Culture and couture

Stay: The Store Oxford
Set in the former Boswells department store on Broad Street, The Store Oxford mixes 300 years of heritage with contemporary rooms, just steps from Balliol College. Oxford, OX1 3AG

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Brunch and browse: RH England
RH (formerly Restoration Hardware), the Californian luxury design house, fills 400 year old Grade I listed Aynho Park with its curated furniture, lighting and art. Lobster rolls with caviar headline the Orangery’s can’t-miss weekend brunch. Aynho, OX17 3BQ

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Head to: Bicester Village
Book a complimentary consultation and be whisked straight into Personal Shopping Suites, where a stylist curates personal wardrobe edits to kick start a day of Handsfree Shopping. Bicester, OX26 6WD

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Shop: Gucci
The Italian house feels like a small Milan flagship here: all the GG motif canvas you could wish for, sculptural loafers, gold hardware, silk blouses and signature shoulder bags. Gucci, Bicester Village

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Shop: Saint Laurent
A definitive Saint Laurent collection, featuring cigarette trousers, sharp blazers, suede boots and all the bags – LouLou, Puffer, Cassandra and Sac de Jour. Saint Laurent, Bicester Village

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Late lunch: Cecconi’s
Cicchetti, carpaccios, lemony burrata and pasta al dente. With a spritz in hand, the mood is Milan aperitivo hour all day long. Cecconi’s, Bicester Village

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Shop: CELINE
CELINE never fails to deliver on Gallic polish, with its razor-sharp tailoring, sleek ‘70s-inspired sportswear and Triomphe bags lending a dose of luxurious minimalism to Oxfordshire. CELINE, Bicester Village

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Shop: Bottega Veneta
All the basketweave leather you could possibly want, in every different shape and size of clutch, crossbody and shopper. These are investment pieces that marry timeless styling with contemporary shapes – and they last for years. Bottega Veneta, Bicester Village

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Dinner: Pompette
On Summertown’s South Parade, Pompette – French for tipsy – is the indie bistro that North Oxford needed. Pascal and Laura Wiedemann send out classics such as moules à la crème and onglet steak, washed down with a glass from Alsace or Normandy. Oxford, OX2 7JL

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Nightcap: The Store Oxford
In the rooftop bar, The Store Oxford’s own-label gins and vodkas (crafted by Hawkridge Distillers) lead the cocktail menu to a backdrop of dreaming spires views. Oxford, OX1 3AG

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Caffeine stop: Broche
Small but exacting, this speciality coffee shop and bakery has become a bit of a cult hit, drawing hungry wanderers from all over the city to its Jericho corner counter for single-origin espressos and cherry chocolate croissants. Oxford, OX2 6EG

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Culture fix: Ashmolean Museum
Founded in 1683 as the first university museum in Britain, the Ashmolean has a phenomenal permanent collection of art and archaeology, spanning from Egyptian mummies and Anglo-Saxon jewels to Stradivarius’ Messiah violin. Oxford, OX1 2PH

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Historic interlude: Blenheim Palace
Built in the early eighteenth century for the Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace was the ancestral home of Winston Churchill. Inside are gilded ceilings, tapestries and English Baroque state rooms. Outside is just as staggering, with 2,000 acres of Capability Brown-designed parkland. Woodstock, OX20 1PS

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Lunch: The Bell
Spruced up smartly by Carole Bamford, The Bell is now part of the Daylesford gang, bearing a pedigree that boasts excellent plates – think torched mackerel, chicory salad, skate wing with beurre noisette – in a cosy pub room warm with woodsmoke. Charlbury, OX7 3PP

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Walk it off: Wychwood Wild Garden
The magical 12-acre garden was created in the 1860s as the pleasure grounds for nearby Shipton Court. Ducks skim the ponds, while its paths wind through bramble thickets and deliberately untamed woodland. Community-owned since 2010, it’s one of the Cotswolds’ loveliest hidden walks. Shipton-under-Wychwood, OX7 6BQ

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Village wander: Bourton-on-the-Water
Nicknamed the Venice of the Cotswolds, the River Windrush meanders through this fourteenth-century market village beneath a series of low stone bridges. It’s best in late afternoon, once the day-trippers drift away and sun-soaked hues set the area aglow. GL54

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