MURDER may be a gruelling experience for some of Oxfordshire’s fictional detectives, but for tourist organisations it is the gift that keeps on giving.

So much so, in fact, that the county’s tourist board has launched two new tour packages themed around its most iconic crime dramas.

Experience Oxfordshire has added more locations to its Inspector Morse tours in Oxford, from spin-off shows Lewis and Endeavour.

The company is also set to take fans of Midsomer Murders to film locations including Wallingford, which doubles as Causton in the long-running series.

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For those with less of a taste for sleuthing, it is also launching its Downton Abbey Experience for diehard fans of ITV’s successful series.

The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction tour will combine many of the Morse stars’ favourite haunts including city centre pubs The White Horse, The King’s Arms and The Turf Tavern.

Visitors will also tour the many sights and areas that have been regular backdrops for the show, such as the Sheldonian Theatre, the Bodleian Library and the Bridge of Sighs at Hertford College.

Oxford Mail:

  • Morse author Colin Dexter and Kevin Whately, above left, during filming for Lewis

Tour guide Terry Bremble, who has worked as a guide in the city since the 1980s, said: “People always love seeing all the places they have spotted in the Morse series, because it has really taken in most of Oxford.

“There are familiar streets and coffee shops and pubs, and of course we show people how to reach The Trout in Wolvercote as well.”

The Downton Abbey Experience tour celebrates the start of the ITV show’s sixth series.

Experience Oxfordshire destination services manager Digna Martinez said: “We kept getting inquiries from people about whether we did special tours for Midsomer Murder locations, as well as Downton Abbey and Morse and Lewis and so we thought it would be a good idea to make packages that combined them.

Oxford Mail:

  • Dame Maggie Smith filming Downton Abbey at Bampton

“We have been running our Morse tour for a while now, but have updated it to include locations from Lewis, as well as Endeavour.

At the end of the crime tours, visitors are also taken to a “murder mystery dinner” and tasked with finding a killer.

Two new tours have been launched by Experience Oxfordshire:

  • The Downton Abbey Experience visits Cogges in Witney, which starred as Yew Tree Farm, as well as Bampton, used to film many outdoor scenes. Visitors will also learn the real history of Cotswold estates and attend a “Lady Grantham Afternoon Tea” at the mansion house at Heythrop Park, near Chipping Norton.
  • The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction tour explores the fictional and real scenes of crimes in Oxford, including those featured in Inspector Morse, Lewis, Endeavour and Midsomer Murders. It also takes visitors to Oxford Castle, the city’s former prison, for a history lesson, followed by a murder mystery dinner at the end of the tour.
  • For information about the tours, call 01865 25203


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