The sun is shining and it’s time to get out and enjoy the weather! The pressure is on…how can you squeeze the most of of these sunny days before it goes into hibernation again? We’ve got you covered with places to splash, shady walks under canopies and relaxed outdoor dining options – all families welcome.
💦 *NEW* Hinksey Splash Pad
Just opened! This new splash pad and mini bike track is everything you need on a hot day to cool down. A £330k investment has been money well spent to re-vamp this tired (and constantly broken!) splash-pad. There’s also a Jericho Coffee Traders van outside the gate too. Hurrrrrrrrrrah! Check out all you need to know here.
-
Hinksey Splash Pad
-
Gated splash area
-
Tiny wheels track
🥽 Hinksey Open Air Pool
Right next door to the splash pad – combine both for a perfect sunny activity. This has been an Oxford sunny staple for so long and families flock here when the sun shine. After school outings are our faves (it’s open until 7pm on weekdays) and as well as a Jericho Coffee Truck in the park there’s usually an ice-cream van too. Visit to the park across the grass is mandatory! Check out all the details here.
-
Hinksey Pool
-
Hinksey Pool summers day
-
Hinksey Park
🏊🏼♂️ Northcroft Lido
This is a special one and wouldn’t look out of place at a Eurocamp in sunnier climes! Slides, splash pad and an Olympic sized pool make this feel like a HUGE adventure! Just to be clear, this is as fun for the big kids (that’s us!) and little kids! More info on this cracker here.
-
Flumes
-
Splash Park
-
Olympic pool
🐠 Eynsham Abbey Fishponds
Fancy a shallow paddle? Get your toes ready for a dip in this shallow stream, you may even find a few tiddlers so don’t forget your nets! It’s a nice area to wander around and there’s a good park across the road too. All the directions to get to this joyous little spot here.
-
Eynsham Fishponds
-
Shallow stream
-
Eynsham Recreation ground
🛶 Buscot Weir
All the locals head here for a swim, to relax on the grass, play in the playground or just watch the world go by. There’s also a fab tearoom with a lovely garden en route – fuel up here for your picnic. Full details here.
-
Buscot Weir
-
Buscot playground
-
Buscot Tearoom garden
If you fancy a shady walk…
🚶🏾♂️Thrupp Lake
We know you LOVE this as it’s one of our most visited paged on the website. It’s a lovely walk around the lake with lots of tree canopies to hide under and keep you cool. Views of the lake, fairy door magic to find and fallen logs to clamber on will keep little ones entertained too. See how to navigate to this outdoor adventure here.
-
Bridge views
-
Canopied paths
-
Gravel paths
🚶🏻♀️Blenheim Community Path
Lots of shade on this scenic walk through the estate. It eventually leads you into the Parkland where you can take other paths and extend your walk. Suitable for bikes and buggies too if you have little ones who want to join for a wheeled adventure. All the info here.
-
Blenheim Community Path
-
Path, suitable for wheels
-
Stunning water views
If you want to eat alfresco with the kids…
🍕 Valley Pizza and FarmBox Burger
A discovery last summer and one that kept us going back to enjoy as many food sundowners as we possibly could. There’s animals to meet whilst the grown-ups sit down at the benches on the grass. A child-friendly, easy place to enjoy some genuinely good food. We’re not keeping it secret – read all about it here.
-
Valley pizza
-
FarmBox Burger
-
Seating area
🍇 Sunnyhill Vineyard and pizza
Vines, fresh pizza, playground, alpacas. Tick, tick, tick, tick! You could be in the Mediterranean on a sunny evening here. Stampede down there as everyone wants a slice of this place. Grab a pizza (really?! 🤦🏻♀️) of the action here.
-
Seating area and pizza oven
-
Playground
-
Meeting the alpacas
Keep checking back as we’ll be adding more as the sun continues to shine!
