St Giles closes at 00:01 on Sunday 6 September and reopens at 08:00 on Wednesday 9. The fair itself runs 11am to 11pm on 7 and 8 September.

St Giles’ Fair takes over the middle of Oxford on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 September, from 11am to 11pm on both days, according to Oxford City Council.

The road closures start a day and a half before that. Oxfordshire County Council’s statutory notice, published in the Oxford Times on 20 August, sets the traffic measures to run from 00:01 on Sunday 6 September until 08:00 on Wednesday 9 September.

Which roads close

The notice lists these prohibitions of vehicles:

  • St Giles, closed. Pay and display parking and the taxi rank are suspended
  • Magdalen Street East and West, closed
  • Banbury Road (A4165), closed between Parks Road and Keble Road, except the east side for vehicles showing a St Giles Fair parking permit
  • Woodstock Road (A4144), closed between St Giles and Observatory Street, except fairground parking on the east side between Observatory Street and the Royal Oak
  • Beaumont Street, closed between St John Street and St Giles. Pay and display and loading bays are suspended, with a 10 metre taxi space kept on the south side, 5 metres from Gloucester Street
  • Keble Road, closed except for permitted fairground vehicles. Residents’ permit parking is suspended
  • Pusey Street, closed between St Giles and St John Street, frontage access only
  • Bevington Road, closed at the Woodstock Road junction
  • Little Clarendon Street, closed for its entire length, access to premises from Walton Street only. It is being used as the access and staging area for emergency services

Two further changes are not closures but will catch drivers out. Traffic coming out of Parks Road into Banbury Road will only be able to turn right, that is northwards, away from the city. On Broad Street, the No Access bollards will be lowered so that bus and taxi services can transfer there from St Giles, and the loading bays and the street traders’ bay on the south side are suspended.

The county names the alternative through route as Worcester Street, Walton Street, Kingston Road and St Margaret’s Road, in both directions.

St Giles Fair 2026: when the roads close and when the fair runs Timeline covering Sunday 6 September to Wednesday 9 September 2026. Road closures and traffic measures run continuously from 00:01 on Sunday 6 September to 08:00 on Wednesday 9 September. The fair itself opens 11am to 11pm on Monday 7 September and 11am to 11pm on Tuesday 8 September. St Giles Fair 2026: the closure runs far longer than the fair Traffic measures apply for 80 hours. The rides run for 24 of them. Source: Oxfordshire County Council special event order S26-034; Oxford City Council fair listing. Sun 6 Mon 7 Tue 8 Wed 9 Thu 10 Roads closed 00:01 Sun 6 September to 08:00 Wed 9 September Fair open 11am to 11pm 11am to 11pm Build-up and clear-down account for the rest of the closure. Graphic by The Oxford Post
The traffic order covers roughly 80 hours; the fair is open for 24 of them.

Parking, buses and taxis

Disabled persons’ parking is suspended in St Giles, Broad Street, Keble Road and Pusey Street, and relocated to Blackhall Road.

Bus and taxi services move out of St Giles and onto Broad Street. As of 27 August the bus operators had not published their route by route diversions for this year’s fair: Oxford Bus Company’s service updates page carried nothing on St Giles Fair, so check it and Stagecoach’s Oxfordshire updates nearer the time rather than assuming last year’s diversion still applies.

The county says access advice for properties inside the closed area has been sent in writing to residents, colleges and businesses, and that marshals will supervise it.

The notice is worded as an intention. It says the county council “intends to make” the Oxfordshire County Council (Oxford, St Giles Fair) (Special Event) Order 2026 under section 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, with the order dated 1 September and coming into force on 6 September. The fair is promoted by the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain. The reference is S26-034, and the full particulars are on the county’s event orders page.

Two other things are happening in the same fortnight

Botley Road is still shut. Network Rail confirmed on 29 July that it will reopen to traffic on Sunday 20 September, two weeks after the fair, so the western approach to the city centre is not available during it.

And this is the last St Giles’ Fair under the temporary congestion charge. The traffic filter trial starts on Monday 28 September, and the £5 daily charge ends the same day. We have set out what changes on our Oxford roadworks and travel page.

What it means for you

  • If you drive through north Oxford, the Woodstock Road and Banbury Road routes into St Giles are gone from midnight on Saturday night. Use Worcester Street, Walton Street, Kingston Road and St Margaret’s Road.
  • If you park in St Giles, Beaumont Street or Little Clarendon Street, move the car before 00:01 on Sunday 6 September. Residents’ permit parking on Keble Road is suspended too.
  • If you hold a blue badge, the bays in St Giles, Broad Street, Keble Road and Pusey Street are gone for the duration. Blackhall Road is the replacement.
  • If you are catching a bus, expect to board on Broad Street rather than St Giles, and check the operator’s own page before you travel.
  • If you are going to the fair, it is open 11am to 11pm on both days. There is more to do in the city that week on our things to do in Oxford page.

Oxford City Council traces the fair back to 1625, when it began as a parish festival for St Giles.