‘I don’t want to oversell it but they are the best pumpkin pancakes in the universe’: Country Life’s unbeatable guide to Oxfordshire

You would think we’d be tired of Oxfordshire by now. She’s the head girl of the home counties, clear-eyed and bound to be a success, but after all, you can only nod along to so many ballyhoos before tuning out.

And yet: a tickertape of new openings, gilding the regional bedrock of riverside walks, pubs, and destination hotels, keeps travellers boomeranging to the same county year after year.

It’s a shire with fuzzy boundaries, unfurling through the Chilterns, the Thames Valley, and the northwest Cotswolds, as well as the university city of Oxford (above), and has a knack for ensorcelling everybody, from families to couples to hen parties.

‘I have so many “pinch me” moments that are part of my daily routine,’ says Aimee Collins, the executive chef and co-owner of the Five Little Pigs restaurant in Wallingford, who lives in the area. ‘Oxfordshire's villages are iconic, and the city itself is one of real contradictions. It's ancient, but afforded a sense of youth and creativity from its universities. It manages to feel both grand but homely and familiar at the same time, and its fringe neighbourhoods are a real melting pot of amazing food, drink, and culture. There's nowhere else like it on earth.’

Anyway, why fight it? I’m one of the people who can’t keep away.

Where to Stay

The Double Red Duke, Clanfield

When people say they’re after a cosy pub weekend, this is the pub they have in mind.

Stylish, fairly priced rooms in picturesque Clanfield, with goosefeather pillows and a full cookie jar (homemade chocolate chip) next to the kettle.

A cold breakfast is included in the rate, but the cooked dishes are worth shelling out for: get the shakshuka with crunchy dukkah or the split breakfast muffin, stuffed with a fried egg, crispy sausage patty, and Ogleshield cheese.

And a local tip from the owner: ‘Blake’s in Clanfield is the most fantastic café,’ says Georgia Pearman, ‘and they make their own delicious sourdough.’

Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton

Since putting a shingle out in 1984 with chef Raymond Blanc in the kitchen, Le Manoir has been the reigning place for a special occasion meal in Oxfordshire, maybe in all of the UK. Everybody in the dining room is celebrating something or other, and the cork-flying atmosphere is catching.

Bedrooms are pleasingly old fashioned — the types that come with a vast sewing kit, sharply ironed sheets, and a welcome loaf of lemon drizzle — and intended to bookend the two Michelin star restaurant.

The two-acre kitchen garden is a destination in its own right (staff report that it has its own special microclimate), and includes a glasshouse where you can take classes on vegetable garden planning and beekeeping.

Estelle Manor, Eynsham

Part private club, part country estate, all va-va-voom fun.

This broad-shouldered Grade II listed mansion took five years to renovate before opening, and while its stately bones are intact, Estelle Manor is not trying a mimic a National Trust property — here, the lamps are fringed, the outdoor pool draws a crowd, and the Brasserie pours a silky flat white.

A vast bathhouse on the grounds offers cold plunges, meditation, and yoga classes. Local members mix with hotel guests in the drawing rooms and bars. It’s boldly glamorous and there isn’t another countryside hotel like it.

Where to eat

The Bull, Charlbury

The Bull is the pub that everybody wishes they had down the road (‘It’s a brilliant local,’ says Sharan Pasricha, owner of Estelle Manor).

It’s great-looking (flagstones, open fires, Venetian plaster and low beams) and confidently run, and turns out the kind of simple food that I’d like to eat every day of my life: chicken pies, chocolate mousse, mashed potatoes.

The bring-the-house-down rib of beef (for two) comes thickly crusted and sliced in its own jus, but it’s the sides that put things over the top: crackling roasted spuds covered in fried rosemary, green salad with slivers of Old Winchester cheese, sweet tiny carrots in tarragon cream.

For pudding, the kitchen does a brisk trade in cups of soft serve with a chocolate flake, but the dazzler is the ginger cake, which arrives hot and doused in caramel, with a wedge of quince.

Hamblin Bread, Oxford

I’m embarrassed to tell you how far out of our way we’ll go for a loaf from Hamblin Bread, a bakery open from Thursday to Sunday on Iffley Road in east Oxford.

There are a handful of different breads and my favourite is the oat sandwich loaf, a log-sized, rectangular sourdough with an unusually moist crumb (order through their website ahead of time; they always sell out).

Hamblin also operates a sandwich shop, Hamblin Snack Bar (get the Reuben, and ask them to toast it extra), and a bakery kiosk in the Covered Market, just south of Jesus College in the centre of town.

The Trough at Daylesford Organic, Daylesford

Before sailing around the Daylesford Organic farm shop and examining jars of pasta sauce (an experience in itself for anyone who, like me, sees out-of-the-ordinary food shopping as A Treat), I like to have lunch in the sunny room to the left of the main dining area at The Trough.

It’s amazingly serene in there, with low cushy seats and potted olive trees, full of people chatting peacefully. I can’t believe I’m saying anything about it. My order is the flatbread and dip — typically a seasonal veg houmous, with a seedy topping for texture — and the flat iron chicken with pecans and apple cider vinegar dressing, which I have probably eaten 25 times (it’s on the menu at the restaurants in London too, and always a knockout).

The Missing Bean Coffee, Oxfordshire

There are six outposts of this independent coffee shop throughout Oxfordshire, serving their own beans roasted in east Oxford (around the corner from Hamblin Bread).

The first café opened in Oxford in 2009, by two founders who were frustrated by the lack of third-wave coffee outside of London. That’s not a hurdle anymore, but they still sell some of the best beans around.

Other local roasters to look out for: Dark Horse Roastery in south Oxfordshire and Rave Coffee just over the Gloucestershire border in Cirencester.

Five Little Pigs, Wallingford

This joyful restaurant in Wallingford is an all-around gem, and I’m going to shortchange it a little by mooning over the brunch (weekends only).

But look, they have these pumpkin pancakes. They’re warmly spiced and have a texture like crisped-up cake, and they come with mascarpone, a rich seasonal fruit (poached blood oranges, figs, and so on), and a pitcher of maple syrup. I don’t want to oversell it but they are the best pumpkin pancakes in the universe.

And then there’s this breakfast sandwich that they call a ‘Pig Muffin’: it’s a puck of fried root vegetable hash, cranberry sausage, a fried egg, and green tomato ketchup, plus a smattering of chives, on a squashy potato brioche roll. I’d get them both, and bring friends so you can also have the bacon chop with fried bread and eggs, and the homemade beans on toast.

Quince and Clover, Great Tew

The village of Great Tew looks like a watercolour that might be printed on a mug, and in the middle of it is this top-notch café with a thatched roof and a stable door.

The menu changes daily, but there are always big bowls of salads, sausage rolls, and soups available for takeaway, making it a useful place to pull over before a picnic (you can stay and eat inside, too). It’s walking distance from Soho Farmhouse, on the outskirts of Great Tew.

The Fox, Lower Oddington

I hope I’m not putting anyone off by pointing this out, because The Fox is an unusually handsome pub that’s a hit with practically everybody, but it is especially nice for families.

There’s an excellent pizza menu (don’t forget to order ‘crust dippers’, pots of ranch or spicy mayonnaise for the leftover crusts), and an enclosed outdoor patio where our kids like to rendezvous with other kids from nearby tables.

Upstairs there are 6 bedrooms, plus a self-catering stone farmhouse across the street, decorated in soothing neutrals and natural materials like linen and oak. They’re often booked solid so shake a leg.

Nettlebed Creamery, Nettlebed

This organic cheesemaker near Henley-on-Thames operates an onsite café serving toasties and coffee, and a small grocery store selling artisanal foodstuffs like pickles, eggs, crisps, and, of course, cheese.

There are plenty of self-service picnic tables where you can take your lunch, and print-outs of walking and cycling routes that are accessible from the café.

The Mason's Arms, Clanfield

Directly across the road from the Double Red Duke, the same owners opened The Mason’s Arms pub last autumn.

It feels purposefully spare and more historic, looks-wise, than the sumptuous DRD, with piles of firewood stacked in the corners and chambersticks on the tables.

The pub menus are short and full of easy hits: things like Ragstone rarebit, onion soup, and terrific roasts with all the trimmings on Sundays. The only pudding on offer is sticky toffee but I doubt anybody has complained.

What to do (according to the locals)

‘A Sunday morning trip to Summertown Farmers Market to buy veg from Styan Family Produce,’ says Hugo Thurston, co-owner of Hamblin Bread, ‘then a browse in Daunt Books, a walk through the University Parks, and maybe a pint in town before heading home for a roast.’

‘My favourite walk starts in Charlbury,’ says Phil Winser, the founder and director of Public House, which owns The Bull, ‘and goes through the magical, ancient Wychwood Forest on the Cornbury Park estate. It follows the River Evenlode towards Ascott d’Oyley, and it’s just an incredible route through some of the most beautiful countryside.’

‘Cheltenham races are a highlight for my family every year,’ says Lady Bamford, founder of Daylesford Organic. ‘There’s nothing quite like the roar of the crowd. For me, the fun starts a few weeks before with a celebration at The Fox, our pub in Lower Oddington. We’ll gather jockeys, trainers and owners who will share their tips over a great evening of dinner, cocktails and conversation… And as someone who admires baroque architecture, I find the splendour of Blenheim Palace is enduring. It’s a treasure of English heritage, filled with the most incredible art, tapestries and furniture. On 16th February we’re welcoming Nicky Haslam and Henrietta Spencer-Churchill to the farm to discuss the building’s 300 years of history, and I can’t wait.’

‘Wilderness Festival,’ says Georgie Pearman, ‘we always go if we possibly can, and it’s pretty close by. Cheltenham Races is also within striking distance from Clanfield and is always good fun if you can stand the crowds. We have lots of guests who stay and go to the races from us too.’

‘I’m a big Formula 1 fan,’ says Sharan Pasricha, ‘so the British Grand Prix at Silverstone is always a big moment. Wilderness Festival is also a great accolade for the area; a lot of our members and guests come back to Estelle Manor afterwards for some much-needed recovery!’

‘Wallingford hosts Bunkfest,’ says Aimee Collins, ‘Europe's biggest free music festival, at the end of every summer. Trying to describe it to someone that hasn't yet been is nigh on impossible. It takes over every nook and cranny of the town, with most bars and restaurants transforming into fringe venues for the weekend. You can join in some sea shanties, watch Morris dancers and then find yourself at an Abba tribute gig, all within 100 yards. It's incredible.’