Want to be the person in the know when it comes to the free, the discounts and the deals? Read on for all you need to know in Oxford and beyond…
Fusion: Free swimming at Fusion pools for under 17s who live in OX1 – OX4
Pre-register for a free swim card and get swimming! Fusion pools (Barton, Leys, Ferry and Hinksey come April) are offering free swimming for under 17s and it’s so easy to register: simply bring proof of age and address into one of the Fusion pools and register, then book via the website into one of the family swim sessions.
The Story Museum: Pay What You Can Sundays
We love this from the Story Museum! On the last Sunday of the month visitors can pay what they can for entry to the Galleries, Small Worlds and City of Stories – with a minimum starting price of £1! The offer is valid for visitors who turn up on the day to buy their tickets. Demand is high and sessions are often sold out so do get there early!
National Lottery Open Week: 9th – 17th March
To say thank you for the £30 million raised for Good Causes every week by players, National Lottery funded venues are offering free entry, discounts and special offers throughout National Lottery Open Week. There’s free entry to hundreds of National Trust properties as well as local and further afield days out. More offers are being added to the website in the run up to March so keep checking back!
Open Farm Sunday: 9th June 2024
Open Farm Sunday is farming’s annual open day giving visitors the opportunity to learn more about farming and the countryside, and farmers the chance to talk about what they’re so proud of: British food and farming! There’s always as concentration of Open Farms in Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties so be prepared to be spoilt for choice! Check back in the run up to June for the full line-up of farms opening their gates.
Kids Week: Free theatre tickets for kids in August
We LOVE Kids Week! Never heard of it? Get it in your diary! Every year, during the summer holidays, a child aged 17 or under can go to any available participating show for free as long as they’re accompanied by an adult paying full price. Adults can also buy up to two extra children’s tickets at half price and there are no booking fees. It includes London shows, plays, comedies and children’s shows. We go multiple times every summer and it’s a great introduction to theatre – which is a pricey experience! They usually release the shows that are going to be involved, and the official launch date, mid June. But don’t worry if you miss out at the beginning as they stagger the ticket release throughout the holidays.
There are a few other ways you can access the big London shows at a discounted rate:
Matilda Lottery – Enter into the Matilda the Musical lottery to get £25 tickets to see Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre. The lottery is open for half term tickets at the mo so get in there! I’ve seen it and it’s wonderful! If you can’t make it to London, Oxford New Theatre are having a Sing-a-Long-a experience screening of the movie for one day only on the 31st March; it looks like such fun!
Frozen – They have recently announced that Frozen is ending it’s run at the Theatre Royal in September, with no tour announced, so if it’s on your bucket list then it’s time to get serious! On the Disney website they release Magical Mondays tickets at 12 noon for participating Disney shows the week ahead at discounted prices. You have to create an account beforehand so make sure you do that in advance and be ready with your card!
TodayTix – A good app (and website) for Rush tickets – discounted tickets for popular shows on the same day as the performance. The hardest bit is getting your hands on them as they are on a first-come, first-served basis but you can set up alerts so that you (and your strategically briefed crew) are ready to hit buy come 10am when they are released.
National Theatre – Lots of ways to save for National Theatre tickets. We are big fans of the Friday Rush. Every Friday at 1pm, the National Theatre releases £10 Friday Rush tickets for each of the following week’s performances at the National’s three theatres (Olivier, Lyttelton and Dorfman), and selected performances of their West End transfers. I love the Olivier Theatre as a venue (although walking into the theatre makes me feel really dizzy!) and recently took my son there to see The Witches. Sooooooo good!
My number one place that I always look first for cheap tickets is the theatre website, then I hunt around elsewhere to see if the price can be beaten.
Heritage Open Days: 6th -15th September 2024
Heritage Open Days is England’s largest festival of history and culture and this year it celebrates it’s 20th anniversary with the theme Routes – Connections – Networks. Running for 10 days every September, it offers free access to heritage events and activities across England. It is managed by The National Trust and they open many of their sites for free during the festival. Oxford Open Doors is part of the Heritage Open Days but wider parts of Oxfordshire get involved too so look out for free entry and activities.
Oxford Open Doors: 14th – 15th September 2024
A firm favourite for locals and a part of the Heritage Open Days calendar. The Oxford Preservation Trust (great family walks on their website by the way) have been running it for 15 years and it brings together town and grown beautifully. The annual weekend celebrates heritage and culture across all walks of the city’s life and places which are not usually open to the public, open free to everyone . As well as sneaky peaks behind the scenes there are also loads of local events going on locally including fire station open days, trails and treasure hunts, vintage bus rides and more! Eyes peeled for the full line-up around the beginning of August.
