About HelloBicester

HelloBicester is an independent guide and newsletter serving Bicester, Oxfordshire. Its purpose is to help readers discover local businesses, understand the town's history and find useful information for everyday life. It is not an official council publication and does not claim to speak on behalf of everyone in Bicester.

Who runs HelloBicester

HelloBicester is run by an independent publisher who uses the pen name David to keep their personal identity private. The publisher is responsible for the site, and articles are published under the HelloBicester name.

How we make our articles

AI tools assist with research, drafting and illustrations. Responsibility for what appears here remains with the publisher. Our editorial policy is to verify factual claims against relevant primary sources, link to those sources and distinguish confirmed information from anything still being checked.

Existing guides are being reviewed against that policy. We do not claim that every older article has already been fully verified. We should never imply a visit, interview or first-hand observation that did not take place.

Photographs and illustrations

Our first choice is a genuine photograph whose subject and reuse permission can be checked. Photographs receive creator credit and source and licence links. Archive photographs show their date and must not be treated as a record of current businesses or conditions.

Where a suitable photograph is unavailable, we use clearly labelled conceptual illustrations. AI-generated drawings must not invent local buildings, shops, events or archaeological discoveries. Older generated images are labelled as illustrations and remain temporarily while replacements are prepared. They must not be treated as accurate depictions of local places.

Image correction, 2 October 2026: Readers correctly raised concerns about misleading images. The Alchester and Sheep Street hero images and the homepage's Market Square and Sheep Street images have been replaced. Further replacements are being made in stages, with each new image prepared before the old one is taken out of use.

Share a photograph or report an error

If you have a real photograph of a place covered by one of our guides, share it with HelloBicester. Include where and when it was taken and how you would like to be credited. You retain copyright. We ask for permission to publish, crop and resize your photograph on the website, newsletter and social channels, and published contributions receive full photographer credit.

To request a correction, send the article link and the detail that needs checking. Substantial corrections should be explained on the affected article rather than silently hidden.

Shared image credits

The homepage and default sharing photograph shows Bicester Market Square by Des Blenkinsopp, photographed in 2003. The Sheep Street photograph is Sheep Street in Bicester by Steve Daniels, taken on 9 May 2016. Both are used under CC BY-SA 2.0 and may be shown cropped to fit the layout. These licences apply to the photographs, including their displayed crops.

Our "Zero Fluff" Policy

Your time is valuable. Our newsletter is built for quick reading, with useful town updates, business highlights and local interest stories. Accuracy comes before filling a publishing schedule.

A Scaling Resource for Bicester

While the newsletter is our starting point, our vision is to build HelloBicester into a comprehensive, one-stop resource for the Bicester town community. The first of these is live, and more will follow:

• Services Directory (live): A directory of Bicester businesses with addresses, opening hours and contact details, compiled from public sources and corrected by the owners themselves. A listing is free, and business owners can check or add theirs.
• Events Calendar: A town-wide agenda of farmer's markets, library activities, workshops, live music, and community fundraisers.
• Shopping & Local Guides: Curated highlights of local shops, coffee spots, restaurants, and independent retailers.
• Travel & Transport: Local travel updates, rail/bus schedules, roadworks warnings, and Bicester planning news.

Get Involved

This is a community platform, and it thrives on your involvement. Got a local achievement to share? Want to highlight a volunteer group? Running an event or local business? We want to hear from you. Send us your stories, events, and feedback directly.