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

This girl can!Juggling motherhood, jiggly bits and the barriers to exercising, This Girl Can is back with its brand new campaign and we *love* it!
Special Muddy hotel deal!January getting you down? I know, go on holiday. Marvellous Muddy extras for you and yours if you book one of the five stunning Luxury Family Hotels before 31 Jan. Get in quick!
Superflashy newsflash!Movers, groovers, gossipers (er, that’s us) and loads of new goings on across Bucks & Oxon you should know about, all right here.
The Top 20 things to book in 2020Crack out your calendar, folks (and maybe your credit card). Here are the hottest tickets for Bucks and Oxon in 2020 - see you there!
Book in! The best local races for 2020Looking to get fit for 2020? Start with my curated guide to the best local triathlons, runs and fun events, and I'll see you at the finish line.

Fri 24 - Sun 26 Jan

Mon 20 - Sun 26 Jan

Jan 2020

The latest handpicked businesses we think you’ll love

Five of the best mocktails

Still on the wagon for Dry January? Get our chops around these local mocktails – all the thrill of a cocktail, none of the hangover.
- 13 places to eat yourself slim
  
  No need to put a lock on the fridge and banish all fun for January - we've scoured Bucks & Oxon for the best 'skinny' places to pig out in peace.
- How to ace Xmas lunch
  
  Worried about your turkey timings? Pondering over your potatoes? 11 Michelin-starred tips to help nail it on the day.
- Ain’t no party like a Muddy party!
  
  For our office 'do' this year, we shimmied over to Stoke Park in Bucks for dinner, dancing and drinking. Here's how we got on. Anyone got any paracetamol, please?
- The Five Arrows, Waddesdon
  
  We despatched top crime novelist Sharon Bolton to nail three courses at this mid-refurb fine dining restaurant. Was her meal all killer or pure filler?

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.

Call me Cupid! 46 romantic stays across the Muddy counties

In the mood for love? Of course you are, pussy cat! Here, allow us to assist with the rumpy pumpy with 46 romantic boltholes across the Muddy counties.
- Planning a Cornwall escape?
  
  Then head for these five stunning parts of this corker of a county, all with gorgeous rental properties nearby.
- 5 West Country wellbeing stays
  
  Looking for a Devon, Cornwall or Somerset escape? Hell yeah! Check out these stunning self-catering properties, all with on-site extras, from yoga and wine tasting to massage.

J’adore/ J’abhor

Leopard-print has come a LONG way from Bet Lynch’s barmaid wardrobe. It’s flipping everywhere now. But is it still chic? Cue an almighty rumble in the jungle with two Muddy staffers with very different views.
Beauty
- J’adore/ J’abhor
  
  To Ink or not to ink? That is the question that's getting the Muddy office fired up this week. Two editors battle it out (*ducks for cover*).
- J’adore/ J’abhor
  
  It's Movember, the month when blokes grow moustaches to raise money for charity. Turns out the Muddy crew have VERY mixed views on men's facial hair. Where do you stand?

This month’s best new reads

What kind of insaniac leaves the house in January? Retire to the sofa pronto and get stuck into one of pro bookworm Kerry Potter’s enthralling new literary picks.
- The Top 20 things to book in 2020
  
  Crack out your calendar, folks (and maybe your credit card). Here are the hottest tickets for Bucks and Oxon in 2020 - see you there!
- Book now! The 2020 cultural picks you must not miss
  
  There's a ridiculous amount of amazing art, books, film, TV, music and theatre landing this year. Muddy's culture vulture Kerry Potter picks out the best of the bunch.

7 of the best… notebooks

You know what they say – write notes, realise dreams! Or, um, at the very least make January’s admin rush a little more bearable.
Kids
- Feel the rush
  
  Have an energetic toddler who needs wearing out? Muddy's Katrina and her daughter bounced their way all over High Wycombe's Rush trampoline park and crash landed in its brand new soft play area.
- Swanbourne House School, Swanbourne
  
  Muddy says: This bucolic, rural prep school on the Bucks/Beds border has had quite a year, with a new, dynamic, sometimes controversial head teacher. Twelve months on, here's my update.

Exclusive interview! Muddy meets…. Laurence Fox

The actor-turned-singer has been front page news since an incendiary appearance on Question Time last week. In this exclusive interview, he talks midlife crises, death threats and groupies with Muddy’s Kerry Potter.
- Muddy meets Josie Long
  
  We caught up with (we reckon) the most positive comedian in the business about motherhood, MasterChef, making people laugh and her new tour, Tender.
- Where Shelley goes
  
  Feather-clad dancer in Crete, clubber with Idris Elba in London and now...yoga teacher in Little Kimble in Bucks! Muddy catches up with the tour de force that is Shelley Shine.