Radnor Lily Art Competition
Calling all young artists! We’re hosting a summer art competition and exhibition of artworks around the incredibly rare Radnor lily, a flower found in the UK only on Stanner Rocks!
To enter, create a 2D artwork with the Radnor lily hidden within. Be creative and imaginative!
Prizes for the winning pictures.
There are three categories based on age group:
Primary ages 5-11
Secondary ages 12-16
College ages 17-21
Maximum paper size A3. Please include your name, age and a contact number with your entry. Entries should be dropped off at The Oxford Arms from 26th-30th August.
The Kington Wheelbarrow Race
The Oxford Arms will again be a stop-off for participants in the annual Kington Wheelbarrow Race, and our courtyard bar will be open for spectators! We’ll also have delicious burgers and waffles on offer from RJ Smoke Shack.
Antiques Valuation
Halls Fine Art Auctioneers are back by popular demand on Friday 20th June for another antiques valuation event. The last one, in September 2024, turned up an old master painting! Is there something as rare and valuable in your attic? Join us to find out!
£2 per item valued, all proceeds go toward the renovation of The Oxford Arms. Cafe open throughout.
Ceilidh in The Oxford's barn
Join us for a ceilidh in The Oxford’s barn on Friday 27th June! We’ll have music from Join the Dots ceilidh band and traditional guided dancing.
Tickets £10pp, and £5 under 16s. To book, either come to The Oxford anytime during opening hours (Wednesdays 10am - 12.30pm; Sundays 1-5pm), or send an email with the number of tickets required to admin@openarmskington.co.uk.
Our bar will be open 5-10pm - no ticket required if you just want to join us for a drink in the courtyard!
For further information, contact admin@openarmskington.co.uk or info@openarmskington.co.uk
"Mindcrafts": Benefit fundraiser for Herefordshire Mind
Join us for a fundraiser for Herefordshire Mind with live music and activities for all the family!
We’ll have arts and crafts activities under gazebos in the courtyard, including:
Clay squishing - Colouring in - Tangram and mandala patterns - Visible mending - Origami - Analogue Minecraft design, and more!
We will be playing acoustic, atmospheric music, outside and unamplified in the beautiful courtyard, with gazebos for shade:
1pm - RSJ play deep Radiohead songs on guitar, flutes, and vocal harmonies
2pm - Erika plays hang drum - modal improvisations on the beautiful, ethereal instrument
3pm - Diego Brown and the Good Fairy - sing-a-long with “I want to be a bee” and other favourites
4pm - RSJ sing harmonious favourites - hum-a-long with “Detectorists” and songs by The Beatles, Love, Gorillaz, and The Velvet Underground
Plus delicious vegetarian and vegan Indian food from Lockdown Dhaba, tea, coffee, and cakes from the caravan café, and bar open throughout!
This weekend at The Oxford Arms
We’re open for drinks this Friday evening 5-10pm, but closed on Sunday 1st June.
Heritage Day
Heritage Day at The Oxford, as part of the Herefordshire Histories Festival
Drovers walking tour starts from The Oxford Arms at 10am
The Oxford will be open from 1-5pm, bar and café open throughout
Herefordshire Histories Festival runs from 10th-18th May, and to mark it we’ll be celebrating Kington’s droving history with activities, films, and displays for all the family.
From 10am, join our guided walk in the footsteps of the drovers (6 miles over moderate terrain, approximately 3 hours, free of charge). Expect fascinating history and gorgeous views as you take a walk back in time along key droving routes in and around Kington via Park Wood and Hergest Ridge - wear suitable walking shoes, dress for the weather and bring water/a drink of choice. Meet Annie at The Oxford Arms at 10am, returning to The Oxford for lunch around 1pm
From 1pm, The Oxford will be open, serving “Drover’s Bait” ploughman's lunches, as well as the usual offerings from our bar and caravan café. Throughout the afternoon, films on Kington’s droving history and its pubs will be showing in the barn, while there will also be activities for kids.
Poetry Evening with Jonny Fluffypunk
Our first poetry evening—in association with Ledbury Poetry! We’ll have a performance from acclaimed stand-up poet Jonny Fluffypunk, before audience members have the opportunity to read/perform their own poems based on the writing prompt “My Salvation”. All welcome & free to attend!
Jonny invites you to write a poem in response to the following prompt:
My Salvation
When everything is going wrong, what is your personal salvation? What is it that can lift your mood, bring you back to yourself, or at least take your mind off things for a few brief, blessed moments? Maybe it's a walk in the country? A beach? A coffee with a friend? Maybe it's the quiet companionship of your cat? Maybe you like to just jump on a bus and see where it takes you...?
There's no right and no wrong. YOU DO YOU. Write a poem that explores your personal salvation, or paints a portrait of it in words. Not just 'I like going to the beach'. WHICH beach? Who with? Describe the sights, sounds, smells! Paint it vividly- this is you, and you know you well...
Stand-up poet, lo-fi theatremaker and self-made underachiever Jonny Fluffypunk has been dragging his art around the UK and occasionally beyond for over 25 years, deafly fusing bittersweet autobiography, disillusionment and wonder into an act that has established him as a firm favourite at gigs, festivals and housing benefit offices across the UK and occasionally beyond.
“Acute social observation, intricate humour, surreal fantasy, sharp irony and wit...and England’s most pretentious moustache.” - The Independent
“A comedy colossus”– The Source, Bristol
“A cross between Norman Wisdom and Citizen Smith”– Stroud News & Journal
VE Day at The Oxford Arms
Join us to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day! We'll have traditional cream teas, jive dancing in the courtyard, and our usual bar and café opening.
Plus join us on a trip down memory lane - bring along an object that evokes the war years, and share memories and stories of what those years were like for you or your family. Free, all welcome.
Chair yoga course
Join Georgie Treasure-Evans for this course in chair yoga, which has all of the benefits of regular yoga but which is easier for people with reduced mobility or those who have difficulty standing for long periods.
Each session costs £5pp, or you can pay for the whole six-week course for £25. No need to book in advance! Just turn up to a session.
Contact info@openarmskington.co.uk for more details.
Kington Folk Club Sunday Sessions
Live music in the barn from Ben Proctor and Ralph Bradley, each playing a 45 minute set. Music from 1.30pm; bar and café open throughout
The Second Kington Marmalade Competition
The Oxford Arms is delighted to host the Second Kington Marmalade Competition on 27th April, in association with Festive Foods from the Borders! The marmalade theme will carry through the afternoon, with marmalade cakes and snacks of many kinds available from the Caravan Café, marmalade cocktails from the bar, and our regular Creative Workshop will take place from 2-4pm with a focus this month on lino printing in oranges and lemons design.
To enter the marmalade competition, pick up an entry form from The Grapevine on Kington’s High Street, or Bee’s Knees Cookshop, Church Street. The deadline for entry is 5pm, Wednesday 23rd April.
Judging will commence at 12.30pm. Creative Workshop 2-4pm, live 100 Club draw at 3pm, bar and café open 12-4pm.
Family Health Day
Family Health Day at The Oxford Arms
Friday 25th April, 10am-2pm
Café open throughout
Free and friendly health advice and support for all the family! Get advice and on healthy eating, heart health, mental wellbeing, dementia support, and much more, plus toothbrushing advice for kids and activities to keep them busy.
We’ll also host a chair yoga taster session at noon, and our café will be open throughout.
Kington Folk Club Sunday Session
Join us for Kington Folk Club’s regular Sunday Sessions on 13th April. This month’s live music comes from Aberystwyth duo Brenig. Free entry, bar and café open 12-4pm, music from 1pm.
Kington Castaways, with Beccy Haydon of The Border Bean
April’s Kington Castaways will feature special guests Beccy Haydon with Shaun from The Border Bean in Kington, a music-loving couple who enjoy travel, watching live music, and, of course, good food! Beccy and Shaun will be sharing music and stories from their lives.
Castaways starts at 2pm, bar and café open 12-4pm
Creative Workshop - Slavic-style pysanky eggs
Creative Workshop - This month, create Slavic-style pysanky eggs ready for Easter!
Sunday 30th March, 2-4pm. Suggested donation £5
Join Sarah in The Oxford’s barn this Sunday to decorate eggs in the pysanky style
Plus live 100 Club draw at 3pm!
Bar and café open throughout
RNLI charity quiz night
Charity quiz night in support of the RNLI
With food from Lockdown Dhaba
Saturday 29th March - Registration from 6pm. Quiz from 6.30-9.30pm. Entry £5pp
Food available 5-9pm
Bar open throughout
Join us for a charity quiz night & prize raffle in support of the RNLI.
Delicious vegetarian & vegan Indian food from Lockdown Dhaba will be served in the courtyard from 5-9pm!
"I have artism" - an exhibition of artwork and craft to mark World Autism Awareness Day
“I have artism” - an exhibition of artwork and craft to mark World Autism Awareness Day
Saturday 29th March - Sunday 6th April in The Oxford Arms Barn
To mark World Autism Awareness Day on Wednesday 2nd April, The Oxford’s barn is hosting an exhibition of artwork and craft born from the mind of an autistic teenager. Visit during any of our events that week to see the work of Arley, a talented young local artist! We’ll be open Saturday 29th March, 5-9.30pm, Sunday 30th March, 12-4pm, Wednesday 2nd April, 10am-12.30pm, and Sunday 6th April, 12-4pm.
Source painting workshop
Sunday 23rd March, 2-4pm. Painting from Inner Source, a taster workshop with Hilda Church. Try source art painting—an approach to process painting using childlike materials, like poster paint and newsprint, that engages with your inner child’s intuition. Inspired by the work of Aviva Gold, therapist and artist. Open to all, 18+, no artistic experience required!
This free taster session will be followed by seven community art sessions, Thursday 6.30-8.30pm. Course dates 3rd, 10th, 17th, 29th April, 1st, 15th, 22nd May.
Kington Folk Club Sunday Session
Kington Folk Club’s Sunday Session for March features live music from O’r Galon. The café will be serving food with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. The bar will be open throughout!
The Oxford is closed this Sunday
The Oxford Arms will be closed this Sunday, 9th March. Apologies for any inconvenience!
Join us next Sunday, 16th March, for live music from O’r Galon at Kington Folk Club’s Sunday Session. 12-4pm. Bar and café open throughout.
Sunflower Social - Hidden disabilities support group
Do you live with a hidden disability? Introducing Sunflower Social, the hidden disability support group meeting once a month at The Oxford Arms.
Join us on Wednesday March 5th to meet others and build your support network. Simply drop in to The Oxford’s barn between 10am-12.30pm, for free tea or coffee and biscuits, and an opportunity to build connections with others living with similar circumstances.
If you know someone living with a hidden disability who would benefit from this group, please share this event with them!
Let's Dance!
SUNDAY 2ND MARCH - 11AM-3PM - Let’s Dance at The Oxford
Join us this Sunday as the UK’s biggest ever dance event comes to The Oxford! Try out taster sessions of line dancing, jive, belly dancing, seated ballet, chakra, and more.
All sessions are free with no booking required - just drop by our courtyard and barn this Sunday and have fun! Every age and ability are welcome.
11am - Line Dancing with Debby
11.30am - Belly Dancing with Alanya
12pm - Groove with Elly
12.30pm - Jive with Cool Moves
1pm - Seated Ballet with Abbie
2pm - Dance for Joy with Christine
2.30pm - Chakra with Georgie
Let’s Dance is a national campaign to inspire everyone in the UK to embrace dance as a way to improve their health, connect with others, and have fun.
Our cafe and bar will be open throughout the event.
March events at The Oxford
Sunday 2nd March, 11am-3pm. Let’s Dance! Performances and half-hour taster sessions of different dance styles, including line dancing, belly dancing, jive, dance for joy, and chakra. Bar and café open throughout.
Wednesday 5th March, 10am-12.30pm. Sunflower Social - A hidden disabilities support group and network, meeting monthly in The Oxford’s barn on the first Wednesday of the month during our regular Places Of Welcome opening hours.
Saturday 8th March, 10.30am-12.30pm, and Wednesday 12th March, 6.30-8.30pm. Create a stunning mandala while practising mindfulness in this free workshop with Wonky Mandalas.
Sunday 16th March, 12-4pm. Kington Folk Club Sunday Session - a chilled live music session in the barn, bar and cafe open throughout!
Sunday 23rd March, 2-4pm. Painting from Inner Source, a taster workshop with Hilda Church. Try source art painting—an approach to process painting using childlike materials, like poster paint and newsprint, that engages with your inner child’s intuition.
Saturday 29th March, 6.30-9.30pm. RNLI/Oxford Arms charity quiz night.
Sunday 30th March, 2-3pm. Creative Workshop - paint colourful Pysanky eggs
And more to come in April and May, including our annual marmalade competition and history events!
Plus our regular opening hours: Places of Welcome, every Wednesday 10am-12.30pm - drop in for a conversation and hot drink; Bar and café opening, every Sunday 12-4pm.
Creative Workshop
This month: Make clay pots using the coiling method!
Drop-in to this relaxed craft session in the barn of The Oxford Arms, and learn how to make decorative pots with air-dry clay, using the traditional “coil” method - see an example of the finished article below!
Our cafe and bar will be open for food and drinks.
No booking necessary, materials provided, payment by donation
Gypsy Jazz with Kington Folk Club
Kington Folk Club are joining us with live gypsy jazz band Fiddlebop!
Music starts at 7.30pm.
Origin Pizza’s woodfired pizza van will be serving from 6pm, and the bar will be open 6-10pm.
Workshop: Building Health Habits
THURSDAY 13TH FEB - 10.30AM-11.30PM - Healthy habits workshop
Want to build healthy habits, but finding that life gets in the way? Join a free workshop in the Oxford’s barn for practical tips and tricks that actually work!
About your workshop leader: Tamsyn Cowden is a nurse with many years experience. She recently completed a BSLM accredited course in Lifestyle Medicine and currently carries out health checks in Herefordshire.
Community Q&A
Community Q&A - Sunday 2nd February, 2-3pm
Join us in The Oxford’s barn to ask your questions to the OAK team and learn more about:
Plans and timeline for renovation work at The Oxford
What our National Lottery Heritage Grant is funding
How we’ll be developing our events program and more in 2025
Bring your questions and have your say!
Our bar and cafe will be open 12-4pm for refreshments.
Can’t make the event but have questions about the project? Email your questions to info@openarmskington.co.uk, or just put them through The Oxford’s letterbox. A full transcript of the Q&A will be shared on our website and social media following the event.
