The Oxford move is in our sights

Posted by Katy Regan at 11:22 on 13 Mar 2008

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So where was I? Oh yes, the town Egg and I shall be moving to in Oxfordshire (hopefully!)

It's called Witney and it's just 10 miles away from Oxford with so much more going for it than what we saw in Oxford. It's small and perfectly formed but besides anything else, it's a town in its own right. Therefore it has community - something I've realized is vital to my sanity. (I am turning into such a traditionalist in my advancing years..)

There's a school, a parade of shops and a Waitrose, Zizzi's, gym, New Look, Costa Coffee and a few ye olde pubs (everything you need, really). It's historical - cue gorgeous sandstone buildings, windy roads and picturesque market squares - but still has the odd new build estate on a cul-de-sac (something about the way they remind me of the areas I grew up in make me feel strangely at home!)

It's understatedly lovely, rather than the almost nauseating beauty of nearby Burford (gateway to the Cotswolds and scene of recent singles-walk horror) but it's also normal, with a good mix of people and a constant modest, but definite buzz about it. As if that isn't enough, it's about five minutes from a station where we could catch a direct train to London, taking only one English hour and a quarter. Straight into London in the morning, back for sundowner drinks in your back garden (that just so happens to overlook fields) in the evening. The best of both worlds I reckon.

I knew as soon as we drove into Witney that this was it, this was the place (if not a nearby village with this as our centre). The weirdest thing is that Egg did too! We have exactly the same tastes, which is a very good thing, as this, scarily, feels like the biggest, life-transforming thing I've done, since having our baby three years ago.

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