The urban guide to the countryside -
Hotels
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Want to take over Stoke Place?
An attractive Queen Anne country hotel in South Bucks with Capability Brown grounds (ooooh!) and good value conference and wedding facilities. Oh, and did we mention the 'Bottomless Sunday lunch'?!
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Five star getaway
Like your hotels super luxe, with world class spa and celebrity chef to boot? Pack your bag, we're heading to Stoke Park - conveniently situated in Buckinghamshire!
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The secret’s out!
The secret's out! Once a WW2 secret service centre, this stunning Victorian hotel in leafy Bucks has had a game-changing £7m boutique makeover. Filing my dosier now, sir.
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Glazebrook House: A Rabbit Hole You’ll Want To Tumble Down
New Year New Muddies! You can now, delightfully, receive your Muddy Stilettos fix in 13 counties – the fragrant Muddy Cambridgshire and Muddy Devon have just launched and my, they’re looking pretty. I’ve been writing a bit about potential holidays on the south coast over the last few weeks and so thought I should let […]
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Stay here: Vanbrugh House Hotel, Oxford
You had me at ‘Georgian front door’. Vanbrugh House Hotel won the Muddy Stilettos Award 2016 for best boutique hotel and having stayed the night it’s easy to see why. This honey-stoned beauty, bang in central Oxford, offers something a bit different. Firstly, there’s no restaurant for dinner and no bar, and I loved that, […]
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Fit for a queen
Fancy something a bit different on the blogaroo today? No problem, may I offer you a stay in the Cotswolds castle where Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn spent 10 days of their honeymoon? Yes, seriously! This gorgeous piece of stoneware is Thornbury Castle, a Tudor beauty built between 1512 – 1521 whose history includes the […]
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All hail The Crown inn, Woodstock
Cool place to stay alert! Muddy Stilettos recently had the rather preeny pleasure of being the first journo to try out bedrooms in the 18th century former coaching inn of The Crown in Woodstock (I know, where’s my trophy?). The Crown has given the other pubs and inns in the town a bit of a […]
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Win a luxury £1000 Spa Escape!
In I float, a vision of loveliness, wearing my flounciest, bouffiest sparkly fairy dress, waving my magic wand – brrrrrrriiing! – giving you the chance to win the kind of prize I’d sell Prince Charming for. Stoke Park is the hotel where Bridget Jones romped on the four poster with Daniel Carver (and where I […]
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Muddy stays: The Elms hotel, Worcester
I used to go on sooooo many short UK breaks when I lived in London – like most city-dwellers I was desperate to escape the smoke and see some sheep. But somehow with kids and school and, er, lack of funds, it’s much more of an occasional treat these days. I took the kids and […]
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Stay here: The Wild Rabbit, Kingham
Well, this is a no-brainer. Anyone who lives in or near the Cotswolds has no doubt already heard of The Wild Rabbit, the super-chic 12 room boutique hotel that revolutionised the humble inn with its pretty stone, Farrow & Balled ledges, and gorgeous reworking of rural luxury. This one of those rare glorious features where […]