Six Warm Doorways: A Winter Church Crawl Through Central Oxford

November in Oxford does a very good impression of a city that wants you to keep moving. The colleges charge for their quads, the towers charge for their views, and the wind coming down Cornmarket seems to have been personally offended by your coat. Which is why the parish churches are such a useful discovery. Most of them ask nothing at the door, many are open through the day, and all of them are warmer than the street. Think of this as a crawl with no pints and no queue: six doors, one loose loop, and a standing invitation to sit down for ten minutes.

A word before you start. These are working churches, not museums with hymn books. Opening hours shift with the seasons, the volunteers and the funeral bookings, so treat every time below as a habit rather than a promise. Check the noticeboard, the parish website or simply the handle. And if a service is underway, that is the main event — come back later or join quietly at the back.

Start with the oldest thing in Oxford

St Michael at the North Gate sits at the top of Cornmarket like a survivor from another century, which it is. The tower goes back to around 1040, making it the oldest building in the city, and it has watched rather a lot happen since. Entry to the church is free; the tower itself carries a small charge when it is open, and the climb is narrow and steep enough to count as exercise.

Inside, look for the Saxon stonework at the base of the tower and the way the building has been patched and rebuilt around it. The glass is Victorian and lively. There is usually a small bookstall and a volunteer who knows far more than the leaflet does. In winter it tends to open mid-morning and close mid-afternoon; if the door is shut, try again after lunch rather than rattling it.

The one everybody photographs

The University Church of St Mary the Virgin, on the High, is the grandest free stop on the route. The church itself costs nothing; the tower is a separate ticket. It is worth going in even if you have been before, because the building is surprisingly good at absorbing a crowd.

History sits heavily here: the trial of Thomas Cranmer took place in the church in 1555, and the ornate porch on the south side is one of the finest bits of stonework in the city. Look up at the spire from outside, then look down at the floor and the memorials inside. Service times matter more here than anywhere else on the loop — it is a busy university church, and visitors are welcome but not in charge. Photographs without flash, please, and never during prayer.

A short detour south

St Aldate's, a few minutes down the same street, is the working city-centre church of the loop. The present building is largely a Victorian rebuild, but the site has been in use for centuries and the atmosphere is different from the university church: less postcard, more parish. It is free to enter and usually open in daylight hours, though events and services can close it at short notice.

Look for the noticeboard, which tells you more about the church's week than any guidebook will, and take a moment in the quiet. If you are visiting with children, this is a good place to explain that churches are buildings people still use, not just buildings people photograph.

Victorian colour on Magdalen Street

St Mary Magdalen, near the Martyrs' Memorial, was built in the 1840s and is unapologetically Anglo-Catholic in flavour. Where St Michael's is stone and silence, this is colour and detail: a rich reredos, stained glass with a bit of drama about it, and a roof line worth lifting your head for. Entry is free and the church is generally open during the day.

The trick here is to slow down. Victorian churches reward close looking — the carving, the metalwork, the way the light comes through the glass on a grey afternoon. It is also a good place to sit for five minutes without feeling you ought to be reading a plaque.

The wide street and the Norman door

St Giles, on the broad avenue of the same name, is easy to walk past and worth walking into. The nave is Norman, the churchyard is full of interesting memorials, and the whole place has the settled feel of a building that has been part of the street for eight or nine centuries. It usually opens on weekday mornings; check the board by the door before you commit.

Inside, look for the Norman work and the way later generations added their own layers without wiping out what came before. The churchyard is also a decent pause in its own right, especially if you need a moment before braving Woodstock Road.

West to Jericho, and the last door

St Barnabas on Cardigan Street is the Victorian finale: built in 1869 and nicknamed the cathedral of the Oxford Movement, it is a riot of colour and craftsmanship tucked into the streets of Jericho. It is free, but its opening hours are more limited than the city-centre churches, so check ahead before making the walk. When it is open, it is one of the most rewarding interiors in Oxford.

From here you can drop down to the canal and walk back into town along the water, which is a better ending than retracing your steps up Walton Street.

How to be a good guest

A few habits make the whole thing easier for everyone:

• Check service times before you go in, and never treat a congregation as an exhibit.
• If the door is locked, leave it locked. Noticeboards and websites exist for a reason.
• Don't walk across the front during prayer, and don't move chairs, kneelers or books.
• No flash photography, and ask before photographing people.
• Donations are welcome and usually contactless these days; they are not admission fees.
• Say hello to the volunteer. They are often the only person on duty and they will tell you things no leaflet mentions.

Practical notes

The loop is about a mile and a half on foot and will take two to three hours if you actually sit down in each place. Weekday mornings are the quietest; Saturdays bring shoppers and Sundays bring services. Toilets are easiest to find in cafés and the Covered Market rather than in the churches themselves. And if the cold gets into your bones, remember the point of the route: a free door, a warm radiator and a chair that nobody minds you using for a while.