The Bourtons - Useful Information
Our Villages > Useful InformationPost Office
The closest post office is located in Cropredy. It is situated inside The Perfect Present gift shop. Post office opening times Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 9am till 12:30pm and 2pm till 5pm.
Accommodation
Relatives coming to stay?
Try Littlegood Lodge at Littlegood Farm on Foxden Way, between Great and Little Bourton. Self catering accommodation with great views.
The Apartment is perfect for 1 or 2 people, with reduced rates for long stays, visiting or working in the area. Click here to go to the website.
To camp, or site a caravan try Barnstone's Caravan and Camping Park, Main Street, Great Bourton. Telephone (01295) 750289. A popular site with a good reputation and many repeat visitors. Awarded 4 Pennants by the AA, who describe it as "well run by personable owner".
For B&B try High Acres Farm on Crow Lane, Great Bourton. (01295) 750217. Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast with lovely views across the valley. High Acres Farm was recently awarded Excellent rating for hygiene by the Cherwell District Council.
Allotments
The parish owns a number of allotments which are rented out by the Parish Council. For more details see here
Banbury Guardian
The Bourtons column in the Villages section of the Banbury Guardian is maintained by Margaret Damen. You can contact her with anything you wish to add to the column via email -margaretdamen@hotmail.com
Bourtons Broadsheet
The Broadsheet is delivered to every address in the two villages at the end of each month. The editor is Tony Wiltshire, and Tony welcomes any interesting news from the villages. If you want to promote an event, feature your club, publicise a meeting or wish to advertise your company to the local people why not contact Tony on 750374.
Doctors Surgery
Cropredy has a GP Surgery. There are other GPs in Banbury.
Dogs
The Parish Council has provided a number of dog waste bins in both villages and will give all dog owners/walkers free dog waste bags supplied by CDC - Contact Julie Tomlin in Great Bourton and Maurice Prew in Little Bourton (See Parish Councillors). Please clean up after your dog!
Exercise and Leisure
Debbie runs two exercise classes in the Bourtons, in the Village Hall:
Easy Aerobics - Friday 8.45-9.30am. Keep fit, gentle low impact aerobics and toning for active 50+age group. £3.00 per session, term time only.
Pilates. Friday 9.30-10.30am. Work on that core! A fun class - fitballs and matwork. Booking is advisable as places are limited.
Private Pilates Training - Debbie offers one to one personal pilates training too.
See Local Businesses for contact details for the class providers.
Walking - www.walkinginoxfordshire.co.uk offers a range of walks in Oxfordshire and elsewhere in England (www.walkinginengland.co.uk) where you can download thousands of walks for free and get to discover the countryside in your home area or further afield.
Cherwell District Council's circular walks leaflets are also available to download free if you want to explore your local area.
Maps
A map of both villages can be found here. A download is available here.
Mobile Library
Visits on alternate Tuesdays. Parks in Great Bourton at the village noticeboard from 2.30pm to 2.55pm. Stops in Little Bourton in Buzzards Close from 3pm to 3.25pm. Carries a good range of books and DVDs.
Neighbourhood Watch
Both Bourtons villages have a Neighbourhood Watch scheme. Co-ordinators provide villagers with useful crime prevention information and are a contact point for the neighbourhood policing team. The co-ordinators receive "Ringmaster" emails or telephone calls informing them of nearby local crime and requesting information to assist in investigating local crimes. They then pass on the information to their neighbours. Neighbourhood watch stickers, UV pens, fridge magnets with the contact telephone numbers for the police, and other crime prevention literature are all avaiable from the co-ordinators. If you want any information on the scheme in your area please contact either Julie Tomlin or Maggie (750497). If you see anything suspicious please make a note of vehicle registration numbers or other details so that the information can be passed on to the Neighbourhood Policing team.
Police Station
The nearest Police Station is in Banbury. It is open from 0800 - 2200 daily. You can contact the police at any time on their non-emergency number - 0845 8 505 505.
See details of our local policing team on the Neighbourhood Policing page.
Public Transport
There is usually a limited bus service between the Bourtons, neighbouring villages and Banbury. The Parish Council and District Councillor have been working for a better service and during the Banbury Flood Alleviation works we are getting an hourly service which will be used as a trial to see how much it is used by those living in the Bourtons and Cropredy. See the News Page for the latest information. The timetable for the temporary service is here
The bus timetable is posted on the bus stop by the Bell pub.
Little Bourton also benefits from a Warwickshire run service - the 66/X66 which runs between Banbury and Leamington Spa 6 days a week, every 2 hours through most of the day. See here for the timetable
There is a good train service between Banbury and London Marylebone, Birmingham, Oxford and other destinations. Major train operators operating from Banbury include Chiltern Railways, and Cross Country Trains
Refuse Collection
Great Bourton has refuse collections on Fridays; Little Bourton on Thursdays. These collections are often very early in the morning, with special arrangements sometimes made for bank holidays. The collections follow a two week cycle, with Green bins for household waste emptied one week and blue bins for recyclable items and brown bins for garden waste emptied on the alternate one.
Please see the recycling and waste section of the Cherwell District Council website for guidance on what should go into the various bins.
Schools
There is a good primary school in Cropredy which is well supported by the community. There is a dedicated school bus service between the Bourtons and Cropredy. The school also has a Partnership Foundation Stage Unit which houses the reception class and Playgroup.
For more information see their website.
There are a number of secondary schools in the area, with different specialist areas, which are attended by young people from the Bourtons. These include:
- Kineton High School in Kineton, Warwickshire
- Chenderit School in Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire
- Blessed George Napier, Catholic school in Banbury
- Banbury School
- The North Oxfordshire Academy (formerly Drayton School) in Banbury
There are also a number of private secondary schools in the area. These include:
Scouts
The Bourtons are covered by the North Banbury Scout Group.
See their website at www.northbanburyscouts.co.uk
- Beavers (ages 6 - 8 years) meet on Mondays 17.00 - 18.30 hrs at Mollington Village Hall
- Cubs (8 - 10 1/2 years) meet on Tuesdays 18.00 - 19.30 hours at Mollington Village Hall
- Scouts (10 1/2 - 14 years) meet on Mondays 19.00 - 21.00 at Mollington Village Hall.
Both boys and girls welcomed.
For more information contact the Group Scout Leader Philip Tree, on (01295) 253194 or email him - philip.tree@btinternet.com