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For some, it's the home of Oxford's world-renowned hospitals. Others might think of Oxford Brookes University, while plenty of people know it simply as one of the city's best places to shop, eat and spend an afternoon.
For more than three millennia – long before Oxford became the city we know today – Headington has evolved into one of Oxford's most vibrant, sought-after and self-sufficient communities.
Although firmly part of the city, it has a distinct character all of its own, combining excellent amenities, outstanding transport links, fantastic employment opportunities – not least with five hospitals in its orbit – and an enviable community atmosphere.
As estate agents working across Oxfordshire, but with a very particular attachment to Headington, this is an area that we have always enjoyed serving. It is somewhere that continues to attract buyers from across the county and beyond – and to us, it is easy to understand why.
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On the morning of Monday 22 June, 2026, Keir Starmer stood outside 10 Downing Street and announced what many of us had seen coming – though admittedly, perhaps not quite this quickly.
In an at times emotional address, he confirmed to a crowd of staff, supporters and reporters lined up in front of that famous, black lacquered front door that he was stepping down as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, and will leave that top job within weeks, just two years after being elected in a landslide in July 2024.
Was it inevitable? Not quite. Admittedly, Andy Burnham's victory in the Makerfield by-election, which had returned the Greater Manchester mayor to Parliament, had obviously cleared the path for him to mount a leadership challenge, and the numbers were becoming difficult to ignore. Nevertheless, as recently as Friday 19 June, Starmer had vowed to stand and fight in any leadership contest, stating: "I'm not going to walk away from that [responsibility]."
The weekend changed the arithmetic, however. The prospect of a public and bruising internal contest, with Burnham on one side and a weakened Prime Minister on the other, risked doing serious damage, both to the party and to the country's perception of political stability. Senior figures from the Labour party were reported to have offered their counsel to Keir Starmer that the fight was up – and especially that the optics would do nobody any good.
And so, the announcement this morning, while striking, does not come as a shock.
Leaders in similar positions have faced the same moment and made the same call: accept fate with good grace, rather than let events spiral. The departures of Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak all followed periods in which continuing to fight became harder to justify than stepping aside - in Sunak's case, not through resigning but by rolling the dice and calling an election far sooner than required, though it was really an inevitable outcome.
There is something to be said for recognising when the best act of leadership is to make way. It is something that transcends the political divide.
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Residents of Kidlington have long been proud to describe it as one of England's largest villages – if not the largest – or even, ‘the largest in Europe’.
And whilst this was probably true as far as some sort of legal definition went, people who visited Kidlington would probably have called it a small town, or maybe even a suburb of Oxford.
Well – that view seems to have caught up with us, at last. Kidlington’s status was changed from ‘village’ to ‘town’ in February 2026 – much to the chagrin of many local residents.
So, ‘town’ it is… but call us a suburb of Oxford, and that will certainly still earn a sharp rebuke and perhaps even a choice word from many around here!
One thing that is hard to argue with is that Kidlington does tend to surprise people who haven't spent much time here. It has a definite identity of its own and a genuine community feel – the kind that's increasingly rare to find this close to a major city — whilst offering a quality of life that keeps residents rooted for decades.
We know, because we're local people ourselves.
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For many people outside Oxfordshire, Bicester is often synonymous with one thing: Bicester Village.
The internationally famous designer shopping destination attracts millions of visitors every year and, admittedly, it has helped put this Oxfordshire market town firmly on the map – and not least the global map.
But anyone who actually lives here will tell you that there is so much more to Bicester than being merely a shopping destination.
Over the past two decades, Bicester has transformed into one of the region’s most desirable places to live. It combines excellent transport links, with its own very strong employment opportunities as well as offering that easy, quick access to both Oxford and London, offers good schools, modern amenities, and a genuine sense of community. Importantly, it does all this whilst still retaining much of the character of the town, despite its pace of growth.
As estate agents who have helped hundreds of buyers and sellers across North Oxfordshire, Bicester is an area we truly know and love...
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Ask most people who have ever lived in Oxford about Headington, and you’ll likely get similar accounts: they'll probably mention the hospitals; students or ex-students might mention the Oxford Brookes University Campus; real locals – or certainly football fans – might recall fond memories of Peter Rhodes-Brown tearing down the (not exactly level) left wing, at the old Manor Ground. Some might cry a little bit inside at memories of walking or cycling home from town up that hill…
Ask an estate agent, of course, and you’ll certainly get a glowing account. A mix of 1930s and early twentieth century properties, with a scattering of more historic homes around Old Headington and Quarry, a few well-designed 1950s and 60s council estates and several pockets of more modern developments added into the mix. Excellent transport links. Good state school catchment areas, plus a highly regarded private girls' school.
The above, from locals, ex-Oxonians, students, former students, healthcare workers and estate agents alike, would all be perfectly appropriate answers.
But Headington is so much more than the above, too. So much more than just ‘an area of Oxford’.
It is a story that stretches back three thousand years – a story of many, many stories; stories of Mercian kings, notorious madams, sharks in rooftops, and the man who gave Narnia to the world…
Here is a little bit about Headington. But what stories can you share? Be sure to let us know.
