Priors Mead Banbury, Oxfordshire

We stayed in Priors Mead for Xmas 2023. The cottage was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Chocolate cake left and a lovely bunch of flowers. Such a lovely touch. The helpful manual really covered everything you needed to know about the cottage and the surrounding area. We also liked that milk was left to get us started. The garden is massive and lots of space for your furry friend. The Orchard leads onto a massive field for even more running to tire them out. The views are stunning and everyone we met in the village were very friendly. Only a couple of miles drive into the centre of Banbury where you have every shop and restaurant imaginable. The cottage is well equipped with everything you could need. The beds were super comfy, best sleep we've had in a long time. So much space to relax in. We had 5 of us staying and the owners were very kind and let our family members come visit for Xmas day, so we had 6 adults and 3 children and you did feel squashed or on top of each other at all. The owners are very accommodating and responsive prior to arrival and the neighbours to the cottage are really lovely. Could not recommend enough, we will definitely be back.

The cottage is very comfortable, peaceful, functional and charming. The garden, views and log fire make it special. The location is great for exploring the area which is full of interest and beauty. The hosts are very helpful and informative. There was a cake to welcome us and plenty of info about local walks, restaurants and activities. The house is well stocked with games, DVDs and smart TV. Highly recommended!

Beautiful house with beautiful surroundings, very friendly and fast reacting host. Beautiful garden too (see my pictures)

We had a very comfortable and relaxing stay at Priors Mead a true home from home with everything anyone could need for their stay. The garden and orchard is beautiful and I'm sure as June approaches the flowers will be even more glorious. An ideal peaceful place to catch up with and entertain family and friends. The area has many nearby attractions like Blenheim Palace and Upton House. Each having their own fantastic art collections including works of George Stubbs and many of the Great Masters. Many peaceful, countryside and canal walks to enjoy. It is truly an art and nature lovers dream location. Thank you for sharing your beautiful home, I photographed her beauty on our final evening. We hope to visit again soon.

We had a lovely few days at priors mead cottage. The location and views were great. The cottage is really big and has a nice garden and orchard. I can highly recommend the brasenose pub at cropredy which we walked to from the cottage via the canal towpath .

The perfect relaxed rural retreat to meet up with family or friends. A lovely cosy cottage in a great location with open fires, beautiful views and everything we needed on hand. Spotlessly clean and well maintained. Will definitely return!

This really is a gem of a place. What was most evident was that it was a family home, not just a holiday let. Personal things like a spare hot water bottle, apron hanging on the door and a rolling pin in the drawer, gave this a very homely feel. The location is so good, being in a very rural area but all amenities very close by (Banbury only 5 mikes away). Log fire (2 of them, with plentiful supply of logs, kindling wood and firelighters), super thick carpets, comfortable beds with gorgeous linen, beautiful paintings on every wall, games and books and a beautiful garden with stunning views, made this place so much better than most. There was nothing at all lacking, no negative commentss whatsover. We had the best stay ever, and look forward to a return visit at least once a year.

Priors Mead is a truly wonderful and unique get away location nestling in beautiful rolling countryside. It was ideally located for us with easy road access and equally easy access to London by a one hour rail trip from Banbury. The accommodation was well maintained and had all the little extras we needed. We will definitely be back.

Lovely cottage, very comfortable and spacious. Had everything we could need for an enjoyable holiday. Owner was very approachable with a couple of queries and very helpful. Village is very quiet, and amenities, ie shops, pubs/ restaurants do need a car, but not too far away.

Lovely cottage, well equipped and with all rooms facing the garden and countryside beyond, it is idyllic. Parking is in the driveway at the back of the house and the cottage is set in the small village of Claydon not far from the canal towpath for walking into Cropredy.

Great view and sunny garden to have an afternoon sit. Maybe a little isolated if you want to be close to amenities but the property suited us just fine for a few days stay.

Lovely quiet village location. The view from the rear garden is stunning. Sitting in the out house watching the sun set was spectacular. Fabulous walks directly from the property, through the orchard and down to the canal. The owner allowed me to have 2 small dogs stay with me. Stair gate in place which worked really well. Lovely shower. Comfy bed. Plenty of hot water. All the kitchen facilities to make any meal. Open fire with coal and wood provided. A lovely stay for a week and I will for sure head back another time. One of my favourite cottage stays so far. Had a small issue with the tv control which was quickly sorted so was very impressed.

A lovely cottage in a really pretty area . Everything needed for a cosy festive break . Owner very helpful and responsive . No negatives at all . I imagine it would be great in summer with the lovely gardens and meadow. Our dog also really enjoyed himself ! Thanks for a great stay !

A true home away from home. Excellent amenities in the cottage and lovely to have a Christmas tree up to help us get into the Christmas spirit. Great communication with hosts which made check in super easy.

We very much enjoyed our long weekend here. Quaint cosy and very well equipped. We loved the views and the access to dog walks went down well with Willow and Leo. This is the most dog friendly cottage we have stayed in. Hope to revisit as we have family in the area.

We had the pleasure of staying at Priors Mead and would happily recommend it to anybody. Very clean and roomy and the location is perfect. I think we'll be going back.

My husband and I have just returned from a weeks stay at Priors Mead. The cottage more than met our expectations. The garden is beautiful with amazing views. We were welcomed with cakes and fresh flowers. The cottage was very spacious and clean and is in a good location. We would definitely return! Our pooch loved it too!

We had a lovely week staying here. The cottage was bigger than expected and very clean, comfortable and full of charm. Everything that you would need is provide including a welcome cake and flowers. Our dog loved the secure garden with amazing views over rolling countryside. Found a fantastic walk along the nearby canal to the next village with an amazing pub thanks to the local information provided by the owners Great base for enjoying the area. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay

Lovely comfortable and clean house with lots of old world charm and super garden . Priors Mead is in a great location for visiting many beautiful Cotswolds villages as well as Stratford and Warwick. Second time we have stayed . Lots of room for couples, friends and family .

We stayed at Priors Mead for a week in July 2021. The cottage was lovely - spotlessly clean and very comfortable. It was just what we expected and hoped for. The garden is lovely and very private. We will certainly come back as soon as we can… It is an ideal base to visit many places in the Oxfordshire & Warwickshire area. We didn’t manage to get to several places that we hoped to visit - there are so many places! Helga was brilliant and most helpful. We (the two of us and our little dog) thoroughly recommend Priors Mead….

This beautiful old cottage is in a small village in the middle of the Oxfordshire countryside, within easy reach of Cropredy, Banbury and the Park & Ride service to Oxford. Also close to Upton Hall, a National Trust property well worth visiting. There is also a small reservoir within walking distance of the cottage, for picnics or birdwatching. The house itself is wonderful, each of its three bedrooms overlooking the sunny garden, with glorious views of rolling Oxfordshire. Occasionally a train goes by in the far distance, but is never disturbing. The house was spotless, except for the windows, which given the views through them, was a pity. We had to give them a wipe ourselves. The huge fireplace and big open fire were delightful, and beds and furniture comfortable. This is an extremely well-fitted and equipped cottage. And the welcome basket on our arrival, with lovely cake and biscuits, and the best honey we've ever tasted, was really nice! Unlike a lot of ancient houses (and this one is truly ancient!) there was no musty smell. Everything felt clean and fresh. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a peaceful country retreat, with good access to interesting places.

I will be fair and list the pros and cons to give a balanced review. Pros; - Amazing garden and gorgeous views - Spacious accommodation (though we could not comfortably use all the spaces because the place was filthy and dusty) Cons; - Communication with the owner before our arrival was really really slow - though this did improve when we arrived and I had to ask for several things i.e a vacuum cleaner - The place would have benefited from a good airing, one bedroom in particular smelled of urine - Even in the height of summer the living room in the cottage is very dim and not at all as light and bright as in the pictures - There was a huge amount of spiders/very dusty spiders webs all over. I do not have a problem with spiders, but it was such a large amount I ended up spending quite a lot of time vacuuming them up on the first night. Of course, it's reasonable to expect insects etc, but that was shocking - honestly I've never seen anything like it - The bathroom generally was clean, but the toilet bowl itself was really dirty with dark brown marks in it so I had to bleach it - The fridge in the kitchen was not properly cleaned and the second fridge was completely filthy so we were not been able to use it at all (I didn't want to spend the whole of my holiday cleaning after all) - The tablecloth for the outside table was not only covered with paint but was dirty/dusty on top and underneath - The cutlery holder in the kitchen was dirty and grubby as we're other kitchen items - The kitchen chairs and table were dusty and grubby as we're most surfaces - And something which I personally find insulting was finding what can only be described as a dark public-like hair in my bed. These were the worst of the things we found, there were others, it was pretty shocking to know someone has the audacity to rent out a property in such a condition. We were so dissatisfied with the conditions at the cottage that we complained to the owner the day after arrival, Sykes the day after that (who's advisors need some serious training by the way), and after various phone calls to Sykes, one lasting over an our we managed to secure a large percentage of the cost to be refunded. Would I recommend booking Priors Mead, Cropredy again? Definitely not! Would I book through Sykes Cottages again? Not likely! Trying to upload pics but can't at the minute, will as soon as I can though?! This review was originally posted on the Sykes Cottages website but has since mysteriously been removed!!

Pre - Holiday: Booking was straightforward.. Communication about the property and access arrangements was perfect from both Sykes and the owner. Holiday and property: We were thrilled with the quality of the cottage. It was clean, comfortable and full of character. The property has a gorgeous cottage garden which is great for relaxing in and has beautiful views over the local countryside. There were some great personal touches by the owner which made us feel very welcome. We would certainly return to this property if we re-visit the area. Thank you.