the greyhounds gives you food, a few drinks and a flutter on every race. It’s a cracking way to start the night before heading into town. Check the race nights before you book.

Oxford is easy by train, with regular services from London and direct trains from the Midlands and further north. Driving in is a different story. The centre is hard work for cars, so if anyone insists on driving, use the Park and Ride and leave the car outside town. Once you’re in, everything’s on foot.

If the group can’t agree, Cambridge offers the same punts-and-pubs formula, and Reading is close by if the lads want something louder.

• Pick the right time of year. Late spring and summer are best for punting and beer gardens. In term time the bars are busy; outside it the city is calmer, and so are the clubs.
• Book punts ahead in summer. They go quickly on sunny weekends, and a queue of restless lads is nobody’s idea of an Oxford stag weekend.
• Bring ID. With a big student crowd, bars and clubs check, so everyone carries photo ID.
• Keep it respectful round the colleges. People live and work in them, so save the singing for the pub.

I’d base the group in the city centre. Almost all of Oxford is walkable, the Turf Tavern is down an alley off Holywell Street, the Bear Inn is just behind the High Street, and Magdalen Bridge is close for the punts. Stay central and you can do the old pubs, the river and the clubs without anyone needing a taxi.

If the lads care most about the end of the night, look near the station. Park End Street, with its clubs, is the usual end point, so the walk home is short and you’re right there for the train. Cowley Road suits a group that wants rough-and-ready pubs, live music and late bars on the doorstep, and Jericho is the shout if cocktails are more your thing.

Practical tip: don’t bring the cars. The centre is hard work for drivers, so come by train, or use the Park and Ride and leave the car outside town. And if it’s summer, book the punts ahead before you book anything else.

Friday Train in from London or the Midlands, drop the bags and go straight to the old pubs. Get to the Turf Tavern and the Bear Inn early, and go in waves rather than as one big gang, because both are small. Keep it respectful past the colleges on the way back. People live and work in them.

Saturday Morning on the Cherwell. Hire a punt at Magdalen Bridge and make the stag steer first. Somebody always ends up in the river. If punting is too gentle for your lot, book go karting or paintball in the countryside around Oxford instead. Start the evening at the greyhounds at Oxford Stadium on Sandy Lane for food, drinks and a flutter on every race, then head into town. Pick one area and stick to it: Cowley Road for live music and late bars, then finish on Park End Street once the clubs get going. Everyone carries photo ID, because bars and clubs check.

Sunday A slow one. If the stag fancies a gentle walk round the golden stone colleges, let him. If the group wants one last laugh before the train, a comedy package is a low-effort way to round it off. Otherwise find a beer garden, sit down and agree on a version of last night everyone can live with.