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Oxford hopes Alice in Wonderland will bring tourism to the city

Posted by Team Boxwish about 1 month ago

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Alice in Wonderland is shaping up to be THE movie event of the spring. It’s happily setting the style in fashion circles and has music fans in a frenzy with its two soundtracks, but its next tale of inspiration could be a little more local as the city of Oxford is hoping the movie will boost business for its Alice Tour. The two-hour tour around the city, most famous for its prestigious university, takes those with an interest in Alice behind the origins of the classic children’s tale and explores what inspired its author, Oxford academic, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (who wrote under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll). And with the movie set to put Alice’s adventures firmly in the limelight, Oxford’s tourism bosses are hoping to make the most of it.

“Alice and Lewis Carroll are an absolute asset to Oxford and a key part of the Oxford brand,” enthuses Colin Cook, an executive member for the city centre. “The Alice story is intimately associated with the city and many of the things that inspired him are still around. You can still see the treacle well in Binsey village and the fireguards in the hall at Christ Church. The Jabberwocky tree is also still in Christ Church and Alice and her sisters could see it from the Dean’s lodgings."

He continues: “Visiting these different locations on a themed tour are a very good way of getting closer to the story and understanding the context in which it was first told in a punt on the River Thames. Tourists will be getting off the coach and instead of asking for Harry Potter’s college they will be now be asking for Alice’s college.”

It could mark a fun shift from Hogwarts to Wonderland, and many locals are hopeful that the movie will establish Oxford as the number one site for all fans of Alice. “There are still some people who do not realise that Alice comes from Oxford and I hope the film will address that," reveals Maureen Lee, the assistant manager of Alice’s Shop in St Aldate’s.

And if the film does spark an interest in Alice, the city council is happy to meet public demand. “At the moment we run the Alice tour several times a month, but we will increase that frequency when demand picks up,” confirms Joanne Butler, the tourism manager for the city council. “The new film is bound to increase the number of people coming to Oxford to find out more about Alice and Lewis Carroll.”

If this tour sounds like your cup of tea (!), find out more info here or if you want to head to some of the film’s shooting locations, it’s a little further west as the Tim Burton fantasy flick shot at Devon and Cornwall (specifically the National Trust property, Antony House, Plymouth Barbican and Charleston Harbour).

[via Oxford Mail]

UPDATE: Get the maddest Alice in Wonderland merchandise, clothing, make-up and jewellery here.

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