Bucks Best Kept Village results: Aylesbury Vale enjoys plenty of success

Winslow is celebrating after winning the Michaelis Cup as part of this year’s Bucks Best Kept Village competition.

The category is open to small towns right across the county and Winslow was judged as the best ahead of Marlow.

Winslow’s last success in the competition came in 2013 when it won the Pushman Cup, for areas with a population of more than 3000 people.

Other Vale winners in the competition this year were Oving, which took home the Gurney Cup, a category for villages with less than 500 people.

Oving also took home this year’s Community Trophy.

Stewkley also enjoyed success for the third year in a row winning the DeFraine Cup, a category for villages with a population of between 1500 and 3000 people.

Meanwhile Cuddington enjoyed double success firstly winning the Morris Cup for villages with a population of between 500 and 1500 people before claiming the Sword of Excellence, for being the best overall winner.

Other winners were:

Chalfont St Peter (the Pushman Cup for villages with a population of more than 3000 people)

Hanslope (the Tindall Cup- a category for 2016 winners)

Dashwood Trophy - Castlethorpe (best runner-up)

Community Trophy - Oving

Richard Pushman, chairman of the Best Kept Village Competition said: “Our popular Best Kept Village competition highlights the great community activity that goes on in our lovely Buckinghamshire villages.

“It is a great way to recognise the contribution of many who give their time and effort to showcase and enhance their local environment.

“The Best Kept Village competition is not just for ‘pretty’ villages – we want to see communities where everyone makes an effort to keep their surroundings well maintained.

“The competition is a good opportunity for villages to celebrate all the positive aspects of life in their village and we warmly congratulate this year’s winners for their superb efforts.”

Chris Brown from George Browns said: “We are delighted to be associated with the Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village Competition and particularly congratulate Oving - the winner of the Community Trophy and being a resident of Winslow I am particularly pleased that Winslow won the Michaelis Cup.

“The villages and small towns which participate are taking pride in their surroundings, making them more attractive places for people to live, for tourists to visit and for people to do business.

“In Buckinghamshire we are blessed with vibrant, well-kept villages and we all share the responsibility for protecting and improving them, for current and future generations.”

Reflecting on Winslow’s success the town clerk Charles Loch said: “I think our success is down to the efforts of all residents and of the Winslow Big Society who led on litter-picking.

“We are in a different category following our previous success and we appreciate the efforts of everyone involved.”

Meanwhile, Stewkley’s best kept village organiser John Flewin said: “To everyone who helped with the Best Kept Village competition this year, all our efforts were worth it!

“We certainly have never previously won our category for three consecutive years.

“A real thank you to all the individuals and organisations that helped in any way.”

The winners across all the categories will be presented with their trophies by the Lord Lieutenant of Bucks Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher on Saturday September 16.