- Couples
- No car
Bicester Village and a better lunch: a morning's shopping from Banbury
Three hours at Bicester Village from opening, then lunch somewhere with a kitchen of its own: a Hook Norton pub at Steeple Aston if you drive, Wednesday to Sunday, or the Reine Deer in Banbury if you take the train, any day. Times for 2026.
- 1 day, home by mid afternoon
- By car, Wednesday to Sunday
- By train and bus, any day
- Parking free at the Village
- About 40 miles (64km) round by car
By car: the Village, then a pub lunch
Day 1 · Shops at opening, away by midday, and a village lunch on the way home
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8.30am
8.30am About 25 minutes here
Leave Banbury by car
About 25 minutes on an empty road by the M40, to OX26 6WD. Parking is free. On Sundays the Village opens at 10am, so leave at 9.15am and shift the rest of the day by an hour.
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9am
9am 3 hours here
Bicester Village opens
9am to 9pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm Sunday, to 22 November 2026; from 8am on 27 and 28 November and 9am on 29 November. Some big boutiques open midday to 6pm on Sundays. Hours change, so check.
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12.15pm
12.15pm 15 minutes here
Drive to Steeple Aston
About 15 minutes by car from the Village. On a Wednesday, go on to the Duke's Head at Clifton instead, about 30 minutes from the Village.
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12.30pm
12.30pm Eat and drink 1.5 hours here
Lunch at the Chequers, Steeple Aston
A Hook Norton pub of 1765, relaunched under its old name in July 2026. Thursday to Saturday from midday, Sunday midday to 6pm, last orders 5pm. Closed Tuesday; Monday evening only; Wednesday varies by source. Book on 01869 389 174.
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2.15pm
2.15pm Market town 45 minutes here
Deddington Castle
About 10 minutes by car, on the A4260 towards Banbury. Free in daylight. Walk off lunch on the grassy banks. Park free in the Market Place, and walk to Castle Street.
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3.15pm
3.15pm Village 30 minutes here
St Mary's Church, Adderbury
About 10 minutes by car. Open daily, 9.30am to 5pm, on its own page. Look for the frieze of medieval musicians round the aisles. Free. Banbury is about 10 minutes further on.
Or without a car: train, bus and lunch in Banbury
Day 2 · The same morning by Chiltern and the BV1, with lunch back in town
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8.40am
8.40am Train
Without a car: Chiltern from Banbury to Bicester North
On a Saturday, the 8.40am or 8.45am arrives about 8.55am. On a weekday, the 8.41am arrives 8.55am. Book to Bicester North: Banbury has no direct train to Bicester Village station.
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9.05am
9.05am Bus
BV1 from Bicester North to Bicester Village
Runs at 5 and 35 minutes past the hour, from 8.05am to 9.35pm, and takes about 10 minutes (November 2026). We could not read a 2026 fare, so have a card ready.
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12.15pm
12.15pm Bus
BV1 back to Bicester North
Reaches the station at about 12.30pm, on our reading of the data, which shows buses back at North on the hour and half hour, up to 10pm. Check at the stop.
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12.55pm
12.55pm Train
Chiltern from Bicester North to Banbury
Arrives 1.10pm on a Saturday, and 1.11pm on a weekday, in the tables we read. Walk to Parsons Street in about 15 minutes.
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1.30pm
1.30pm Eat and drink 1 hour here
Lunch in Banbury
The Reine Deer serves from midday to 9pm every day. Whately Hall serves until 8.30pm, or 7pm on Sundays. Church House is the other, on North Bar Street; ring to check.
In more detail
We leave the shops at Bicester Village to others. This page is about the rest of the day. The Village is outside our patch and has restaurants of its own, but the country between it and Banbury is ours, and it has village pubs with their own kitchens. So go at opening, leave by midday, and have a proper meal on the way home. The two versions below are alternatives, not two days. Nobody from this guide has done this day for the page, and we have no figures on when the Village is at its busiest. The Village itself says a Park and Ride runs at busier times.
The two ways to do it
By car, this is a neat loop. The Village is about 20 miles from Banbury by the M40, with free parking. Going home by the A4260 brings you through the villages. It works from Wednesday to Sunday, because most pub kitchens on this road do not open for lunch earlier in the week. The Chequers at Steeple Aston is closed on Tuesday, and its own site and Hook Norton's page give different hours for Monday and Wednesday, so ring. You will see it listed under its old name of the Red Lion in places.
By train, you cannot reach those pubs easily, so you come back to Banbury, which is not a bad thing. Follow the train stops in the plan above. There is a full guide to the trip, which also covers the direct 500 bus. That takes about an hour and 25 minutes, so it makes sense only from Middleton Cheney or Brackley. It does give you the option of the last bus from Bicester Village station at 6.55pm on a weekday if you stay all day.
For a Sunday, trains to Bicester North in the table to 6 December 2026 leave Banbury at 8.34am, 9.42am and 10.07am. Take the 9.42am, which arrives at 9.58am, for the 10am opening. Trains back to Banbury leave Bicester North at 12.52pm and 1.27pm. From 13 December 2026 to 9 May 2027, take the 9.44am, arriving at 9.57am, and come back at 12.52pm or 1.26pm.
Other lunches, day by day
Choose by the day, since most of these kitchens do not open every lunchtime, and you should ring all of them:
- Wednesday: the Duke of Cumberland's Head at Clifton, about 30 minutes from the Village by car, opens at 11am from Wednesday to Saturday and publishes no kitchen hours.
- Thursday and Friday: the Chequers from midday, or the Duke's Head.
- Saturday: the Unicorn at Deddington, midday to 2.30pm on its own site, whose footer is dated 2024. Also the Chequers and the Duke's Head.
- Sunday: the Unicorn, midday to 4pm, and the Duke's Head, which opens from 10am to 6pm, or the Bell at Adderbury, whose site offers its Yorkshires every Sunday; its menus change from 21 November 2026, so ring. The Chequers has roasts. On a Sunday, go at midday and shop only until you have to leave.
- Monday and Tuesday: the pubs on this road are mostly shut at lunch, so come home to Banbury and the Reine Deer, or take the Red Lion at Adderbury, a Greene King inn that serves breakfast every day and meals until 9pm; ring to check lunch.
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After lunch
Deddington Castle and St Mary's at Adderbury are the two stops that need no booking, and both are on your way home. If you have the energy, the Adderbury and Bloxham Grove walk is 3.1 miles from the village, about an hour and a half with stiles. Villages near Banbury has the wider choice.
If it rains, and what to skip
In the rain: the Village is outdoors between shops, so go with a coat, and skip the banks at Deddington. St Mary's stands, and a long lunch is no hardship.
What to skip: do not try to reach Steeple Aston from the Village by bus: the S4 runs through it but does not go near the Village. Charging at the Village is for top-ups only, and there is none at the Park and Ride sites, so charge before you leave home.