About Muddy Stilettos

Muddy Stilettos launched in 2013 as a way for national lifestyle journalist Hero Brown (Independent on Sunday, The Observer, Red, Marie Claire, Elle) to find out and share the fun stuff to do in her local area, having moved out of London to the Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire borders with husband and baby son in tow.

Quickly Muddy Stilettos caught on as a witty, in-the-know and stylishly curated insider’s guide to the very best food, walks, day trips, hotels, shops and events for cosmopolitan, fun-loving women.

Cut to 2025 and ‘Muddy’ is now the UK’s No1 luxury lifestyle site for ABC1 women. In addition to our core lifestyle content, we also run the Muddy Awards, the UK’s No1 SME lifestyle business awards that focus on brilliant, unique, indie businesses; the Best Places to Live in the UK, chosen each year by our editors living in their local ‘Muddy’ regions; Weekend Escapes, our hospitality portal that allows readers to plan their perfect UK break; and the Best Schools Guide, our respected reviews of the best schools across the country.

Muddy Wales and Muddy Scotland launch in Oct 2025.

This is the Muddy Mantra:

1.  We try everything out so that you can fully trust our opinion. On the occasions that we haven’t been somewhere (for example, an event that hasn’t happened yet) we let you know about it. Sometimes guest editors review and these will be clearly marked.
2. Muddy Stilettos is a commercial site and as such accepts advertising and utilises affiliate links. However, we believe passionately in only working with brands that share our ethos and are relevant to my readers. We retain editorial control and independence at all times.
3.  We will never accept payment to write about something I don’t believe in.
4. We accept tickets to free shows, festivals, restaurants, events etc with the purpose of reviewing or publicising them on Muddy Stilettos, as it’s pretty expensive zipping around trying stuff out all the time. Hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars – if you want us to try you out, please get in touch with editor-in-chief at hero@muddystilettos.co.uk or via IG messaging @muddystilettos.
5. We’ll never write a nasty, negative review. We’re not into trashing people, brands or companies. BUT the flip of this is that, if you’re not good enough, we will not write about you in Muddy Stilettos, regardless of whether the experience was offered to us on a complementary basis. This gives us the editorial control we need and the trust that our readers demand.
6.  We welcome quality, creative, exciting brands big and small getting in touch . For national partnerships, please email hero@muddystilettos.co.uk. For regional partnerships, please email sally@muddystilettos.co.uk.