Bucks &amp; Oxon


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tom-hardy-in-chipping-norton">Tom Hardy in Chipping Norton</h2>


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<figure class="alignleft size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="896" height="1252" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Falkland-Arms-Great-Tew.png" alt="Falkland Arms Great Tew" class="wp-image-199817" style="aspect-ratio:0.7156549520766773;width:640px;height:auto" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Falkland-Arms-Great-Tew.png 896w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Falkland-Arms-Great-Tew-573x800.png 573w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Falkland-Arms-Great-Tew-716x1000.png 716w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Falkland-Arms-Great-Tew-286x400.png 286w" sizes="(max-width: 896px) 100vw, 896px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/falklandarms_great_tew/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@falklandarms_great_tew</a></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Or more specifically, Great Tew, where the actor and<em> MobLand</em> TV crew shut down celeb-magnet <a href="https://www.falklandarms.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Falkland Arms </a>for filming recently. We’d never thought of the gastropub as a gangster hangout (the TV show<em> QI </em>was dreamt up here and Benedict Cumberbatch has been down for a beer) but then the series creator Guy Ritchie is mates with local boy David Beckham so perhaps his pal tipped him off on the best pub to host some kingpins. Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Toby Jones and<em> Downton</em>’s Joanne Froggatt also star. Brosnan’s character Conrad Harrigan (the show’s mob boss) even has a line in the script stating that The Falkland Arms “serves a nice pint”, and we wouldn’t dare to disagree.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-three-cheers-for-the-plough">Three cheers for The Plough!</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/The-Plough-Shiplake-sign-1000x666.jpg" alt="Exterior of The Plough Shiplake" class="wp-image-156483" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/The-Plough-Shiplake-sign-1000x666.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/The-Plough-Shiplake-sign-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/The-Plough-Shiplake-sign-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/The-Plough-Shiplake-sign.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p><a href="https://www.theploughshiplake.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Plough </a>is the stylish foodie star of Shiplake’s pub scene (just <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/pubs-inns/muddy-review-the-plough-shiplake-henley-gastropub/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">read our review </a>to get your tastebuds watering) and we can hardly believe she’s three. To celebrate, the team is having a bash this<strong> Sat 6 Dec</strong>, and we predict it’ll be a real hoe down. Country music band The Bottleneck Brothers will have you electric-sliding all the way to the bar, where there’s pints and prosecco for a mere £3 from 1:30pm – 3:30pm, and if you order from the autumn menu you’re in for a real treat. The Dirty Anna’s caught our eye and we won’t say more than that. Get that last minute annual leave request in stat, or rock up after work when things will still be swinging.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-killing-it">Killing it</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/3/2020/10/Killingworth-Castle-menu-1.jpg" alt="Killingworth Castle food" class="wp-image-109569" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/10/Killingworth-Castle-menu-1.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/10/Killingworth-Castle-menu-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/10/Killingworth-Castle-menu-1-667x500.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/10/Killingworth-Castle-menu-1-150x113.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/10/Killingworth-Castle-menu-1-700x525.jpg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p><a href="https://www.thekillingworthcastle.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Killingworth Castle </a>in Wootton near Woodstock has 2025 all tied up in a bow. The pub came in at no. 17 in the <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/latest-news/best-pubs-hotels-oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-2025-news/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs</a> list recently and now they’ve nabbed a new head chef, Edward Sutton, straight from the kitchen of Claridge’s. Don’t worry, you needn’t rent a tux for The Killy’s much-loved Sunday lunch; Dutton has a “farm to fork ethos” that suits the historic rural pub down to the ground. There’s a new sous-chef on the books too in Rob Mason, who’s previously sharpened his knives at Michelin starred The Cottage in the Wood in the Lake District and The Cricketers in Clavering, where some guy called Jamie Oliver grew up. This village gem just got even more spangly – race you to Wootton. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-bull-means-business">The Bull means business</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/3/2024/01/BULLCHARLBURY.jpg" alt="gastropubs the bull charlbury" class="wp-image-182129" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/BULLCHARLBURY.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/BULLCHARLBURY-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/BULLCHARLBURY-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/BULLCHARLBURY-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Need to clinch a deal in Oxfordshire? Not only is <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/best-places-to-live/oxfordshire/charlbury/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Charlbury </a>one of the <a href="https://muddystilettos.co.uk/best-places-to-live/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Best Places to Live 2026</a>, but <a href="https://thebullcharlbury.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Bull </a>on Sheep Street is the best place to host a business lunch or meeting out of town, according to <em>The Financial Times</em>. The newspaper’s inaugural <a href="https://businesslunchawards.live.ft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Business Lunch Awards </a>celebrated establishments that served up especially sublime lunches, with reader nominations whittled down to five by esteemed food critics such as Jay Rayner and Marina O’Loughlin. The Bull came top outside of London and was in fine company with the likes of nose-to-tail favourite St John also winning a gong. Rayner declared that &#8220;the business lunch is proof that the very best conversations really do happen over well-laid restaurant tables”, so consider that your cue to log off Zoom and hotfoot it to The Bull.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-full-steam-ahead">Full steam ahead</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1296" height="1944" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Missing-Bean-Charlbury.jpeg" alt="Missing Bean Charlbury" class="wp-image-199821" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Missing-Bean-Charlbury.jpeg 1296w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Missing-Bean-Charlbury-533x800.jpeg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Missing-Bean-Charlbury-667x1000.jpeg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Missing-Bean-Charlbury-267x400.jpeg 267w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/12/Missing-Bean-Charlbury-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1296px) 100vw, 1296px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Missing Bean&#8217;s Charlbury café</figcaption></figure>



<p>They already supply some of <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/cafes/best-coffee-cafes-buckinghamshire-oxfordshire/">Oxfordshire’s coolest cafés</a> with supreme coffee beans, now East Oxford roastery <a href="https://www.themissingbean.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Missing Bean </a>has added two new spots to its already very perky empire. <a href="https://www.themissingbean.co.uk/pages/charlbury-cafe" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Missing Bean Charlbury </a>arrived in October, bigging up the town’s already stellar credentials and supplying locals with freshly roasted cups of joe all week long. </p>



<p>Next up they’ll be fuelling the big brains at a co-working and research space in Oxford’s <a href="https://trinitybybreakthrough.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Trinity building </a>on the outskirts of Cowley. The Missing Bean team has declared the opening as a “super fresh” move in “familiar surroundings”, and they’re not just serving piccolos and pastries; there will be a full breakfast and lunch offering to power Oxford’s enquiring minds. As you might expect, the newest Missing Bean outpost will be a weekday focused affair and they’re recruiting now if you’re a budding or old-hand barista. Just as Missing Bean has worked wonders to add some buzz to <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/cafes/hidden-industrial-estates-cafes-bars-oxfordshire-buckinghamshire/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oxfordshire’s industrial estates,</a> now they’re looking to do the same for its business parks. We’re here for it.&nbsp;</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/work/best-co-working-spaces-in-buckinghamshire-oxfordshire/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The best co-working spots near you</a></li>



<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/pubs-inns/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-gastro-pubs-fire-place/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">27 cosy pubs for chilly days in Bucks &amp; Oxon</a></li>



<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/film-tv/oscar-worthy-filming-locations-in-bucks-oxon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oscar-worthy filming locations in Bucks &amp; Oxon</a></li>
</ul>


Hot pub goss! Tom Hardy’s in Chippy and new awards just in

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