Spotlight

What's on this week in Bucks and Oxon?Vintage treasures, dog agility, ploughing, comedy, modern art and Louise Redknapp on stage... it's all going on in our 'hood this week
Are you ready for the great 70s comeback?It's Abigail's Party all over again... Flares, macrame and 9 to 5 The Musical brings Louise Redknapp to Aylesbury! Fetch me a Cointreau
Headline walks in Bucks & OxonLooking for an autumn walk worthy of front page news? Check out these eight headline-grabbing walks from the highest points and best views to autumn colour and the coolest local landmarks
Local bakeries we love, in honour of GBBO Bake Off is back on TV so time to drag out the food mixer. Can't be bothered? Fair enough! Put down that spatula and support these 11 drool-worthy bakeries instead.
The Muddy Awards drinks - care to join us?The Muddy Awards are over for 2021 - and what a year it's been! See what happened when our amazing local winners came together to celebrate.

Well, hello!

I'm Hero, editor of Muddy Bucks & Oxon, here to bring you the quirky, cool and downright unmissable in the area.

Gotta Have It

Back to school season always calls out for new books and pens — the prettier the better. Grown-ups, gather round: this is your ultimate stylish stationery round-up, from pens to paperweights.

Gotta have it

The results are in! Meet your Muddy Awards 2021 winners

Thanks to everyone who took part this year, and helped celebrate the most awesome indie businesses across 25 counties.

View Our Winners

Eat

Local bakeries we love, in honour of GBBO

Bake Off is back on TV so time to drag out the food mixer. Can’t be bothered? Fair enough! Put down that spatula and support these 11 drool-worthy bakeries instead.
- Review: Pluma, Old Amersham
  
  Is this the best tapas restaurant in Buckinghamshire? Read on for the Muddy lowdown on Muddy Awards 2021 finalist Pluma in elegant Old Amersham
- 30 pub gardens for late summer lounging
  
  Summer ain’t over yet! Here’s to alfresco basking and plenty of booze. These are the best pub gardens in Bucks and Oxon from snazzy pods to our favourite local beer gardens. Cheers!

Culture

Feet up! What to watch on TV this week

Don’t miss our weekly round-up of the best things on the box. Iconic panel show reboots, big-budget sci-fi, and a cheeky little baking competition… here’s what to watch this week.
- Autumn reads: 8 new books for September
  
  Page turners, psychological dramas, a who dunnit and the latest book from the writer of Big Little Lies. We’ve got your next book club/sofa/commute read… sorted.
- New TV alert! 6 shiny things dropping this week
  
  We’re getting into prime autumn telly season, with three — count them, three! — hotly-awaited series returns this week. Read all about them (as well as the other shiny new releases) here…

Little Black Book

Want to support local? Our curated pick of the most creative, unique and brilliant businesses near you.

Creation Theatre Company, Oxford

PICK colour consultancy

Barbury Hill: Best of British Food & Drink

Lisa Cartlidge Hypnotherapy, Glos

Lamb Catering & Events

The Three Oaks, Gerrards Cross

Heath Farm Cottages, Chipping Norton

The Double Red Duke, near Faringdon

Daws Hill Vineyard, near High Wycombe

Hills Farm and Orchard, near Leighton Buzzard

Rolling Fields Glamping

Bowles & Wyer

Travel

Italy, Mr Bond? 24 hours in Matera

Make mine a martini, shaken not stirred while we tell you our insider tips on how to best experience the coolest city you’ve probably never heard of.
- 65 paw-fect dog-friendly stays
  
  Have pooch, will travel? Here are 65 stays across the Muddy counties that are all Fido-friendly from stunning stately homes to rural cottage staycations.
- The Muddy insider guide to Norfolk
  
  Stunning beaches, beautiful broads and bijou boltholes plus a vibrant capital city – Norfolk is one of our favourite year-round staycation destinations. Ready to ‘Do Different’?

Home

10 knockout farmhouses that are up for sale now

Fell in love with rural life on your staycay? Us too. Quick, before the market turns: check out these absolutely stunning farms to snap up across the Muddy counties (and beyond).
- Gardening jobs to do in September
  
  Who better to advise on what to plants, prune and ignore than Charlotte Tremlin, head gardener at Wormsley, the Getty family’s private estate in the Chilterns
- Expert tips to ease the stress of moving home
  
  Making your property sale smooth and speedy is all down to forward planning and asking the right questions. We got the inside track from our friends at local solicitors, Lightfoots
- 8 local arboretums to explore this autumn
  
  All change! The trees are turning from green to gorgeous red-brick, crimson and gold – and the best places to see them are these beautiful local arboretums in Bucks, Oxon and beyond.
- Morning routines for happy women: the entrepreneur
  
  How does entrepreneur Tara Lalvani keep her life and looks in top tip top shape? The Bucks resident spills the beans on her get-up-and-go morning routine.

Life

Write on! 11 stylish stationery picks

Back to school season always calls out for new books and pens — the prettier the better. Grown-ups, gather round: this is your ultimate stylish stationery round-up, from pens to paperweights.
- Ashfold School, Dorton, Mid Bucks
  
  Muddy says: This bucolic co-ed prep school for day pupils and boarders in the rolling hills of Buckinghamshire is family-oriented with a deserved reputation for its all-rounder offering.
- Winchester House School, Brackley, Northants
  
  An excellent non-selective co-ed day and boarding school (3-13 yrs) on the Bucks/Oxon/Northants borders with a strong all-rounder reputation and an impressive head.

Instamuddy

Fashion

Are you ready for the great 70s comeback?

9 to 5 The Musical, with Louise Redknapp no less!, is part of this season’s 70s mania – it’s on the fashion and beauty pages, our Pinterest boards and even on our plates.
- Can Haringtons tame the Muddy mane?
  
  Fly-away hair with lots of grey? Not just me then… The challenge for award-winning hairdresser and colourist Barry was to create a style that will still look good a week later
- How to get that perfect sun-kissed glow
  
  Forget pale and interesting… we’re channelling the St Tropez vibe, minus the orange tint. Here are some lotions and potions for a natural-looking tan without the UV damage

People

Muddy meets Dom Holland (aka daddy Spiderman)

Writer, funny man, and father of big star Tom Holland. Muddy sat down with Dominic Holland to chat life in the shadow of your eldest, stand up faux-pas, and his upcoming set at The Potters Arms.
- What it’s like to be ‘Tina Turner’ (and own 150 pairs of shoes)
  
  It’s all about the voice, the strut, the heels and the fans, says Tina tribute Justine, one of the line up of epic acts at Henley’s upcoming Legends Festival
- Muddy talks parenting with Lorraine Candy
  
  “All teenage girls think their mums are a bit rubbish”. Journalist and mother of four Lorraine Candy talks parenting, moody teens and motherhood with Muddy.