The urban guide to the countryside -

Well, hello!

I'm Catherine, editor of Muddy Warwickshire, here to bring you the quirky, cool and downright unmissable in the area.

Gotta Have It

Making plans? Find your perfect Pub, Inn, Hotel, Café, Restaurant or Bar across the Muddy counties.

Hot-off-the-press: Muddy NewsflashPsst, have you heard the gossip? We have, naturellement - gather round and we'll tell you EVERYTHING.
Half-term Ahoy!There's lots more for families to do in Birmingham these days with the launch of the new Legoland Discovery Centre and the National SEA LIFE Centre's £1.1 refurb. We went on a little day-trip to explore.
The Hotlist - Jan '19Brand spanking new hotels and bars? 'Fashion's wild-child' visiting Stratford? New comedy announcements? Tell me more, tell me more...It's all happening in 2019!
How to be happy in 2019New Year, new chance to give yourself a great big shot of positive energy with one of these 28 inspirational ideas.

FRI JAN 18 - SUN JAN 20

MON JAN 14 - SUN JAN 20

JANUARY

The latest handpicked businesses we think you’ll love

On the Waterfront

The Encore overlooking the River Avon in historic Stratford-upon-Avon has just reopened after a swish complete makeover. Shall we?
- Bye bye gin, we have a new favourite drink!
  
  Yes, it's hard to believe but we've benched the G&Ts for a super-cool exciting new tipple. Wanna know what it is? 'Course you do.
- The Castle at Edgehill
  
  Muddy goes all 'Rapunzel' and checks into an impressive 15th Century folly for the night with panoramic views over a famous Civil War battlefield.
- 2019’s Michelin winners
  
  The best places to eat in Warwickshire and the Midlands from swanky restaurants to country pubs.
- The loveliest pubs with rooms
  
  Fancy a weekend away in the countryside? The Muddy editors across 19 counties know all the best spots for a relaxed overnighter.

Our honest reviews of the UK’s best schools

Our curated A-Z of the grooviest local businesses

Your 2019 holiday inspo

Going anywhere nice on your holidays? Don’t answer that until you’ve read Muddy’s guide to the coolest travel trends for the year ahead.
- WIN A £1050 BREAK AT THE PINE CLIFFS IN PORTUGAL
  
  Pining for a holiday? Go snaffle yourself this luxe 3-night break for a family of four in one of Portugal's most gorgeous resorts with our brand new Reader Treat
- Winter boltholes
  
  Pack that overnighter and give yourself the break you deserve, with 37 curated cosy breaks across the Muddy counties.

Witness the fitness! The best new sports gear for 2019

Finding it hard to kickstart that hardcore new exercise regime? Buy some slinky new kit and you’ll be sprinting around the park faster than Mo Farah (possibly).
- Wrist Action
  
  Obsessed with the time with the arrival of a new year? Then you'll appreciate our round up the coolest watches for all the family.
- Our Festive Fashion Top 10
  
  Invitations piling up and nothing to wear? Well, Cinders, you shall go to the ball (or, er, pub). Muddy's partywear edit incoming!

Close Shave

Thought Brexit was divisive? You’d better take a look at this controversial new Gillettte ad…
- REVIEW: Wilde Creatures, Warwick Arts Centre
  
  This inventive adaptation of Oscar Wilde's fairytales about a selfless statue, a stroppy princess and a lovesick student is delightful, quirky family Christmas entertainment.
- REVIEW: A Christmas Carol
  
  This joyous festive smash-hit at the RST, Stratford-upon-Avon, gets a reboot and a new cast, including Aden Gillett as Scrooge.
- SEE THIS! Mimbre’s Fierce Sisters
  
  Five of Shakespeare's most feisty female characters, including a transgender Rosalind, are brought to life in this provocative and witty after-dark acrobatic promenade piece at the Bard's former family home.
- Top Coffee Table Tomes
  
  From fashion to flora to fragrant Frida, we've found the Top 10 most gorgeous new coffee table tomes for you.

Speedy Supper: Prawn Laska

Healthy, hearty and faster than Dina Asher Smith with jet propellers, welcome to 2019’s first Speedy Supper. Prawn Laska, anyone?
- Alternative advent calendars
  
  Counting the days until Christmas? Here, we can help with that! Open the door to the best alternative advent calendars.
- 10 Christmas Wreath Workshops
  
  Deck your door with boughs of holly! These local festive craft classes are hugely popular (wonder if the mulled wine has anything to do with that?) so, quick, book now.
Wellbeing
- Are you sober curious?
  
  Whether you're doing Dry January or merely cutting down, we're all re-examining our relationship with alcohol right now after too much December carousing. Could "sober curious" be for you?
- How to be happy in 2019
  
  New Year, new chance to give yourself a great big shot of positive energy with one of these 28 inspirational ideas.

Co-working: 5 reasons to do it

Are you tired of working from home? Sick of setting up in coffee shops? Maybe you’re over the rigidity of long-term office leases? Then it’s time to consider co-working.
- Flexible working – a personal view
  
  It's a contentious issue, that's for sure! As a full-time working mum and business owner, Hero Brown can see both sides of that fence. Wanna know what Muddy's founder and editor-in-chief thinks?
- The Parent’s Guide to Surviving Exam Results…
  
  because it's not just the kids who are bricking it on GSCE, AS and A level results days this year, right?!
Kids
- Half-term Ahoy!
  
  There's lots more for families to do in Birmingham these days with the launch of the new Legoland Discovery Centre and the National SEA LIFE Centre's £1.1 refurb. We went on a little day-trip to explore.
- Review: Emily Brown and the Thing
  
  A really lovely funny, seasonal show for very young children at Birmingham Hippodrome’s Patrick Studio until Sun Jan 6.

Christmas Survival Guide

How do you survive it? We’ve asked four wise women from our ‘hood to share their seasonal guide…
- We Got Mail!
  
  The 50 most inspirational women in the UK - including Keeley Hawes, Dina Asher-Smith, Jacqueline Wilson, Thomasina Miers and Muddy's very own *digital pioneer* Hero Brown.
- Muddy Meets…a local RSC star
  
  Kathryn Hunter is about to lead Simon Godwin's gender-bending Timon of Athens in the Swan. The charming former Warwick School pupil and RADA graduate Ralph Davis, gives us the lowdown.
- Muddy makes the glossies!
  
  Our ed-in-chief Hero Brown on being a centre-fold pin-up in Psychologies magazine - alongside Thor star Chris Hemsworth!
- ‘It’s a real action-hero, ‘Marvel’-like play’
  
  Super-stylish rising RSC talent Amber James on Gregory Doran's Mad-Max-style futuristic dystopian Troilus and Cressida.