Partner Press Releases

Oxfordshire celebrated as champion for local energy innovations on COP26 bus tour

Oxfordshire has been heralded as a local energy champion in the fight against climate change as the UK prepares to host the COP26 summit next month. A fully electric double-decker bus pulled into Oxford City Centre on the first stop of a ‘Road to Renewables’ nationwide tour. Showcasing same of the most innovative clean energy…

Fairytale Farm near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire is launching a brand new family Halloween event called ‘Scarily Ever After’

Fairytale Farm near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire is launching a brand new family Halloween event called ‘Scarily Ever After’. Owner Nick Laister says: “There’s always magic happening in the land of fairy tales, and there’s no better time for little ones to solve a spooky Halloween mystery than the most magical month of the year,…

Three Delicious Food Brands Join Westgate Oxford’s Line-up

Westgate Oxford has announced an expansion to its food and beverage offer with the opening of Plants & Grills’ first retail space, alongside Joe & The Juice’s regional debut. Ole & Steen have also re-opened their Oxford branch. Plants & Grills opened their kiosk within the centre’s unique ’Westgate Social Street Food’ space. The brand…

Chess Champions Crowned at Palace

The country’s brightest young chess players took part in the 26th Delancey UK Schools’ Chess Challenge at Blenheim Palace at the weekend. The event was the culmination of months of online tournaments, which saw more than 2,250 students, representing over 800 schools and chess clubs competing throughout the summer Sixty players from across the UK…

Father Christmas is returning to Bletchley Park for the festive season

Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes, the once top-secret home of Britain’s World War Two Codebreakers, now a vibrant museum and heritage attraction, will be welcoming the main man himself, Father Christmas, to its Vintage Christmas Grotto this winter. Taking up residence in the sumptuously decorated Vintage Christmas Grotto in the Bletchley Park Mansion, families will…

Pye Homes Creating new Community at Marcham

Pye Homes has begun work on a community of 47 high-quality homes at its new Temple Gate development in Marcham. The new site will feature a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses built in line with Pye’s ‘how we build principles’, based on the belief landowners have a social, economic and moral responsibility to…

Covered Market launches audio tour The Un-Covered Market

Oxford Covered Market will launch a new audio tour, The Un-Covered Market, this weekend. The City Council commissioned Oxford-based multi-media artist Charlie Henry to create a participatory installation that embraces the history and communities who use the market. To watch the trailer click here Charlie gathered stories and memories from Covered Market users of all…

Singer Attends Launch of Charity Photographic Exhibition at Blenheim’s Stables Café

Singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti and his wife, actress and artist, Jemma Powell were among guests at the official opening of MASKED, a new photographic exhibition at Blenheim Palace’s Stables Café in aid of children’s charity AT The Bus.   The Oxfordshire couple, who are great supporters of the charity, attended the event, which is being staged…

Sunrise Walk Raises More Than £2,500 for Grief Support Charity

A sponsored sunrise walk at Blenheim Palace in memory of loved ones has raised more than £2,500 for a grief support charity working with children and young people in Oxfordshire. The event, which was organised by SeeSaw, Blenheim’s charity of the year, attracted 130 people. The fundraiser is a chance for people to walk with…

Chainsaw Artist Creates Bee Bench at Blenheim Palace

A champion chainsaw artist has unveiled a pair of nature-inspired carved benches from fallen trees at Blenheim Palace. Wood sculptor Matthew Crabb created a bee bench and a flower bench for the Oxfordshire UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bee bench, which was inspired by the estate’s wild honey bee populations, overlooks the lake, while the…

Award winning Distillery Launches the Graduate Whisky

The Oxford Artisan Distillery has announced the release of a new delicious limited edition whisky, The Graduate, the fourth batch of Oxford Rye Whisky. Since the distillery launched their first batch of Oxford Rye Whisky back in April to great acclaim, each subsequent batch has been drawing praise for its quality of flavour. Supporting biodiversity…

Oxfordshire residents returning to Buses as the county bounces back

Oxfordshire residents responded to a campaign to encourage people back onto buses, with a reported 20% increase in bus use last month. Bus operators Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel and Stagecoach joined forces to help residents return to using buses in September. It saw hundreds of people take advantage of an offer of 30% off…

Marta Bastianelli Sprints To First-Ever AJ Bell Women’s Tour Stage Victory In Banbury

Former world champion Marta Bastianelli claimed her first-ever AJ Bell Women’s Tour stage victory in Banbury, Oxfordshire, on Monday following a perfectly-timed sprint. Bastianelli (Alé BTC Ljubljana) managed to pass Chloe Hosking (Trek-Segafredo) and FDJ Nouvelle – Aquitaine Futuroscope’s Clara Copponi in sight of the line to take the win and the race’s first leader’s…

Bicester child wins AJ Bell Women’s Tour flag design competition

Bicester schoolboy Reuben Cooper, aged 10, has won this year’s AJ Bell Women’s Tour flag design competition. The prestigious cycle race is taking place between Bicester, Oxford, Abingdon, and Banbury this coming Monday 4 October. The Glory Farm Primary School pupil’s design was judged the best by cyclist Katie Scott, who is from Faringdon –…

Catastrophe at Kut – an Oxfordshire regiment under siege in Iraq, 1916

• An Online talk streaming at 7pm on Wednesday 20th October 2021 with a live Q&A with speaker Patrick Crowley. • Siege of Kut, Mesopotamia (Present day Iraq) in 1916 was one of the greatest defeats the British Army ever faced in its history. 13,000 were taken prisoner, 4000 would die in captivity. • The…

Oxford’s Iffley Academy wins prestigious Artsmark Platinum Award for contribution to arts education

Pupils and staff at Iffley Academy, Oxford are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Artsmark Platinum Award in recognition of the school’s outstanding provision and contribution to arts education. This is the highest arts award afforded to schools by the Arts Council and Iffley Academy is only one of six schools in the country in 2021…

Ghoulish Goings-on at Blenheim Palace’s Half Term Fright-Fest

Things that go bump in the night – and day – will create a spooky half term experience for all the family at Blenheim Palace next month (October 22nd to October 31st). The Oxfordshire UNESCO World Heritage Site’s Halloween entertainment includes nerve-jangling activities, spine-chilling statues, scary stories, fiendishly fiery performers, pumpkin carving and ghostly train…

Autumn Extravaganza at Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace is celebrating all things autumnal over the weekend as part of its brand new Autumn Festival (Friday, 1st October to Sunday, 3rd October). Based around the historic Walled Garden, the event features delicious street food, live music and theatre, family harvest games, haybale sports, a sculpture trail, competitions, workshops, talks and market stalls…

Stagecoach in Oxfordshire Offers Free Oxford Tube Travel to London Marathon Runners

Oxford Tube, the 24-hour coach service travelling direct from Oxford to London, has announced it will offer free return travel to London Marathon runners on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd October. Marathon runners travelling from Oxford can do so for free by simply showing their race number, certificate, or badge to the Oxford Tube driver…

Final countdown… AJ Bell Women’s Tour cycling race is coming to Oxfordshire on Monday

The AJ Bell Women’s Tour, the premiere women’s international cycle race in the UK, is coming to Oxfordshire on Monday 4 October 2021. Around 100 pro-cyclists – accompanied by support vehicles – will race from Bicester, continuing through Oxford and Abingdon, to the finish in Banbury. From the start line on Bicester’s Sheep Street, the…

New Recycling Heroes competition offers the best recycler a chance to win £250 in LoveToShop vouchers

The competition will involve residents capturing their recycling skills in a photo or video, with the best entry winning £250 in LoveToShop vouchers. The aim is to increase the number of people who recycle within Oxford and bring communities together to care for the environment. Oxford currently sends none of its household waste to landfill,…