Bucks &amp; Oxon


<p>Opened just last month (and in the nick of time, too) on the Waterfront at Banbury&#8217;s Castle Quay shopping centre, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The Light (opens in a new tab)" href="https://banbury.thelight.co.uk" target="_blank">The Light</a> is a three-floor cinema and entertainment complex packed to the brim with kid-friendly stuff. Best of all, it&#8217;s all inside, so you&#8217;re sorted whether it&#8217;s blowing a gale or hitting the heights of 40c (again). Here are five reasons why we&#8217;ll be headed there with the sprogs this summer. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1) It&#8217;s screen time done right </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="546" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Thor-film.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-134335" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Thor-film.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Thor-film-800x437.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Thor-film-400x218.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Thor-film-900x491.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>If you&#8217;re experiencing parental guilt over the amount of X-Box time your precious angels are racking up, pack up the whole family and head out to watch Chris Hemsworth in 4K instead (well, if they will insist on screens&#8230;!). There are multiple screens at The Light&#8217;s cinema, ranging from 154-seaters for the latest blockbusters to more intimate 54-seat rooms for live opera and theatre. Throw armchairs and sofas, electric recliners and full-length lounger beds into the mix too, and the kids can go hyper on popcorn while you shut your eyes for five minutes. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2) There&#8217;s games galore </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Bowling-lit-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-134395" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Bowling-lit-2.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Bowling-lit-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Bowling-lit-2-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Bowling-lit-2-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Bowling-lit-2-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>No chance of boredom here &#8211; in fact there&#8217;s so much, you&#8217;ll need the entire summer holidays to explore it all. Ready? Deep breath: there&#8217;s ten-pin bowling, a retro arcade with pinball machines, basketball hoops and more, a ten-hole mini-golf course, interactive darts, pool, curling, and table tennis. Start a leaderboard at home and let them battle it out. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3) It&#8217;ll get them moving </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="992" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Climbing-14.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-134391" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Climbing-14.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Climbing-14-800x529.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Climbing-14-1000x661.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Climbing-14-400x265.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/The-Light-Banbury-Climbing-14-794x525.jpg 794w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>If you&#8217;re climbing the walls, then swap places and get the kids climbing instead. The Light&#8217;s Adventure Climb has 26 individual climbs over three zones for them to try, including two racing walls (remember the surprise hit of the Olympics?) and a Ninja Zone if they fancy trying their own version of <em>Ninja Warrior</em>. Think rope ladders, cargo nets, fireman&#8217;s poles and an 8-metre leap of faith. Surely that&#8217;ll tire them out. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4) They can eat the street</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1001" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Pizza-Express-Pizzeria.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-134396" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Pizza-Express-Pizzeria.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Pizza-Express-Pizzeria-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Pizza-Express-Pizzeria-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Pizza-Express-Pizzeria-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Pizza-Express-Pizzeria-787x525.jpg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>When in doubt, turn to street food. Keep the whole horde happy with sourdough pizzas from Fratellis, hotdogs, burgers and sliders from PITTSBURGER and brunch, shakes, and desserts from Coffee Cabana. Think crowd-pleasing rather than calorie counting and you get the general idea. Need an old faithful? A shiny new Pizza Express just opened on the ground floor. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5) Banbury&#8217;s on your doorstep</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1125" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Banbury-Museum-1500.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-134406" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Banbury-Museum-1500.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Banbury-Museum-1500-800x600.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Banbury-Museum-1500-1000x750.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Banbury-Museum-1500-400x300.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/07/Banbury-Museum-1500-700x525.jpg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>You&#8217;re not going to be traipsing out to the countryside or to a industrial estate to get all this good stuff &#8211; it&#8217;s right in Banbury town centre, so make a day of it &#8211; <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Lock29 (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.lock29.co.uk" target="_blank">Lock29</a> and the free <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Banbury Museum (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.banburymuseum.org" target="_blank">Banbury Museum</a> (above) are also inside Castle Quay, mere steps away. If you do fancy travelling further out, the beautiful moated manor house <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Broughton Castle (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.broughtoncastle.com" target="_blank">Broughton Castle</a>, National Trust&#8217;s <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Upton House (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/upton-house-and-gardens" target="_blank">Upton House</a> and the gentle pleasures of the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Waterfowl Sanctuary and Children's Farm (opens in a new tab)" href="http://www.waterfowlsanctuary.co.uk" target="_blank">Waterfowl Sanctuary and Children&#8217;s Farm</a> are all within a 20 minute drive. </p>



<p><em><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The Light,  (opens in a new tab)" href="https://banbury.thelight.co.uk" target="_blank">The Light</a>, Spiceball Park Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 2PA</em></p>


Why The Light at Banbury is your summer holiday saviour

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