Bore da! I had a fantastic weekend away in North Wales a few weeks ago with Sheepskin Life, a Wheatley-based company with a crack list of lodges and houses, mostly in Wales but others dotted around the Cotswolds, the Peak …

• Sweet dreams

  Stevyn Colgan is a writer and artist who lives in Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire. He’s written two books, ‘Joined-Up Thinking’ and ‘Henhwedhlow’, and is a regular contributor to the QI Annuals. He works as a research ‘elf’ for the BBC show …

• A beautiful day at… Black Park (South Bucks)

    I’ve brainwashed my youngest child. I know this because as it tanked it down this afternoon and I thrust him into the torrent the Ashridge Estate, he looked up at the sky and said, ‘We don’t mind a …

• Your social life sorted: The Muddy Guide 15 – 21 September

I wrote this post a month ago but with blogs being so hard to navigate, I am reposting it here so that you can make the most of the info if you’re in the mood to make the most of …

• Found: idyllic beach less than 2 hours away!

Well that was fun! I bumped into a friend yesterday who recommended Hurley outside Marlow as a day trip. Today was sunny and my children seemed on the right side of sane,  so we decided to go for it. Hurley …

• My first V-log, featuring *titter* The Dreamboys
• The Half Term Muddy Guide Part 1
• Can Muddy get even better? (Er, yes)
• Beauty hot spot

I always get excited when I come across new bits of the county, and this week I happened across Broughton Castle in North Oxfordshire – gorgeous for a romantic stroll or a day out with kids. Privately owned, the 14th century Broughton Castle, complete …

• My first V-log, featuring *titter* The Dreamboys
• The Half Term Muddy Guide Part 1
• Can Muddy get even better? (Er, yes)
• Beauty hot spot

Oxford Art Fair, North Hinskey, Sat 11 – Sun 12 August I think this one’s a goody. The Oxford Art Fair takes place this weekend in the beautiful gardens of Oxford’s much-recommended The Fishes country pub, featuring 40 emerging artists and …

• Wouldn’t you though?
• Gee’s restaurant, Oxford
• The Muddy Guide
• No dinosaurs – but plenty of spooky masks

Sometimes it’s the simple pleasures that work best. I’m constantly looking around for unusual, quirky or unique experiences and events to tell you about but today I just went to the lovely Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park in North Oxford with my family …

• 5 brilliant things to do this week

This weather is driving me nutty. It’s just so hard to think up interesting things to do with the kids day after day when it’s pidoodling down with rain. But I have a new trick up my sleeve now – The River & …

• In search of rampant sleep – hotels for couples

As a draconian, evil mother who won’t let my kids have DSes (boo! hiss!), I’m all for getting children active in the fresh air, moving something more than their thumbs.  My friend Sally put me onto The National Trust’s 50 Things to …

• While it shines – head to the Wycombe Rye Lido
• Your social life sorted: The Muddy Guide 3 – 9 Aug
• Things to do in Bucks/Oxfordshire this Easter!