I have lived in Oxford since 1989 – for nearly 30 of those years on a narrowboat on the Oxford Canal – and I am one of the city’s most experienced local historians. Oxford’s waterways – the Thames, Cherwell, and Canal – are the primary, distinctive focus for my guided walks and illustrated talks, further distinguished by my inclusion of a wide range of literary references. Famous authors such as Lewis Carroll, Philip Pullman, Thomas Hardy, and Colin Dexter often feature, as well as a host of lesser known, insightful, and/or amusing writers going all the way back to Geoffrey Chaucer. My tours tend to explore less-visited parts of the city, and most of my talks are based on the themes of my books below, several having national and international resonance: I have spoken about Lewis Carroll’s Alice as far away as India, for instance. My publications include:

• the social and cultural importance of the city’s waterways (Our Canal in Oxford; A Towpath Walk in Oxford; Alice in Waterland; Alice’s Oxford on Foot; What a Liberty!; Jericho, Oxford);
• historical crime (Stories of Oxford Castle; The Abingdon Waterturnpike Murder) and
• a biography of James Sadler, the extraordinary Oxford pastry cook who was the first Englishman to fly (King of all Balloons).

I am Chair of the Jericho (Oxford) Living Heritage Trust, a trustee of the Lewis Carroll Society, and on the committee of the Alliance of Literary Societies.

Please visit! “What fun it will be when they ask me how I liked my walk,” said Alice.