At golden hour, when the light softens across the North Cotswolds and the day begins to ease into evening, a new kind of destination has opened its doors at Cotswolds Distillery.

The Hidden Still is the distillery’s latest evolution — a Friday and Saturday evening bar experience designed not around tours or tastings, but around atmosphere, conversation, and a slower rhythm of drinking.

Set within the distillery’s wider visitor site in Stourton, the space sits alongside its warehouse, café, shop and terrace, yet feels distinctly different in tone.

Where daytime visits focus on production and process, The Hidden Still is built for lingering evenings: cocktails in hand, soft light, and a menu shaped for unhurried summer drinking.

A new kind of distillery experience

From 5.00pm to 9.00pm every Friday and Saturday until the end of September, the bar shifts the distillery’s identity into something more social and seasonal.

Guests are greeted with a concise but considered menu: house cocktails built on signature gin and whisky, long spritz-style serves, a rotating slushie, and a selection of wines, beers and low- or no-alcohol options. It is familiar in format, but deliberately refined in execution.

Behind the programme is Head of Mixology Ollie Morris, whose long-standing role at the distillery has shaped much of its cocktail direction. His approach here leans into clarity and balance — drinks designed for warm evenings rather than technical showpieces.

But The Hidden Still is not simply a cocktail bar extension. It is also the setting for a wider seasonal collaboration series that places English sparkling wine at its centre.

English sparkling wine, reimagined

Across June, July and August 2026, three producers will each take over the bar’s signature spritz serve in month-long residencies, bringing their own interpretation of English fizz into the Cotswolds setting.

June opens with Hambledon Vineyards, whose Classic Cuvée brings crisp orchard fruit and structure to the spritz format.

July follows with Black Chalk, known for small-batch precision and bright, contemporary acidity.

August concludes the series with Flint Vineyards, offering a more textured, mineral expression that suits the softer edge of late summer.

Rather than positioning English sparkling wine as a standalone pour, the residencies weave it into cocktail culture — blended, lengthened, and reinterpreted through a spritz lens that aligns with the distillery’s own botanical-led approach.

It is a subtle shift in format, but a notable one: sparkling wine moving from celebratory bottle service into the everyday language of the cocktail bar.

The Wild Spritz and a countryside aperitivo moment

Alongside the residency programme, the bar also introduces the Cotswolds Wild Spritz, a bittersweet aperitivo created for relaxed summer drinking.

Built around bright citrus, soft florals and layered botanicals, it is designed to sit comfortably between aperitif and long drink — served over ice with soda, tonic, or paired with sparkling wine for a lighter spritz expression.

It reflects a broader shift in the distillery’s approach: spirits not only as products to be poured neat or in classic cocktails, but as flexible components in longer, more conversational drinks.

A space designed for evenings

What defines The Hidden Still most clearly, however, is not the drinks list but the setting.

The opening night revealed a space shaped for transition — from daylight to dusk, from structured tasting to informal gathering. Guests move between the bar, terrace and seating areas, with cocktails designed to match that pace rather than interrupt it.

There is a deliberate softness to the experience: lighting that draws focus inward, service that encourages pause, and a layout that prioritises flow over formality.

It is, in many ways, a continuation of the distillery’s evolution from production site to visitor destination. But it also signals something more specific — a confidence in becoming a place where people do not just learn about spirits, but spend time with them.

A growing destination in the Cotswolds

As the first full-scale distillery of its kind in the region, Cotswolds Distillery has steadily expanded its offer beyond production into hospitality and experience.

The Hidden Still is the latest expression of that trajectory — a seasonal bar that sits somewhere between rural escape and modern cocktail destination, with English sparkling wine playing an increasingly visible role in its identity.

If the opening night is any indication, it is also a space designed to be revisited rather than simply visited — a summer rhythm rather than a one-off event.

And in that sense, The Hidden Still feels less like a launch, and more like a new habit forming in the Cotswolds evenings.

For more than 250 years, the Covered Market has been one of Oxford’s most distinctive spaces — a working market woven into the daily rhythm of the city. Now, it could be set for its most significant transformation in a generation.

Oxford City Council has unveiled a vision for an £8 million programme of essential improvements aimed at upgrading ageing infrastructure, improving accessibility and public spaces, and ensuring the market remains viable for traders and visitors well into the future.

While the market’s familiar character remains central to the plans, the proposals offer a clear contrast between what exists today and what could emerge over the coming years.

A market built on heritage — and in need of renewal

The Covered Market is a rare survivor of Britain’s historic retail landscape: independent traders, narrow walkways, and a sense of density and atmosphere that has changed little in feel, even as the city around it has evolved.

But behind the scenes, many of its core systems are reaching the end of their serviceable life.

The proposals focus heavily on these less visible but essential elements — drainage, electrics, utilities, and public facilities — alongside improvements to lighting, access routes and circulation spaces.

The aim is not to reinvent the market, but to extend its life for decades to come.

What the future vision could look like

The CGI designs released as part of the consultation suggest a series of carefully considered interventions designed to improve flow, comfort and usability, while introducing new public space into the heart of the market.

A new open courtyard and seating space

One of the most visible proposed changes is the creation of a new open court area, introducing seating and space to dwell — a shift towards a more social, flexible market environment.

Improved entrances and Market Street approach

The Market Street frontage is reimagined as a more welcoming pedestrian entrance, with improved public realm, clearer routes and enhanced lighting helping to draw people into the market.

Upgraded facilities and accessibility

Public toilets would be relocated and expanded, including increased provision for women and improved accessible facilities. Across the market, circulation, surfacing and lighting are set to be improved.

Better infrastructure behind the scenes

Much of the work is less visible but critical — including upgraded utilities, drainage systems and a new substation designed to support future energy demands.

Additional retail opportunities

The reconfiguration of space around the new courtyard could create additional retail units, depending on trader demand and final design development.

Before: a historic market under pressure

Today, the Covered Market remains busy, characterful and highly distinctive — but its infrastructure reflects its age.

Narrow corridors, constrained service spaces, and ageing utilities present ongoing operational challenges for traders and the council alike. Public facilities and accessibility, while functional, are increasingly under pressure from modern expectations.

These constraints form the backdrop to the proposed investment.

After: a more open, accessible market experience

The CGI imagery presents a different interpretation of the same space: lighter, more open, and easier to navigate, with improved sightlines and a clearer sense of arrival from the surrounding streets.

Rather than replacing the market’s identity, the proposals aim to “tidy and enhance” what already exists — creating breathing space within the historic structure while maintaining its independent trading character.

Crucially, the market remains a working space throughout the proposed works, with traders continuing to operate as improvements are phased in.

Balancing change with continuity

The council has been clear that the Covered Market will remain fundamentally the same in purpose and spirit.

Independent traders remain central to its future, and the leasing strategy continues to prioritise local businesses. The proposals are designed to support long-term resilience rather than alter the market’s identity.

At the same time, the scale of investment reflects a recognition that without intervention, key elements of the building’s infrastructure will become increasingly difficult — and costly — to maintain.

A phased transformation over time

If approved and delivered as planned, the programme would move through detailed design and engagement during 2026, with construction expected to begin from mid-2027.

The works would be delivered in phases to minimise disruption, with parts of the market remaining operational throughout.

This means the transformation would not be a single moment of change, but a gradual evolution — visible in stages rather than all at once.

In summary

The proposals for the Covered Market sit at the intersection of preservation and renewal. The challenge is not to modernise away its character, but to ensure the conditions that allow it to continue thriving — quietly evolving while remaining recognisably itself.

Whether the vision becomes reality will depend on consultation feedback, detailed design work and how the city chooses to balance heritage with future need.