Resident Guest Information

• Yarnton Manor entrance gates are just to the left of St. Bartholomew’s Church.
• Press ‘Call’ on the gate intercom for security to let you in.
• If you are arriving inside of office hours then please head into the main entrance of the Manor House, turn right, and to the end of the corridor past the stairs – staff will be happy to welcome y0u, show you to your accommodation and get you settled.
• If you are arriving outside of office hours your key will by in a named envelope inside the security shed that is just inside the main gates (unless you have been told otherwise). The code to get into the shed is X4579.
• Your key envelope will have the above map of the Yarnton Manor site so that you can find your accommodation easily.

If you’re driving from Oxford:

• Take the A44 (Oxford → Woodstock) north-west out of Oxford.
• Look out for a roundabout by the Turnpike Pub, then turn left toward Cassington Road.
• Follow Cassington Road until you see signs for Church Lane. Turn left onto Church Lane.
• Yarnton Manor will be a few hundred yards down Church Lane on the right.

By Public Transport

• The Stagecoach S3 bus route (towards Chipping Norton/Charlbury) travels between Oxford train station (stop R5), city centre (stop B1 on George Street, or stop C4 outside The Alice at the Randolph) and Yarnton.

• Get off at the Paddocks stop in Yarnton, then you’ll need to walk south to Cassington road, turn left and then right onto Church Lane

Coach:

• Unless you are travelling by car, the simplest way of getting to Oxford from Heathrow is by coach – it is cheap and direct. We recommend :
  • The Airline with the Oxford Bus Company – from £25
  • National Express – from £26
  • These companies travel to Oxford from other airports, as well as other key locations around Britain.

Rail:

• Travel by rail will be via one of the following routes:
  • take the Heathrow Express (from £10) to Paddington station in London, where you can get a train to Oxford.
  • take the Elizabeth underground Tube line to to Paddington station in London, where you can get a train to Oxford.
  • take the Elizabeth underground Tube line to to Reading, where you can get a train to Oxford.
• You must purchase a ticket before you board – you can buy them at the station but it will be very expensive, especially if you are travelling at peak times. We recommend pre-booking via The Trainline.

We are a community striving to love and support each other, by booking to stay onsite you are agreeing to  a certain standard of behaviour on-site that upholds this vision.

• Speed limit – please take care of others, particularly our free-range children, by driving very slowly around the site.
• Noise levels should not be such that will disturb other community members.
• We are a Pet free site
• No smoking or illegal substances.

You are welcome to wonder around the grounds and make use of the beautiful gardens, benches, and walkways.

We have a secluded, sunken garden between the Manor and the library, two orchards, a croquet lawn, and a lovely kitchen garden that resembles Mr. McGregor’s garden.

We have a croquet set and other garden games in the bike shed next to the croquet lawn which you are welcome to use – please return them if you do.

The Manor gardens are for your personal use – please don’t organise gatherings in the Manor House unless you have done so through the bookings team. When you are wondering near the Manor House, please be aware that there may be meetings, filming, or other events happening inside, and please be sensitive to guests in other cottages when you pass other buildings.

Please don’t go into the private gardens of other cottages onsite.

Residence onsite automatically includes library membership for the duration of your stay, but we do ask that you sign the library user agreement. You will be sent this before you stay, but you can also request it from library@yarntonmanor.com.

Adult residents of Yarnton Manor are welcome to use the library, Monday to Friday, 09:30–20:00, subject to advance desk booking. This includes on the day of their arrival and departure.

We also have a limited number of dedicated Researcher Desks available for long-term resident scholars. For more information, please enquire whilst arranging your sabbatical stay.

Due to limited space, all members need to reserve a study space to visit the library. We have ten desks in the Main Reading Room and a shared table with eight seats in the South Seminar Room. The South Seminar Room may be unavailable on set dates, owing to events or other bookings. Research Carrels on the top floor are reserved for resident scholars.

Please note that if you arrive at the library without a booking we may not be able to grant access, as we cannot guarantee an available space.  To avoid disappointment, please book your desk before you arrive.

Book a desk here

You are welcome to go into the Library to have a look around without booking – just introduce yourself to the Library staff (office above the entrance hall) to let them know you are there.

The code to get into the library is 1234 (code pad located to the right of the door) – it then opens automatically.

You are welcome to come into the Manor and use rooms for free that haven’t been booked. Please speak to the staff to see what is not being used and to let them know you are in the building.

If you would like to hire a room in the Manor for a meeting or meal please enquire with staff as to hire rates and catering options (you cannot cook for yourselves or bring your own food into the Manor House).

Below is a floor plan of the Manor House

Rather than using the address of your accommodation, have your post and parcels addressed to Yarnton Manor, Yarnton, Kidlington, Oxfordshire, UK, OX5 1PY. These will be put in the parcel box behind the security shed, just inside the main gate, and you can collect them from there.

If you are ordering in takeaways (see below for recommendations) or are using an online grocery delivery service then you can give them the name of your accommodation – explain to them whether you are located on the Yarnton Manor grounds or at Manor Farm.

If you are staying on the grounds of the Manor House then let your delivery driver know that they have to press ‘call’ on the gate intercom system to be let in.

If you are staying at Manor Farm, please have them call you when they are at the Manor Farm gates so that you can go out and let them in.

It is really important to the security of all on site that you don’t share our gate codes with delivery drivers. 

If you are driving into Oxford centre then you need to be aware that Oxford now has a congestion charge with 6 cameras (see map below for locations) – if you drive past one of these cameras between 7am and 7pm you will be charged £5 for the day (you only need to pay for the day, no matter how many cameras you drive past that day).

You need to pay here

Fines for missing payment are steep (so please remember to pay):

• If you do not pay the daily charge, you will receive a £70 fine (reduced by half to £35 if paid within 14 days).
• If you do not pay the fine within 28 days, the fine increases by half to £105.

Parking is limited in Oxford city centre – our ancient street network simply wasn’t designed for it (terrible lack of foresight, we know!)

The biggest and cheapest car park is under the Westgate shopping mall but you will have to drive past a congestion charge camera to get to it, which increases the cost (unless you are driving in after 7pm).

You can park on St Giles (at the end of Woodstock Road) – which has the Eagle & Child, Lamb & Flag, and St John’s College on – without being charged congestion charge, but the parking charges themselves are extortionate.

Buses are a good way of getting around. The bus company going through Yarnton, and running most of the routes in the wider Oxford area is Stagecoach. We would very much recommend getting the Stagecoach App as it has a very good journey planner and live bus tracking (good in case the bus is late – which is often!).

The Stagecoach S3 bus route (towards Oxford train station) travels between Yarnton and Oxford city centre George Street, or Oxford train station, or in the other direction towards Blenheim Palace, and Woodstock and Chipping Norton villages (Cotswolds) – full timetable here

To go towards Oxford you catch the bus on Rutten lane – walk up Church Lane from Yarnton Manor towards the village. At the end of Church Lane, turn left onto Cassington Road and almost immediately turn right onto Rutten Lane. The bus stop is about 50 meters up on your right (there is another bus stop on your left but don’t get the bus there unless you are wanting to go in the opposite direction – see below).

It takes roughly half an hour to get to Oxford train station (just less for the city centre) below are the times the bus leaves Yarnton for Oxford:

 0547   0615    0645    0715    0740    0800    0820    0855   0925   Then at 55 mins and 25 mins past each hour until 1455 1539

1609    1639    1709   1739   1810   1900   1935   2115   2215   2315   0015

Note: times are slightly different on weekends and bank holidays – full timetable here

To get back from Oxford again you get the S3 (Chipping Norton/Charlbury) bus from eithero Oxford train station (stop R5), or city centre (stop B1 on George Street, or stop C4 outside The Alice at the Randolph).

Get off at the Paddocks stop in Yarnton, then you’ll need to walk south to Cassington road, turn left and then right onto Church Lane

To go to Blenheim, Woodstock or Chipping Norton you also catch the bus on Rutten lane – walk up Church Lane from Yarnton Manor towards the village. At the end of Church Lane, turn left onto Cassington Road and almost immediately turn right onto Rutten Lane. The bus stop is about 50 meters up on your left.

Buses go roughly every half an hour, mostly around 27 and 57 minutes past the hour – full timetable here

The 800 bus goes from the same bus stop as the S3 bus to Oxford, but goes to:

• Kidlington (get off at Kidlington Garden City for Sainbury’s which is our nearest large supermarket) in around 25 mins.
• Oxford Parkway Station in around 30 mins.
• Summertown shops, North Oxford in around 45 mins.
• Wycliffe Hall (get off at the Bevington Road stop along Banbury Road) in around 50 mins.
• Oxford City Centre, George Street in around 1 hour.
• Westgate shopping mall in around 70 mins.

The 800 bus only runs from Yarnton once an hour – full timetable here.

• Über runs in Oxford.
• We would also recommend Royal Cars taxi firm – phone: 01865 777 333

Cycling is by far the preferred mode of transport for most true Oxford locals (aside from our feet). Oxford is mostly flat, with many bike paths and bike parking stands.

Cycling allows you to get down streets inaccessible by car, you can also book bikes onto trains to be able to use elsewhere.

Bike rental:

• For daily / hourly e-bike hire around Oxford, the council has an e-bike hire scheme, two providers, Voi and Lime, operate dockless e-bike hire schemes in Oxford, independently of the council.
• to rent a bike for longer times we would recommend Oxbykes.

If you are wanting a bike for quite a while you will find it cheaper to buy a secondhand bike (then sell it again when you leave) – check out this handy information on this from Oxford University.

Warning – do lock your bike if you are leaving it anywhere.

Coach networks:

• These companies travel to Oxford from airports, as well as other key locations around Britain.
  • The Oxford Bus Company
  • National Express

Rail network

• You can get many places in the UK by train.
• Trains travel from Oxford station in the centre of town (on the S3 bus route to Yarnton) or Oxford Parkway station (closer to Yarnton if you are wanting to get a taxi to the station or bus route 800).
• You must purchase a ticket before you board – you can buy them at the station but it will be very expensive, especially if you are travelling at peak times.
• We strongly recommend pre-booking via The Trainline as tickets booked in advance can be very affordable but tickets purchased on the day can be eye-wateringly expensive!

Bedding – duvets and pillows – with sheets, duvet covers and pillow cases.

Towels – bath towel, hand towel, and face cloth per person.

• (For guests staying for longer than a week a spare set of sheets, duvet cover, pillow cases and towels will be provided so that you can wash your your towels and bedding during your stay).

Enough toilet rolls, handsoap, dishwashing supplies, and  bin bags to last a few days.

• (For guests staying for longer than a week we do not provide extras of these supplies as they are part of what you provide for yourself in a long-term let).

Your kitchen will have the appliances and utensils needed for self-catering (see below).

We can provide a travel cot (no sheets) and highchair upon request.

Food and personal toiletries are not provided.

For guests staying for longer than a week we do not provide extras supplies toilet rolls, handsoap, dishwashing supplies, and  bin bags beyond what we provide to get you through your first few days, as these supplies as they are part of what you provide for yourself in a long-term let.

We also do not provide laundry detergent and cleaning supplies though you may find some of these that you can borrow in the Manor Farm store cupboard (between Manor Farm 4&5), and in the Dashwood block laundry rooms.

We are unable to provide travel cot sheets, baby change supplies, or toys.

Your kitchen should be equipped with a full set of dinner plates, side plates, bowls, glasses, mugs, and cutlery. If you find you do not have enough of these then please do let us know as we can provide more from our stores.

Your kitchen will also have sauce pans, frying pans, cooking utensils, measuring jugs, and mixing bowls.

Small appliances in your kitchen include a kettle, toaster, coffee pod machine, microwave, scales, and hand-mixer.

Larger appliances include an oven, stove-top, fridge-freezer (NB. there is no freezer in Apple Loft), washer-dryer, and some cottage have a dishwasher (not in manor farm properties).

Manuals for your large appliances should be found in a black folder in your accomodation – let us know if you have any issues with these.

Your accommodation will have a washer-dryer plus a clothes hanging rack. We do not provide laundry detergent for you – past guests may have left some in the store room between Manor Farm 4&5.

If you are staying in Dashwood block there are laundry rooms both upstairs and downstairs.

Your accommodation has a gas powered boiler for the heating and hot water which is normally found in a cupboard in the hallway.

There is a control panel just next to the boiler for setting the automation. Both the heating and hot water should be set to ‘on’ with the heating being controlled by a thermostat normally found in your living rooms (a circular dial with temperatures – this will set the temperature below which the heating will come on).

If you find that your heating and/or hot water are not working, please first look at the little control panel next to the boiler to check whether the heating and hot water is set to ‘on’ – if they are not then press the ‘select’ of ‘enter’ button until it selects ‘on’.

If this doesn’t work then please do let us know – often it is a very easy fix, like the system being low on pressure.

Cleaning:

Our housekeeping team will clean your cottage at the end of your stay but we do ask that you keep it clean during your stay if you are staying for more than a few days.

Your accommodation will have a vacuum cleaner, mob, cloths, sponges, and toilet brushes provided. Some cleaning fluids are provided but if you are staying for a longer-term let (4 weeks or more) we ask that you buy these supplies yourselves.

We can arrange for our cleaning company to come to clean for you during your stay. This will be at an additional cost. Please speak to our estate manager, Annie Smith (anniesmith@yarntonmanor.com) about this.

Rubbish (Garbage):

Your accommodation will have separate bins for general waste , recycling, and food waste. Please do separate out your waste and recycle as much as possible. Glass cannot go in the recycling bins – keep this separate.

When you need to empty your bins there are large outside bins at various locations around the site – in a bin shed in the Dashwood car park, next to Apple Loft, in a bin shed over the drive from number 32, and next to the barn at Manor Farm. Blue is for recycling, green for general waste, and grey is for food waste, there are other clearly labelled grey bins for glass – please put your glass in these, not the recycling bin.

Please do take care to put your waste in the correct bins as we get fined if there is contamination of recycling.

Soft plastic recycling is also extremely worthwhile – most supermarkets will have a place you can deposit this.

There is a store room between Manor Farm 4&5 which has some additional cleaning supplies and some other supplies, games, puzzles, and toys that have been left by previous guests for community use – do help yourselves to these.

We have also provided welly boots of various sizes for you to enjoy going on muddy walks – please do return these clean enough for the next guest to enjoy (there is some anti-bacterial shoe spray to spray inside).

You don’t have to clean your accommodation before you leave but please leave it in a good condition.

Please could you:

• take all rubbish (garbage) out to the outside bins.
• remove all food.
• wash your dishes and empty your dishwasher (if you have one)
• strip the sheets off the beds that you have used.

Keys:

• We always like to say a goodbye if we can so if you are able to come into the manor before you leave then please do bring your keys into the office.
• If you are unable to do so, or if you are leaving outside of office hours then you are welcome to leave your key on the kitchen bench/dining table in your accommodation or (preferably) leave them in the guard shed just inside the manor gates (shed code 4579X).

Budgens Grocery Store and Post Office.

• Open 6am – 11pm Monday – Saturday, 7am – 10.30 on Sundays.
• It takes about 20 minutes to walk here. Turn left at the end of church lane and then immediately turn right up Rutten Lane. Carry on past the playground (on your right) and school (on your left). Take a right along The Garth and follow that to the end – Budgens is part of the BP garage on you right.

Sainsbury’s Supermarket:

• This is the nearest large supermarket with groceries, books, clothes, and homeware.
• It is located in Kidlington which is a large village to the East of Yarnton and is 6 minutes away by car, or you can get there by the 800 bus.

Small, city centre supermarkets

• If you are travelling into town there are many small city centre grocery stores – Tesco and Sainsbury’s are the usuals, Marks & Spencers is more upmarket.
• There is a good Tesco store just before you get to the Randalph hotel if you are taking the S3 bus from there.

Other Supermarkets:

• There are many other supermarkets that you can get to by car.
• Aldi and Lidl are very good for both quality and budget.
• Waitrose is a high-end supermarket.
• Aldens Meatmaster and Fishmaster in Osney Mead are very good butchers and fishmongers, especially if you are cooking for a crowd.

• Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda (more budget), and Ocado (more high-end) do online deliveries.
• If you are getting groceries delivered and you are staying on the Manor House grounds instruct them to press ‘call’ on the gate for security to let them in, then make their way to your accommodation.
• If you are getting groceries delivered and you are staying in Manor Farm then please instruct them to call you when they arrive at the gate for you to come and let them through.
• Please do not give our gate codes out to delivery drivers. 
• We are sorry that we do not have staffing capacity to accept and sort out grocery deliveries on your behalf or before you arrive.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

Local gyms

Local sports clubs

Local exercise classes

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

blenheim

port meadow

bagley wood

boars hill

wytham woods

shotover hill

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.

This site is a work in progress – thank you for your patience.