The best of Oxfordshire's family friendly businesses received a welcome boost when presented with a Little Ankle Biters' Award 2020 via a virtual awards ceremony following thousands of votes from Oxfordshire's parents.
The team from Little Ankle Biters hosted the event live via Instagram to coincide with the easing of lockdown restrictions following postponement of the awards, originally scheduled for Friday 13 March.
Oxford University Museum of Natural History received more votes than any other category finalist to win Best Museum, but Sprouts Play Barn located at Millets Farm Centre, Abingdon, was the winner of the night picking-up two awards for Best Children's Party Venue and Best Soft Play. Nearly 11,000 votes were received across all categories.
Mary Breen, General Manager of Bure Farm in Bicester, said: "It's a huge honour and privilege to be awarded Best Family Friendly Pub in Oxfordshire. We are so very grateful to all who voted for us"
Rob Hill, Owner of Rugbytots Thame and Bicester added: "All the coaches and I are very proud to have won the Best Children's Sports Club award for Oxfordshire from Little Ankle Biters. The competition was hard with other amazing companies vying for the award as well. It has been a great bit of news with what has been happening in the last few months. We are happy to say we are now back open and running our classes outside with lots of happy Rugbytots and parents coming along to join in all the fun and games."
Now in their third year, the Little Ankle Biters' Awards are designed to help celebrate local businesses and charities that provide an outstanding service to families and carers by gaining the seal of approval from those who experience them most.
Kate Gregory, co-founder and editor of Little Ankle Biters Oxfordshire, said: "Congratulations to all finalists and especially to our winners and runners-up. This year really was very competitive as Oxford and its surrounding towns and villages has so much to offer children. We hope the exposure gained from the Little Ankle Biters' Awards will help ensure Oxfordshire's family friendly community continues to thrive during these uncertain and challenging times."
The Little Ankle Biters' Awards 2020 winners and runners up are:
- Best Family Friendly Pub – Winner: Bure Farm, Bicester (Runner-up: The Chequers, Brize Norton)
- Best Family Friendly Place to Eat – Winner: Prezzo, Thame (Runner-up The Milk Shed)
- Best Museum – Winner: Oxford University Museum of Natural History (Runner-up: Ashmolean Museum)
- Best Theatre – Oxford Playhouse (Runner-up: New Theatre Oxford)
- Best Family Attraction – Winner: Cotswold Wildlife Park (Runner-up: Millets Farm)
- Best Children's Party Venue – Winner: Sprouts Play Barn (Runner-up: Yarnton Home and Garden)
- Best Children's Party Entertainer – Winner: Tots Disco (Runner-up: Ride on Time)
- Best Children's Sports Club – Winner: Rugbytots Thame and Bicester (Runner-up: CW Active)
- Best Children's Activity Class – Winner: Monkey Music, Oxford (Runner-up: Tots Disco)
- Best Soft Play – Winner: Sprouts Play Barn, Abingdon (Runner-up: Whizz Kidz)
The team behind Little Ankle Biters – a local website with reviews of days out and activities for children – invited parents and carers in Oxfordshire to nominate their favourite places to entertain the kids earlier this year and then to vote for the winners.
Little Ankle Biters was established by former Vodafone colleagues, Kate Gregory (41) from Thame and Michelle Cairncross (40) from Maidenhead in 2017. The idea was born out of the frustration of two mums with four children and two dogs between them, who got tired of trawling the Internet and social media to seek out places to take their kids.
The company now provides its service to families and carers in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Warwickshire via its website and social media channels with all content written by editors who are also local mums.
To find out more, visit: oxon.ankle-biters.co.uk.
