Robert Eva, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bure Park Nature Reserve, Bicester
A local nature reserve of 8.4 hectares on the north side of Bicester: meadow, young woodland, hedges and scrub along the little River Bure, with a pond that holds great crested newts. Free, small and local, a ten-minute walk from the town centre.
Nature reserve
BicesterBure Park is a local nature reserve of 8.4 hectares, about 21 acres, on the north side of Bicester, a narrow, winding strip of meadow, young woodland, hedges and scrub along the little River Bure, between a housing estate and the railway. It is a local green space, not a reason to travel, but it is the town's wild corner.
The Bure and the reserve
The Bure is a feeder of the River Ray, and Bicester grew up by a ford over it. The Victoria County History records a seventeenth-century visitor calling it a pretty brook; by the 1860s it had become foul from misuse, and it was covered in where it ran along the Causeway.
Cherwell District Council declared the reserve on 5 December 2005. Natural England's record gives Bicester Town Council as the owner and the district council as the manager, and describes the habitats as grass meadow, young broadleaved woodland, hedges and scrub. The Bure runs through and feeds a small pond, which the record notes for great crested newts, and a balancing pond at one end takes the run-off from the land round it.
Visiting
The reserve is free. Natural England lists no visitor facilities, and we found no published opening hours or dogs rule. The Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust has run free Wild Bicester events here, among them a wildlife wander and a bat walk in 2024; look on the trust's site for new dates.
Getting there
Natural England describes the way in as off the A4095, with Bicester North station nearby, about a ten-minute walk up from the town centre, and gives the postcode OX26 3ZJ. The no. 22 bus its record mentions no longer runs. The Wildlife Trust gave Betony Way, OX26 3WP, as the place for its events and warned that parking there is limited, so walk or cycle if you can. For the town's buses and car parks, see getting to Bicester.
Nearby
Garth Park, the town's formal park, is on the other side of the centre, and St Edburg's Church is on the way. Bicester Heritage, the old RAF station, is on the north-east edge of town.
Walks past Bure Park Nature Reserve, Bicester
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Bicester West Health Route and Bure Park
Walk · Starts in Bicester · 1 hr, 10 mins · Circular · Dog-friendly
The Bicester West Health Route is a 5K (3.1-mile) easy circular walk on a painted blue line through Bure Park and west Bicester, about 70 minutes. It is a town loop on pavements and paths, ending through a railway tunnel in Bure Park Nature Reserve.
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Bicester Historic Town Trail
Walk · Starts in Bicester · 1 hr, 15 mins · Circular
The Bicester Historic Town Trail is a 1.9-mile (3km) easy circular walk round the old town, about an hour and a quarter with stops. It links 25 buildings on the council's leaflet, from the priory's dovecote and St Edburg's church to Market Square, Sheep Street and Garth Park.
Stay and eat near Bure Park Nature Reserve, Bicester
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Bicester Leisure Centre
Sport and activity · Bicester
The town's public pool and sports centre on Queens Avenue, run for Cherwell District Council, with a 25m pool, a 15m learner pool and pay-as-you-go public swims booked online.
Family-friendly · Rainy days
Verified Nov 2026
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Mizu Japanese Izakaya, Bicester
Restaurants · Bicester
An independent Japanese izakaya on Sheep Street, Bicester, with sharing plates, sushi and drinks pairings, open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday and bookable online for up to six.
Rainy days
Verified Nov 2026
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Broadribb Cycles, Bicester
Independent shops · Bicester
A bike shop on Sheep Street in the centre of Bicester, selling road, mountain, children's and electric bikes, clothing and spares, with a workshop for repairs and servicing and a range of reconditioned used bikes.
Verified Nov 2026
Stories about Bure Park Nature Reserve, Bicester
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Bicester with children: days out for families
Story · Guides · 6 minute read
Bicester with children: the play area and skate park at Garth Park, newts at Bure Park, a climbing centre, a pool and a cinema in the town, Scramble days at Bicester Heritage, the Cold War airbase at Heyford Park and boats at Lower Heyford, with ages, prices and what to skip.
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Things to do in Bicester
Story · Guides · 8 minute read
Things to do in Bicester: St Edburg's Church, the Market Square and the Friday market, the town trail and Garth Park, Bicester Village, the Scramble days at Bicester Heritage, then the Cold War tours at Heyford Park and Rousham's garden, with what to skip.
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Walks near Bicester
Story · Guides · 6 minute read
Walks near Bicester: the Historic Town Trail and the West Health Route in the town, the Oxfordshire Way from Kirtlington and a circle over the Cherwell meadows to Somerton Mill, with distances, stiles, buses and the walks we are holding back.
More sights to see
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Garth Park, Bicester
Sight · Common or park · Bicester
Bicester's town park: about 9 acres of lawns, specimen trees and formal beds round Garth House, a Victorian hunting lodge given to the town in 1946. It has the 1732 bell of the old Town Hall, a bandstand, a café and play areas, a few minutes from Market Square.
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Bicester Heritage (RAF Bicester)
Sight · Historic building · Bicester
The technical site of RAF Bicester, which Historic England calls the best preserved of the bomber bases built in the RAF's expansion from 1923, now home to firms restoring historic cars. Its listed hangars and workshops open to the public on event days such as the Scrambles.
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St Edburg's Church, Bicester
Sight · Church · Bicester
Bicester's Grade I parish church, grown from a Norman church with a central tower into the big Perpendicular church of today. Inside are brasses from about 1500, Georgian monuments by Scheemakers, Wilton and Westmacott, and a Morris & Co. window of 1866.