Spotlight

45+ cool kitchen design companies we trustThinking of a redesign? From classic Shaker styles to sleek contemporary cabinets, these kitchen design companies across the Muddy counties know just what they're doing.
WIN £3,000 cash for your business!To celebrate this year's Muddy Awards, our national sponsor Healthily is giving away a life-changing £3k cash injection to boost one company's health & wellbeing. Click to enter now!
23 of the best places to holiday in the UKChoosing a UK holiday? Then you're going to want to check out our bang-up-to-date insider guides to these top towns and cities across the Muddy counties.
Summer 2023 Ahoy!Struggling to nail the perfect family holiday for next year? Drop anchor and relax, Disney Cruise Line and its new European voyages, including departures from Southampton, could be the answer to all your problems.
Lady of the manor! 7 stately homes you can stay inThe new Downton film is here, and we fancy channelling Lady Mary. For a stately staycay, here are seven manors you can overnight in (butlers sadly not included).

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I'm Hero, founder of Muddy Stilettos, here to bring you the quirky, cool and downright unmissable across the counties.

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Gotta Have It

When one destination isn't enough, try several! Now throw in luxury accommodation, spa, gym, restaurants and activities for the whole gang, and raise a cocktail to your new travel BFF - the cruise.

Gotta have it

Muddy Awards 2022

The Muddy Awards are GO! Show your plucky local indie businesses some love by nominating them now - nominations close 20 May

Nominate now

Eat

Review: The Victoria, Oxshott

A destination pub if ever I met one, The Victoria in Oxshott is worth going out of your way for – fabulous food, excellent wine list and a gorgeous country pub setting.
- Plant power! 13 local vegan & veggie eateries
  
  Permanently plant-powered or just trying to cut down your meat consumption? Try one of these local joints that put veggies front and centre and deliver on flavour.
- Review: The Great Shefford, nr Hungerford
  
  A riverside pub that’s full of surprises. The Great Shefford is a gastro gem with a former Hand & Flowers chef at the helm. Intrigued? You should be.
- Muddy eats: The Factory Kitchen, Ilkeston
  
  With Michelin creds and hipster-cool interiors, this award-winning restaurant in Derbyshire should be at the top of your hitlist for a brilliant brunch or dinner with friends.
- Chopsticks ready! 15 best local sushi & Japanese joints
  
  Did you know Bucks & Oxon are home to some amazing, authentic and under-the-radar Japanese restaurants? Here’s where to get your sushi, ramen, katsu and bento box fix

Arts & Culture

Worth your watch! 6 great things on TV this week

Pull up a chair and crack open the wine: from the new season of Stranger Things to a thrilling French boxset, we’ve got your weekly watchlist well and truly sorted.
- Feet up! 6 things to watch on TV this week
  
  Need something new to watch this week? You’ve come to the right place! From a freshly funny new talk show to an indulgent crime thriller, this is the best of the best.
- 9 outdoor cinemas to book now
  
  Nothing says summer like an alfresco night out watching fab movies under the stars. From gardens to amphitheatres, here’s where to head, popcorn and blanket at the ready
- The 7 best things to watch on TV this week
  
  Sure, the sun might be shining, but the calibre of TV this week is even brighter. From Tom Hiddleston in The Essex Serpent to BBC3’s new Sally Rooney adaptation, here’s what to stay in for.
- Hot Five: this week’s not-to-miss TV
  
  Colin Firth’s true crime gripper, Mike Myers witty return to screen and a shock-doc on a familiar high street fashion chain

Travel

Food for thought: the best gourmet getaways

Eat, sleep, repeat! Food and travel go together like, err, gin and tonic (cheers!) and if you find top nosh plays a key part in making your holiday a success, perhaps it’s time to take things a step further and make it the central focus?
- The best cruise holidays for 2023
  
  When one destination isn’t enough, try several! Now throw in luxury accommodation, spa, gym, restaurants and activities for the whole gang, and raise a cocktail to your new travel BFF – the cruise.
- 23 of the best places to holiday in the UK
  
  Staycationing this summer? Then you’re going to want to check out our bang-up-to-date insider guides to these top towns and cities across the Muddy counties.

Home

- 10 blooming gorgeous local flower farms
  
  These Oxon and Bucks beauties not only sell fresh-picked seasonal flowers but many offer workshops in growing and arranging, or even better, cake!
- 45+ cool kitchen design companies we trust
  
  Thinking of a redesign? From classic Shaker styles to sleek contemporary cabinets, these kitchen design companies across the Muddy counties know just what they’re doing.
Wellbeing
- WIN £3,000 cash for your business!
  
  To celebrate this year’s Muddy Awards, our national sponsor Healthily is giving away a life-changing £3k cash injection to boost one company’s health & wellbeing. Click to enter now!
- Ready for bed? 7 top buys for a restful sleep
  
  In celebration of World Sleep Day, here are our top shopping picks, from pillows and candles to sheets to sliders. If these don’t help you reach the land of nod, nothing will!!

life

- 5 ways weddings have changed for 2022 and beyond
  
  How does the big white wedding look in a post-pandemic world? We asked the Muddy Award-winning team behind The Tythe Barn in Bicester.
- Time to split? How to do it, from the break-up queen
  
  She’s got a podcast, comedy show, award-winning books and celeb following – Rosie Wilby is the one to listen to if you’re breaking up
Kids
- Newsflash – Tring Park Prep opens doors to Year 3!
  
  Think you might have a wannabe actor, dancer, musician or singer on your hands? Great news – this excellent performing arts school in Herts is widening its intake this year. Check out our Q&A for the deets.
- Moulsford School, Moulsford
  
  A highly-regarded boy’s prep school in South Oxon in a stonkingly lovely setting on the Thames, with a strong reputation for sport and extracurricular activities.

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Fashion

5 stylish sleepwear sets for him

Threadbare boxers begone! The style gods have spoken (aka Gucci and Harry Styles) and pyjamas for men are in – here are five sets that hit the spot.
- 10 buys for World Bee Day
  
  Hey, if it’s for the little black and yellow fellas, then who are we to argue with a shopping spree to celebrate World Bee Day (20 May)? Here are 10 on-trend buys we’re totally buzzing about
- Fresh air, fresh fashion!
  
  Seven compelling reasons to head to Bicester Village including up to 20 per cent off prices in April’s renowned Private Sale and the Do-Good pop up boutique. Trust us, no-show is not an option.
Beauty
- The HOTTEST new nail polish shades for spring
  
  Spring is here – time for pretty new nails! From new season chic pastels to Harry Styles’ psychedelic new collection, here are the shades to have on rotation right now.
- REVIEW: new skincare that’s gorgeous – and works!
  
  Let us introduce you to WOAH – your favourite new vegan skincare line, tried and tested by Muddy ed-in-chief Hero Brown. See our edit, then win the entire collection, worth over £200.

People

The Guilty Feminist on tour!

Love the podcast? Good news – its creator is coming to Oxford this month. We grabbed the super-talented Deborah Francis-White for a Muddy chinwag.
- Muddy meets Sleeper frontwoman Louise Wener
  
  We copied her hairdo and indie style back in the ’90s, now Sleeper singer and guitarist Louise Wener is back on stage with the band: cooler and more confident than ever.
- Gotta Have It: 90s legends in Lego
  
  Can you guess which girl band is being immortalised in Lego 25 years after their iconic album release?