Bucks &amp; Oxon


<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-07-15T105504.784-1000x1000.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-175791" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-07-15T105504.784-1000x1000.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-07-15T105504.784-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-07-15T105504.784-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-07-15T105504.784-500x500.jpg 500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-07-15T105504.784-1100x1100.jpg 1100w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-07-15T105504.784.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Little Ensemble </figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-swoon-oxford"><a href="https://www.swoononaspoon.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Swoon</a>, Oxford</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T151512.439.jpg" alt="Swoon Gelato, Oxford" class="wp-image-175688" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T151512.439.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T151512.439-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T151512.439-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T151512.439-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Swoon<strong> </strong>in Oxford does the best gelato. When you&#8217;re married to a half-Italian you know the difference between ice cream and gelato!&nbsp;He says it&#8217;s the closest to eating the gelato he grew up with. The chocolate sorbet is also incredible. If my daughter Amaya and her dad have a date there, I get some peace. That said, I don&#8217;t settle down with a book, I use the time for Little Ensemble, like getting ready for a market &#8211; I might be pinning waistbands on or sewing.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-millennium-dragon-bicester"><a href="https://www.millenniumdragon.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Millennium Dragon</a>, Bicester</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T151858.284.jpg" alt="The Grand Village Imperial in Bicester" class="wp-image-175689" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T151858.284.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T151858.284-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T151858.284-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T151858.284-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>When we first got married we were so broke that we bought a Chinese takeaway from Millennium Dragon in Bicester to celebrate! It&#8217;s our favourite now and Amaya loves spring rolls, prawn toast and prawn crackers.&nbsp;When we celebrated our tenth anniversary two years ago, we splurged and went to <strong><a href="https://www.grandvillageimperial.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Grand Village Imperial</a></strong> in Bicester.&nbsp;If we&#8217;re feeling flush on our 20th, maybe we&#8217;ll actually go to China! Millennium Dragon is really nothing fancy and the service is a bit hit and miss but the food is great and there&#8217;s lots of Chinese people eating there so I think that&#8217;s a great sign. It&#8217;s a real treat.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-orchard-view-farm-ford"><a href="https://www.orchardviewfarm.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Orchard View Farm</a>, Ford</h2>



<p>A friend introduced us to <strong>Orchard View Farm</strong> just outside&nbsp;Haddenham and I go there often now.&nbsp;They have a glamping site, farm shop and café, the food is child friendly and tasty, and there&#8217;s a decent butcher. I love the South African Shop (I&#8217;m part SA) and I go there to stock up on things I can&#8217;t get anywhere else like biltong, droewors (a dried sausage), and canned guava and dried. It&#8217;s pulped and rolled until it looks like paper &#8211; you buy it rolled up and tear pieces off to eat. So good! I&#8217;ve also collaborated with a business there &#8211; I did a joint giveaway with Pott-tasic Pottery, which has a pop-up at Orchard View Farm, and I&#8217;ll be going back to do more with them ahead of Christmas.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bure-park-bicester"><a href="https://www.bicestergreengym.org/work-sites/bure-park/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bure Park</a>, Bicester</h2>



<p>Bure Park in Bicester is our second home.&nbsp; It has an amazing open space and a huge number of footpaths. The whole area is really well planned, with play areas directed at specific ages. We also have the <strong>Bure Park Nature Reserve</strong> that runs through the estate with a stream going through it.&nbsp;Amaya and I go on adventures and her current favourite thing is to collect stones to drop into the stream and say hello to the dogs being walked in the park.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blenheim-palace-woodstock"><a href="https://www.blenheimpalace.com/">Blenheim Palace</a>, Woodstock</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T143454.972-1-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-175684" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T143454.972-1-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T143454.972-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T143454.972-1-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Untitled-design-2024-10-29T143454.972-1.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>I have a group of close girlfriends including my daughter&#8217;s godmother and we meet up every year for an escape that&#8217;s child and husband free. This year we went to the Icons of British Fashion exhibition at <a href="https://www.blenheimpalace.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Blenheim Palace</strong></a>. It was amazing to see these outfits up close. They also had jousting and street food on, so it was a lovely day out. One of us drives and everyone else can have a glass or two of wine. Last year we visited <strong>Stow-on-the-Wold</strong> and saw <a href="https://www.stowcivicsociety.co.uk/tolkien-door" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tolkien&#8217;s door</a> and the year before that it was <strong>Burford </strong>for a <a href="https://www.burfordchurch.org/visitors" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tour</a> of the church. Our trips are always local and cultural, and eating is a big part of it &#8211; as well as the glasses of wine!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-freelance-fabrics-kidlington"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/freefabkid/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Freelance Fabrics</a>, Kidlington</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Snapinsta.app_464768227_531521823169902_1995498370834832959_n_1080.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-175767" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Snapinsta.app_464768227_531521823169902_1995498370834832959_n_1080.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Snapinsta.app_464768227_531521823169902_1995498370834832959_n_1080-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Snapinsta.app_464768227_531521823169902_1995498370834832959_n_1080-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Snapinsta.app_464768227_531521823169902_1995498370834832959_n_1080-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>When it comes to sourcing material it&#8217;s all done online now. The days of being able to go and look at <strong>fabric shops</strong> are long gone sadly because so many have closed. There&#8217;s Freelance Fabrics in <strong><a href="https://freelancefabrics.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kidlington</a> </strong>(above) and Masons in <strong><a href="https://www.masonsfabric.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Abingdon</a> </strong>but they are few and far between. I&#8217;m always looking for unisex, fun fabrics that are soft because kids need to be comfortable to be active, not restricted by formal clothes. My trousers have yoga bands not waistbands that dig in while they try and play.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blue-diamond-soft-play-bicester"><a href="https://www.bluediamond.gg/eat-and-play-bicester-avenue-garden-centre" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blue Diamond Soft Play</a>, Bicester</h2>



<p>The Blue Diamond Soft Play at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre is a firm favourite where I often meet a friend with a similar age daughter. It has a section for little kids aged up to two years old, there&#8217;s decent parking and they make a good coffee with decent breakfast &#8211; what more could you ask for? Our children are getting braver but we still have to go around with them &#8211; I&#8217;m knackered by the end of it. It&#8217;s like my gym workout.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-millets-farm-nr-abingdon"><a href="https://www.milletsfarmcentre.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Millets Farm</a>, nr Abingdon</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="750" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Snapinsta.app_464437935_1018247790340321_8247571549232836148_n_1080.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-175786" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Snapinsta.app_464437935_1018247790340321_8247571549232836148_n_1080.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Snapinsta.app_464437935_1018247790340321_8247571549232836148_n_1080-800x600.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Snapinsta.app_464437935_1018247790340321_8247571549232836148_n_1080-400x300.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>My mother-in-law lives in Newbury and Millets Farm Centre is an amazing halfway point where we can meet up. We mostly go here in the summer, have some lunch, and look at the animals. If the queues are reasonable we&#8217;ll go on the carousel. Next summer we want to try the pick your own and the corn maze.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bure-farm-bicester"><a href="https://www.burefarmpub.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bure Farm</a>, Bicester</h2>



<p>Bure Farm<strong> </strong>is an unpretentious pub that&#8217;s really convenient for us and it&#8217;s really child friendly.&nbsp; In the summer we walk down after an adventure in the Nature Reserve to have an ice cream and play on the climbing frame. In the early evenings I might even treat myself to a glass of wine.</p>



<p><em>Read all about Toni&#8217;s handmade kids clothing business <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/little-black-book/directory/little-ensemble-hand-crafted-kids-clothes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a></em><strong>. </strong></p>


My Favourite Places: Toni Delli-Compagni, Little Ensemble

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