Bucks &amp; Oxon

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T101655.759.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144580" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T101655.759.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T101655.759-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T101655.759-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T101655.759-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption>The Cotswolds&#8217; latest pleasure palace</figcaption></figure>



Jet set incoming! It&#8217;s one of the most eagerly awaited Cotswolds openings of the year, so naturally, our Muddy radar is on full alert, and here&#8217;s what we&#8217;ve gleaned so far about the private members retreat opening in the coming weeks, <a href="https://estellemanor.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Estelle Manor</a>, near Witney. There&#8217;ll be four restaurants including an all-day brasserie, glasshouse serving wood-fired dishes and a traditional Chinese restaurant, a Riviera-inspired sun terrace and 25m outdoor pool, Roman-inspired bath house with a whopping five pools and ten treatment rooms, gym with a class studio and padel courts, a workspace, kids’ club, George Northwood hair salon, and 108 gorgeous bedrooms. With reservations currently taking overnight bookings from May 5, it looks like we won&#8217;t have too much longer to wait! 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T121333.343.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144669" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T121333.343.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T121333.343-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T121333.343-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T121333.343-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption>Footage of the Bucks film set from Youtuber DJ Audits</figcaption></figure>



A film set village has popped up on farmland near Ivinghoe and its the location for the Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo-led musical movie, Wicked, an adaptation of the long-running theatre show. Grande as Glinda, the good witch, and Erivo as Elphaba, the wicked witch, are set to be joined by Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and Bridgerton&#8217;s Jonathan Bailey &#8211; talk about Hollywood royalty. Keep your eyes peeled as filming runs until the end of July with the film out next November.



Fancy seeing Edinburgh Fringe acts without the schlep to Scotland? Then nab your tickets now for the preview shows running at Oxon&#8217;s very own <a href="https://kentontheatre.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kenton Theatre</a> in Henley. Among the acts are Simon Brodkin and Chloe Petts (yup, the guy who pranked Sepp Blatter and Donald Trump and she of The Stand-Up Sketch Show fame), as well as Matt Forde &amp; Bella Hull and the family friendly Bee Story, featuring acrobatics, dance and music. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T110243.114.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144653" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T110243.114.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T110243.114-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T110243.114-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T110243.114-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption>Snap up this Miro at Amber Galleries &#8211; POA</figcaption></figure>



A contemporary new art space has opened in Henley&#8217;s Market Place and we&#8217;re loving the look &#8211; striking art from better and less known artists at a range of prices so whether you&#8217;re wanting to go big on a statement Damien Hirst (yes, really) or invest in someone up-and-coming for a few hundred pounds, you&#8217;re catered for. Artists at <a href="https://ambergalleries.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Amber Galleries</a> include Hockney and Dali as well as Miro and Lichtenstein, so it&#8217;s a culture fix as much as a shopping fix. 



Luxe lifestyle festival <a href="https://parkfair.uk">Park Fair</a> is officially returning to Great Tew for its second year (30 June to 2 July, mark it in your calendar) &#8211; and we&#8217;re delighted to hear that this year it&#8217;ll be catered by <a href="https://www.thecotswoldguy.co.uk">The Cotswold Guy</a>, aka Chris Davey. David Beckham&#8217;s a big fan &#8211; we&#8217;ve spotted him scoffing the sausage rolls on Insta &#8211; so much so that The Cotswold Guy is opening up a second deli and farm shop location in Chipping Norton, just down the road from Golden Balls himself. Becks has already been in to visit &#8211; er, Muddy work trip, anyone? 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T115523.924.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144663" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T115523.924.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T115523.924-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T115523.924-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T115523.924-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



A few new destinations for the foodies among you to try &#8211; kicking us off, there&#8217;s a new deli in Wargrave. It&#8217;s opened in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/daisylovewargrave/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Daisy Love</a>, the coffee shop that&#8217;s going from strength to strength with branches in Henley and Cookham as well as Wargrave. Expect Turkish coffee and baklava, cheeses and pantry goodies. Over in Kidlington, local fave La Patisserie has closed, but north of Oxford in Banbury, a new bakery is opening on the back of a thriving online order business, <a href="https://tessbrilliantbakes.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tess&#8217; Brilliant Bakes</a>. Mooted for the first weekend of May, it&#8217;ll be in Parsons Street and will sell her trademark naughty bakes plus cookies-to-order &#8211; there&#8217;s three words that we never knew we needed in our lives. And finally, the march of <a href="https://leavetheherdbehind.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Black Sheep Coffee</a> continues, with Oxford&#8217;s high street set to be the fifth cafe outside London for the brand, which will close its George Street location to take up the prime spot right on the corner of St Aldates. It&#8217;s going into the unit left vacant by Edinburgh Wool Mill &#8211; oh the irony. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T140433.260.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-144686" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T140433.260.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T140433.260-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T140433.260-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/Untitled-design-2023-04-17T140433.260-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Ditch the slobby sweats and get yourself some hot new fitness gear at the new <a href="https://www.sweatybetty.com/shop-details?StoreID=212" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sweaty Betty</a> store once it&#8217;s opened (in the next couple of weeks!) in Henley&#8217;s Market Place. If it&#8217;s like the sister sites, we can expect a trainer and bra fitting service, free fitness classes out of hours and the ever-evolving collection of inspiring lounge &#8211; I mean fitness &#8211; wear. Until then you&#8217;ve got the Beaconsfield, Marlow, Bicester or Oxford stores.

New Oxon openings and celebs in Bucks: Superflashy newsflash time!

You may also like