Oxford News
Oxford Literary Festival jampacked with star-studded names
The festival started at the weekend and concludes on Sunday.
Mr Packham will speak to Philip Lymbery in a talk at the Sheldonian Theatre on Saturday at 2pm.
The naturalist, television presenter, writer, photographer, conservationist, campaigner and filmmaker is best known for his environmental and animal welfare activism.
His television credits include Springwatch and Earth for the BBC and Is it Time to Break the Law? for Channel 4.
He runs independent campaigns aimed at nature recovery and ending animal cruelty. Mr Packham is also an advocate for neurodiversity with a special focus on autism.
His books include Chris Packham’s Birdwatching Guide: From Beginner to Birder and Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir.
Mr Eccleston who was the ninth doctor in 2005, will be in conversation with Oxford Brookes University Chancellor Paterson Joseph, on Sunday, at 4pm, at the Sheldonian Theatre.
Manchester-born Mr Eccleston brought the Time Lord back to TV screens with the popular ninth series welcomed by science fiction fans.
READ MORE: Doctor Who star is coming to Oxford University
Starring alongside Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler, the duo became two of the UK’s most famous faces.
Mr Eccleston’s big breakthrough came in the role of left-wing activist Nicky Hutchinson in the award-winning 1990s BBC drama Our Friends in the North.
His film work includes the title role in Jude, based on the Thomas Hardy novel, and roles in 24 Hour Party People and 28 Days Later.
Other highlights include talks featuring wildlife presenter historian Sir Simon Schama, Paddington and Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville, poet Pam Ayres, and children’s author Michael Rosen.
Mr Lymbery is chief executive of Compassion in World Farming and author of Sixty Harvests Left: How to Reach a Nature-Friendly Future and Dead Zone: Where the Wild Things Were.
Poet Pam Ayres, who started out in Stanford in the Vale, near Wantage, spoke on Sunday at the Sheldonian about her latest book, Doggedly Onward: A Life in Poems.
Doggedly Onward traces Ayres’s life from the 1970s to the current decade through poems.
The popular poet said the poems trace the course of her life from the young woman juggling boyfriends to the wife adrift amid the joy and terror of motherhood, and the adoring granny.
They chronicle her fascination with dogs, wildlife and travel and her mistakes, regrets and ageing.
Pam Ayres began her broadcasting career at BBC Radio Oxford in the 1970s and first appeared on our TV screens in 1975.
Since then, she has been making the nation laugh with her poetry.
Her bestselling poetry books include The Works, Surgically Enhanced, You Made Me Late Again! and The Last Hedgehog. She has also published an autobiography, The Necessary Aptitude.
On Monday at the Sheldonian, acclaimed historian Sir Simon Schama gave a talk entitled The History of Antisemitism: A Warning for Today.
Sir Simon looked at the origins of antisemitism and its threat to communities around the world.
He explored how the memory of the death of six million Jews in wartime Europe is fading and how antisemitism has grown since the events of October 7, 2023.
Sir Simon is university professor of art history and history at Columbia University.
His award-winning books include Citizens, A History of Britain, The Power of Art, and The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words (1000 BCE – 1492).
He has written and presented more than 50 films for the BBC, including works on Tolstoy, the story of the Jews, and as co-presenter of the landmark series on the history of world art, Civilisations.
This event was the first of an annual lecture on antisemitism to be hosted by the festival.
This year there was no central marquee – the main festival hub is located inside Blackwell Hall at the Bodleian’s Weston Library in Broad Street, opposite the Sheldonian Theatre – the main festival venue. The festival ‘green room’ is being hosted by Exeter College.
This year’s festival is being backed by The Telegraph.
For more information visit the festival website.
We’ve made a gallery of pictures showing all the Oxfordshire spots which have been used for TV and film sets over the years.
Some of the biggest productions filmed here in Oxfordshire include Spectre in the James Bond franchise, which transformed Blenheim Palace in Woodstock into the Palazzo Cardenza in Rome.
READ MORE: Abandoned Oxfordshire home used as drugs den shut down
Many period dramas were also created in the county, like the BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, which was partly filmed at Chastleton House in the Cotswolds.
Cotswolds villages have been repeatedly transformed and used as filming locations for their historical appeal, like the villages of Brill, Broadwell and Castle Combe.
Find all the pictures in this archive gallery of historic Oxfordshire filming locations here.
Three Year 10 pupils from Aureus School in Didcot travelled to London for the Royal Navy International Women’s Day event, held on HMS President during Careers Week and designed to showcase opportunities within the Royal Navy and beyond.
Students Antonia Pop, Ellie Swan and Tilly Mulvey are all taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.
Ellie Swan said: “It was fantastic to see the possible career paths within the Navy.”
Rob Hayden, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award manager at Aureus School, accompanied the students to the event.
He said: “During the day, students had talks from individuals within the Navy and from guest speakers, including Hannah Botterman, who last year won both the Rugby World Cup and the Six Nations with England.”
He said: “Students also had the chance to network with the speakers and other attendees.
“The event showed the students a wide range of inspirational females within the Navy and other careers.”
Aureus School, part of the GLF Schools multi-academy trust, says its vision is focused on ‘cultivating ambition’ and ‘high standards for all’.
Headteacher Kirsty Rogers says the Didcot-based co-educational comprehensive has undergone a ‘transformative journey’, creating a community where students feel a strong sense of belonging. She emphasises inclusivity, high expectations, and a broad curriculum that encourages ambition, resilience and respect, supported by dedicated staff and diverse extra-curricular opportunities.
The flights mark a major boost to the airport’s connectivity ahead of the budget airline’s record Summer 2026 schedule.
The new routes form part of Ryanair’s expanded Glasgow programme for Summer 2026, which will see the airline operate over 100 weekly flights across eight routes.
The new double-daily London Stansted service further strengthens Glasgow’s access to the English capital, while the launch of the Warsaw service enhances Glasgow’s international offering.
Jonathan Ford, portfolio manager at AGS Airports, said: “It’s fantastic to see Ryanair’s new services to London Stansted and Warsaw take off today.
“The double-daily Stansted route offers even more flexibility for business and leisure travellers heading to and from England’s innovation corridor, while Warsaw provides a valuable new link that expands the international connectivity available to our passengers.
“These launches mark the start of what will be a record summer for Ryanair at Glasgow, and we look forward to welcoming even more travellers through our doors.”
Last month, Ryanair launched its 2026 plan for Glasgow with 10 routes, including holiday hotspots like Lanzarote, Palma de Mallorca, and Tenerife, as well as city break destinations like Barcelona and Pisa.
The budget airline will also operate extra frequencies on its Alicante, Faro, Pisa, Malaga and Murcia routes.
The new schedule is underpinned by Ryanair’s two Glasgow Prestwick-based aircraft.
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