Ever wonder what happens to those bikes which get abandoned locked to University bike racks? These guys happen to them. I’m sure they do other useful things, too, but clearing up precious bike storage space is what wins my love.

Check carefully before you travel: the 11 (formerly T1) doesn’t usually turn around on Broad Street at all but instead terminates on St. Aldates! This bus stop is not clearly marked, when it’s in use at all.

Moderately well-tended but short walk between Oxford Road and Exeter Park, squeezed between Exeter Hall and The Key doctors practice. Nice decking and benches, but otherwise nothing to recommend it except as a route to the park itself.

Small play area with the bare essentials for keeping a small child distracted: swingset, roundabout, small climbing frame with slide. All metal equipment, so gets cold in the winter! Might as well make the extra walk to nearby Exeter Park!

Just another bowls club; nicely placed with convenient access to the rest of Kidlington. If bowls is your thing, you could do worse.

Since the 2018 renovation of the play area and the surrounding park, this has gone from being a good to a great place to take small children. Play equipment includes a well-equipped sandpit, multiple climbing frames with monkey bars, firemans poles, and slides, “little ones” area with miniscule frames, musical instruments, see-saw, swings of various kinds including a large tyre swing, rope climbing frames, and a “racing” pair of ziplines. Exercise equipment is also available nearby, as are plenty of benches including picnic benches and a reasonable-sized (free) car park.

Excellent, conveniently central play area for Kidlington. Renovated in 2018 with new play and exercise equipment including trampolines, not one but two ziplines, and a wonderfully imaginatively-imagined sandpit, it’s equipped to keep little ones entertained for hours. There’s also a large field for sports/dog-walking, a community space, and an adequate amount of (free) car parking.

A surprisingly wide selection of goods available at just about any time you might need it, served by friendly staff. Plenty of parking if coming by car, conveniently just off the main road through Grovelands estate.

Perfectly good pub food served by friendly staff. Prices a little higher than I’d expect for what you get, but not completely unreasonable. Play equipment in the kid-friendly garden was a hit with my little ones.

Delightful, although expensive, hotel. Theming is spot-on: you can really see the architecture that once made this place a prison, while simultaneously chilling out in a level of luxury that would have been completely unknown to its original inhabitants. Excellent service and good amenities – you could lock me up here any day… if the prices didn’t send me to the gallows first!

A bit weird, but if you’re looking for an eccentric (but good value) outing with young children, it fits the bill. Very good disabled accessibility.