Heyford Park

Royal Air Force Upper Heyford or more simply RAF Upper Heyford is a former Royal Air Force station located 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. In the Second World War the airfield was used by RAF Bomber Command. During the Cold War, Upper Heyford was one of the former RAF bases chosen to house the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) nuclear-capable bombers on 90-day TDY (Temporary Duty) deployments until 1959, SAC Reflex Alert deployments from 1959 until 1965, from 1966 United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) tactical reconnaissance aircraft, and from 1970 General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark strike aircraft.

Heyford Park School is a free school in Upper Heyford, England. The school was opened in November 2020 after the Heyford Park Free School was closed in September 2020. In the school's most recent inspection (October 2023) Ofsted rated it as good. The school is a part of the Eynsham Partnership Academy Trust.

Cherwell ( CHER-wel) is a local government district in northern Oxfordshire, England. The district was created in 1974 and takes its name from the River Cherwell, which drains south through the region to flow into the River Thames at Oxford. Towns in Cherwell include Banbury and Bicester. Kidlington is a contender for largest village in England.

Upper Heyford is a village and civil parish about 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,295.The village is just east of the River Cherwell. "Upper" distinguishes it from Lower Heyford which is about 1 mile (1.6 km) "lower", downstream along the Cherwell valley. The parish measures about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) east–west and almost 2 miles (3 km) north–south. In 1959 it covered 1,628 acres (659 ha).The parish's western boundary is just west of the river. Chilgrove Drive, a continuation of Aves ditch, forms part of the parish's eastern boundary. Field boundaries bound the parish on the south. In the north the boundary crosses the former RAF Upper Heyford airfield, following the course of former field boundaries.

Ardley Cutting and Quarry is a 40.1-hectare (99-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Bicester in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site and an area of 11 hectares (27 acres) is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust as Ardley Wood Quarry. The site contains a Scheduled Monument, Ardley Wood moated ringwork, a Norman defended enclosure.The quarry and railway cutting exposes rocks dating to the Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic, about 167 million years ago. It is described by Natural England as of national importance for the understanding of the Jurassic Period in Britain as it allows correlation of rocks of the Oxford area to be correlated with those of the Midlands. The site has calcareous grassland with diverse vertebrates, including the internationally protected great crested newt.

Middleton Park is a rural park in the parish of Middleton Stoney, Oxfordshire, England, about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) west of Bicester. The grounds are Grade II listed and include several historic buildings, notably a Grade I listed country house with Grade II* listed service wing and lodges.

Aves Ditch (also known as Ash Bank, or Wattle Bank) is an Iron Age ditch and bank structure running about 3 miles (4.8 km) on a northeast to southwest alignment in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It was once believed to have been a Roman road but excavation has shown it to be a boundary dyke of Iron Age date that was reused in the Anglo-Saxon period. A skull found in the ditch was dated to the Anglo-Saxon period. It now forms the boundary between the civil parishes of Lower Heyford and Middleton Stoney. Both Sauer and Lambrick have suggested that the Aves Ditch along with the North Oxfordshire Grim’s Ditch and the South Oxfordshire Grim’s Ditch may have formed the boundary between the Iron Age tribes of the Dobunni and the Catuvellauni.

Fritwell Manor is a house in Fritwell, Oxfordshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Ardley railway station was a railway station serving the village of Ardley in Oxfordshire, England. It was on what is now known as the Chiltern Main Line, south of Ardley Tunnel.

Fritwell is a village and civil parish about 5+1⁄2 miles (9 km) northwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 736.The parish's southern boundary is a stream that flows eastwards through Fewcott and past the villages of Fringford and Godington before entering Buckinghamshire where it becomes part of Padbury Brook, a tributary of the Great Ouse. The northeastern boundary of Fritwell parish is the main road between Bicester and Banbury. On other sides the parish is bounded by field boundaries. The Portway, a road that predates the Roman conquest of Britain, runs north–south parallel with the River Cherwell and passes through the western part of the parish. The village's toponym is derived from Fyrht-wielle or Fyrht-welle, which is Old English for a wishing well.

Ardley Castle was a castle to the southwest of the village of Ardley, Oxfordshire, England. At present only some of its ruins, most notably an oval enclosure one hundred yards (91 m) in diameter, with a shallow ditch with an average depth of three feet (0.91 m), a derelict moat and the earthworks remain.According to sources, the castle was a motte and bailey fortification erected in the 12th century during the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda at the site of Offa of Mercia's old encampment. It was initially a manor site raised to a small castle by Hugh of Avranches, Earl of Chester to protect his lands from the chaos of war. It may have been constructed without the consent and permission of the monarch, making it an adulterine castle. During the war between Stephen and Matilda the castle was occasionally used by Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester. In 1136 the castle was attacked, but the attackers were repulsed. After the death of Ranulf, it was decided in the Treaty of Wallingford in 1153 that all adulterine castles would be demolished. During Henry II's reign, the castle was either demolished by hand or was simply abandoned and fell into ruin. In 1823 it was reported that only the ruins of the castle remained. It was during this same year that the existence of certain subterranean tunnels connecting the manor house came to light.

Middleton Stoney is a village and civil parish about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) west of Bicester, Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 331.The parish measures about 2 miles (3 km) north–south and about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) east–west, and in 1959 its area was 1,853 acres (750 ha). Its eastern boundary is Gagle Brook, a tributary of the River Ray, and its western boundary is Aves ditch. It is bounded to the north and south by field boundaries.