Its never been easier to live like a local having been the owners much loved home for more than twenty years, were able to share the inside secrets and local knowledge that make this area such a find. For a start, the local village has an open all hours shop and a popular gastro pub, The Wykham Arms. The shop sells fresh bread and the lady who bakes its cakes is also available to provide a ready made supper for your arrival at Tyne Barn or help ease the kitchen strain after a long day sight-seeing. We make no apologies for the recurring theme of food and its provenance, it is surely one of lifes pleasures? The nearby village of Brailes is home to the Paddock Farm Butchery which Tyne Hill owner Julie assures us makes sausage rolls to die for! We trust Julies judgement and so it seems does Raymond Blanc guests at Le Manoir feast on sausage and bacon from Paddock Farms hand-reared Tamworth pigs. Look no further for your beef, lamb, poultry, deli items, cheeses and cooked meats. If a full monty breakfast is not your style then the village also boasts La Tradition French bakery for your morning pastries. Just a 10 minute drive away is Shipston-on-Stour, a great little market town packed with traditional independent retailers offering an array of locally grown fresh produce, no big High Street names here! Moving on from food and also within 10 minutes of Tyne Hill Barn, youll find Broughton Castle some may recognise it from either Shakespeare in Love , Three Men and a Little Lady or more recently, Wolf Hall. Open to the public at Easter and then from May through to September but its also possible to book a tour at any other time (for any size group) if booked in advance. Well worth making time for. Also an easy 10 minute journey way is the National Trusts Upton House where the visitor experience focuses on banking for victory during World War 2 and is very hands on the kids will love it! Other historic sites worth a visit and easily reached from Tyne Hill Barn are Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle and the lesser known Sulgrave Manor ancestral home of George Washington. The Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon provides another top day out and for any that feel thats one for the boys, fear not, the retail charms of the designer outlet at Bicester Village are not very far away To return to the foodie theme, or more precisely drink, within easy striking distance of the barn, youll find both the Hook Norton Brewery and The Cotswold Distillery. Both offer fabulous visitor experiences. The tours are highly rated and the drive there takes you through some spectacular countryside. Wed suggest a morning tour followed by pub lunch at one of the many superb pubs in the area try The Red Lion at Long Compton if you fancy a traditional bar with roaring inglenook fire. Suitably fortified, take a drive back via The Rollright Stones and indulge in some post dinner and pre-bedtime fireside story-telling back at the barn. Coupled with the facilities on offer at the barn itself, its easy to see how a week spent here may not be enough: we always love a reason to return Step inside Tyne Hill Barn & Cottage