The urban guide to the countryside -

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

Our curated A-Z of the grooviest local businesses

Six awesome Autumn walks!Grab your friends or family and try our pick of the prettiest walks Bucks & Oxon - all with pubs nearby for that all-important pit stop.
The 27 best fireworks displays across Bucks and OxonKaboom! See in bonfire night in style across Bucks & Oxon with our pick of the top family-friendly events
Superflashy!Read all about it! All this week's juicy tidbits from Bucks and Oxon - openings, closures and Jeremy Clarkson upsetting his neighbours. Again.
66 brilliant half term ideasYep, half term crept up on us too. No fear, Muddy to the rescue with the ultimate guide to beating the boredom and surviving the school holidays.
Is your favourite local restaurant on the list?The list of Michelin star winners, that is. The prestigious 2020 awards have just been announced - with new entries including a Bucks foodie hotspot. Take a look at the full line-up for our region.

Fri 25 - Sun Oct

Mon 21 - Sun 27 Oct

October 2019

The latest handpicked businesses we think you’ll love

Is this the UK’s sexiest restaurant?

Super glam Cliveden House is just across the border into Berks, but we couldn’t resist the opportunity of a seven-course tasting menu at Meghan Markle’s favourite hangout. Muddy’s Rachel got heroically stuck in.
- Muddy reviews: Fego, Marlow
  
  Attention brunchers! It's perfect poached eggs aplenty at Fego, a laid-back, family-friendly café in the middle of Marlow.
- The Swan, Ascott-under-Wychwood
  
  Did someone say quintessential Cotswold pub with a twist? Let us in, right now. Off we go to have a gander (sorry) at the brand spanking new Swan in pretty Ascott-under-Wychwood.
- Regally yours: The Crown Inn, Church Enstone
  
  Fine art and luxe design: this Cotswolds pub is upping its game thanks to a fresh new fleet of B&B rooms. Muddy checks in and checks it out.
- The Boxing Hare
  
  A strong Muddy fave, The Boxing Hare in Swerford comes out fighting with a Michelin chef, experienced owners, a newly renovated orangerie and celeb clientele. Book us in!

Our honest reviews of the UK’s best schools

Making plans? Find your perfect Pub, Inn, Hotel, Café, Restaurant or Bar across the Muddy counties.

Fancy a break this half term?

Need to make a fast getaway? Don’t move a muscle till you’ve checked out my pick of 8 last-minute family breaks in the West Country.
- Jewel in the Crown
  
  Broadway in Worcestershire is arguably the most lovely of the Cotswolds villages - and we know exactly where you should be staying.
- 24 hours in Matera
  
  Have you seen the new James Bond car chase scenes around southern Italy? Happens that Muddy was there this summer, checking out the cool places to go. Make mine a martini, shaken not stirred while I tell you my insider tips.

Forty years of fashion

This season’s trends nibble from the Seventies, Eighties, Nineties and Noughties. Here’s how to channel the decades but keep your look modern.
- Pyjama time!
  
  It's suddenly dark, cold and wet outside - let's hunker down and cheer ourselves up with some chic new pyjamas (yes, such things do actually exist).
- Something for the weekend?
  
  Westgate's first ever lifestyle festival takes place this weekend and there are freebies galore. Spot of retail therapy, anyone?

Need a juicy new read?

Muddy’s bookworm Kerry Potter has glorious celeb gossip, literary big-hitters and a must-read on relationships this month. Read all about her October picks – and then win the lot!
- What are you doing on Saturday night?
  
  Fancy an evening of books, booze and brilliance? No way - us too! Come join us in Henley this weekend.
- Read THESE this month…
  
  ... and win 'em all! Curl up into a comfy chair, pour a glass of wine, and dive into a new fab book with this month's hottest new reads.
- Fight, fight!
  
  Fancy getting stuck into some Shakespeare this autumn? Just across the border from us, the RSC in Stratford is staging an anarchic version of King John. One of its stars, Richard Pryal, filled us in.
- The best local culture picks this autumn
  
  My god I love Autumn. The kids are back at school, it's game on for clothes shopping, and best of all, it's a culture-vulture paradise, with loads of cool stuff to see across Bucks & Oxon. Ready with your red marker? Then let's get planning.

Flexible working – a personal view

It’s a contentious issue, that’s for sure! Wanna know what I think?
Kids
- P-p-p-pick up a pumpkin!
  
  C'mon, it's time to prep for Halloween! Head to one of these local farms and make the kids put the legwork in before they can start carving.
- Your ultimate Autumn Walks guide
  
  Grab your kids, your besties, your dog and anyone else who is free to join you on our first Autumn Walks initiative with Joules - and win coats and wellies for the whole family!

Meet the woman who’s declared war on plastic

We like her style (in every sense). Beth Noy, the founder of Plastic Freedom, runs an online shop collating the coolest plastic-free brands around. She’s got some brilliant- and achievable – advice for us all.
- Muddy meets… The Oxfordshire Gardener
  
  What would you ask an award-winning garden designer? What hand cream he uses, if his own garden ever looks rubbish and who's his favourite green-fingered celeb, obviously!
- Yup, stage school works!
  
  Another year and another surge of nascent stars of the stage and screen graduate from Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. Want to meet them?
- Food fit for a queen
  
  Sacre bleu! L'Ortolan's creative Head Chef Tom Clarke spills the beans on cooking for the Royal family, his love of French cuisine, famous diners and his food-trend regrets (he's had a few).
- A day in the life of… a theatre director
  
  Losing star actors, playing Dobble, chucking mashed potato around - it's all in a (surreal) day's work for Chipping Norton Theatre's artistic director.