
Cotswold town where JD Vance will holiday with his family is 'revealed': US Vice President will 'visit charming market town with quintessential English character' when he stays this summer
The US Vice President is set to visit Oxfordshire this August for his annual holiday alongside his wife Usha and their three children Ewan Blaine, Vivek and Mirabel.
Fashion journalist and socialite Plum Sykes told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that the family would be staying in Charlbury.
Ms Sykes claimed to know 'the whole story' about Vance renting a house in the Cotswolds.
She said: 'There has been this mass exodus from America to the Cotswolds because it's an English fantasy of the countryside.
'But it's so glamorous and it's sort of very hot because one person goes, Ellen [DeGeneres] goes.
'The fact that JD Vance has rented this house in Charlbury I have to say I secretly know the whole story, but I can't tell you.
'It's just so hot and so trendy and so fashionable... it's an incredibly beautiful area because it's being protected, almost like a national park that you can live in.
'Americans cannot get over the charm but since Covid it's been refashioned with all the pleasures of London, Paris and New York.'
Earlier this year, Charlbury was named as one of the best places to live in Oxfordshire, among the other towns of Henley and Burford.
While staying in the town, Vance could visit the Charlbury Museum, which was founded in 1949 and has a range of crafts and industries on display.
Ellen DeGeneres said she will not be in the area to greet the Vice-President and has hastily agreed a holiday to avoid him.
It was reported that Mr Vance was keen to visit Ellen's beloved local The Bull at Charlbury, which she has visited with Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field.
Last week it was revealed she is selling one of her two Cotswolds properties for a cool £22.5million – £7.5million more than she paid for it.
She moved to the Cotswolds following her showbiz retirement and 'to get away from Donald Trump' after he became president.
'We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis and I was like, 'He got in',' she said. 'And we're like, 'We're staying here then'.'
The US VP joins Beyonce and Jay-Z and Taylor Swift as fans of the bucolic area's chocolate-box villages, honeyed-stone, rolling hills and cosy pubs.
The US politician's family breaks have already racked up disharmony during his short time serving in office.
Last week, Disneyland visitors were left outraged after Vance shut down rides so he could enjoy them with his children.
The Vice President strolled through Disneyland in Los Angeles, California, hand-in-hand with two of his children, Vivek and Mirabel, last Saturday - with a vast Secret Service security detail alongside them.
Barricades went up outside popular rides including Pirates of the Caribbean as K9 units stood guard - with an entourage of 50 bodyguards and Disney personnel said to be involved in the visit.
Mr Vance and his family are expected to arrive in Britain soon after the President's five-day stay in Scotland.
The Stop Trump Coalition has outlined plans to greet Mr Trump with banners and flags along roads and a beachside message visible from the sky.
Further action is intended for his proposed state visit expected to take place in September.
It has signalled similar opposition to Mr Vance's British break, with a spokesman saying: 'We are meeting Trump with protests in Aberdeen and Edinburgh this month, and then in London and Windsor in September.
'JD Vance is every bit as unwelcome in the UK as Donald Trump.
The prospect of such a heavy security presence in the winding rural roads of The Cotswolds is likely to spark logjams in an already overly congested area of the UK.
'We remember how Vance cut short his ski trip in Vermont because he was so enraged by the sight of a few protesters.
'We are sure that, even in the Cotswolds, he will find the resistance waiting.'
The Vice-President strolled through Disneyland in Los Angeles, California, hand-in-hand with two of his children, Vivek and Mirabel, last Saturday - with a vast Secret Service security detail alongside them.
In a speech in February, Mr Vance highlighted an SNP government law banning protest near abortion clinics, which critics said could be used to target people praying in their own homes, as an example of an attack on freedom of speech.
Mr Vance claimed people who live within safe access zones had been sent letters by the Scottish Government warning them about praying in their homes.
The Scottish Government had insisted that Mr Vance's claim was 'incorrect'.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Saturday's Lotto jackpot estimated at £7.3m after no ticket wins top prize
Saturday's lottery jackpot will be an estimated £7.3 million after no players won Wednesday's top prize. The winning Lotto numbers were 17, 31, 47, 05, 58 and 09, while the bonus number was 35. No players matched all six main numbers, meaning the jackpot was missed, while no ticket-holders won £1 million by matching five of the six numbers plus the bonus ball. Set of balls 3 and draw machine Lotto2 were used in the first Lotto draw since the National Lottery paused over the weekend to enable the biggest technology upgrade in the game's 31-year history. In Lotto HotPicks, which uses the same numbers as the Lotto draw, no players matched all five numbers to win the £350,000 top prize. Two ticket-holders won £13,000 each after matching four of the five numbers. The winning Thunderball numbers were 19, 02, 27, 03 and 38, and the Thunderball was 11. No ticket-holders won £500,000 by matching all five numbers plus the Thunderball. One player matched all five regular numbers, which earned them £5,000.


Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Steve Backshall reveals what he saw as his 'life flashed before his eyes' during near-fatal rock climbing accident and admits he feared 'never seeing' wife Helen Glover again
Steve Backshall has recall ed the terrifying moment his 'life flashed before his eyes' during a near-fatal rock climbing accident. The explorer and presenter, 52, broke his back in 2008 after slipping 25 foot down a cliff face while climbing in the rain with his travel writer friend Tarquin Cooper in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. He also nearly drowned in a kayaking accident years later which left him terrified he would never see his wife and kids again. He shares a son Logan, six, and five-year-old twins, Willow and Kit with his Olympic rower wife Helen Glover. Speaking to the High Performance podcast The Sun reports that he said of the rock-climbing accident: 'In that second-and-a-half (of the fall) I had time to see the leaves passing by me on the trees, to flash back through my life - to so many of the things that had happened to me. 'Time appears to slow down. Our brains are zipping back through our life history to try and find something that might save us in that instant - some little moment that could give us the clarity to act, and in my case stop my fall. 'That was a second-and-a-half. And in a second-and-a-half I did see my life flash before me.' And he described that during the kayaking incident he was terrified that the life he had planned with his wife 'wouldn't happen'. Steve said at the time of the rock-climbing accident: 'I've broken two vertebrae but I could have been paralysed - or worse. 'The rock was wet so I stopped to rest but the next thing I was heading very quickly towards the ground. 'All I can remember is landing with a sickening thud. I can't begin to describe how painful it was, but I'm lucky.' His friend Cooper, who witnessed the horrific accident, said: 'It was awful. I saw him cartwheel down before hitting the ground with a thump. 'I couldn't carry him so he put his arm round me and we walked to the car - 45 minutes away.' Steve recently admitted that having three young children while in his 50s is physically draining. He told The Mail on Sunday: 'I do wish I had the energy I had when I was in my 20s and 30s, to have the ability to sprint around playing football and rugby all day long with my kids, and for me to still be popping and buzzing with energy. 'But obviously I haven't and it's tough to keep going when you're 52 and you've got three kids under six. 'But I've got knowledge and experience and a whole array of things I can teach them about, help them with. 'Also I've got no choice! 'These are the cards that I was dealt, and I've got to make it work.' He described his wife as a 'mega-mum' and is proud that she was the first British female rower to go to an Olympic games after having children. Backshall, who presents a new podcast, That's Just Wild, said of his career: 'I think they are very excited by it and very proud – but also, the fact I go away a lot, they don't like at all. 'They really struggle with it. It's been hard ever since they could understand what I was doing. 'They would take me doing an office job and seeing me every day over me having this incredibly exciting job but always being away for long periods of time. Especially at the age they're at. 'Right now for this one little precious period of time in their lives all they want is to be with Mummy and Daddy.' Backshall, who took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, admits that he's an old fashioned father, saying: 'I do think that discipline and rules and structure are important for kids. 'The things we've been doing for generations are timeless for a reason.'


Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Strictly Come Dancing favourite will NOT have a celebrity partner this year as they are tempted away by new gig
Gorka Marquez has pulled out of being partnered with a celebrity on the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing. The professional dancer, 34, will be missing from the BBC show for three weeks this year to work as a judge on the Spanish version Bailando Con Las Estrellas. His judging commitments means he can't have a professional partner on the new series and will be instead part of the ensemble dancers. According to The Sun, Gorka will appear as part of the ensemble for the first seven weeks and then will be gone for a month before returning in week 11. A source said: 'Strictly bosses were desperate to keep Gorka so have made it work around his schedule to make sure he's as involved as possible because he's such a fan favourite.' Gorka took to Instagram to confirm he would be a judge on the Spanish version of Strictly. He wrote: 'I am happy to announce that I will be back for season two of BAILANDO CON LAS ESTRELLAS as a judge from September. 'Due to the filming dates this means that I won't be competing with a partner this year in Strictly but I will be a part of lots of the group numbers and will be back for final weeks of the Show to support the rest of my fellow pros and their celebrities in what is going to be an AMAZING SERIES. 'As always thank you for all The love and supportand remember!' It comes after Strictly unveiled two new pros who are joining the lineup ahead of the much-anticipated new series this autumn. Alexis Warr and Julian Caillon will shimmy onto screens alongside a slew of much-loved pros later this year, with both already familiar to the show, having performed on the show's international versions, Dancing With The Stars. American-born Alexis Warr, 25, is best known for winning US dance series So You Think You Can Dance in 2022 and was crowned as 'America's Favourite Dancer', becoming the first female Ballroom and Latin dancer to claim the title. She has performed as a guest Professional Dancer and in the dance troupe on the US version of Strictly, Dancing With The Stars, and has been part of the series' accompanying US tour for the past three years. As well as appearing on America's Got Talent, World of Dance, and on national tours across the States, Alexis has also joined Dancing With The Stars judge Derek Hough for three tours, in addition to his Las Vegas residency. Prior to the announcement, Alexis hinted that she could be joining the Strictly pros in the new lineup, as she shared a video ahead of her flight to the UK over the weekend. The fiery redhead has been married to dentist Jake Burton for six years, and regularly shares sweet snaps with her spouse on Instagram. Speaking about joining the show, Alexis said: 'I've admired Strictly for years, so joining this incredible family is such an honour. 'I can't wait to step into the ballroom, pour my heart into every moment, and share my love of dance with the UK.' Australian-born Julian has been dancing since the age of 10, specialising in Ballroom and Latin American, and going onto represent Australia on the international stage. He appeared as a Professional Dancer on three seasons of Australia's Dancing With The Stars, has toured the globe with hit dance show Burn The Floor, and also competed on So You Think You Can Dance in Australia. Julian has a degree in Exercise Physiology from UNSW Sydney and, alongside his dance career, has worked as a Personal Trainer and Exercise Physiologist. Back in December, Julian announced his engagement to his girlfriend Sofia, posting a sweet video of their beachside proposal on Instagram. He said: 'Joining the cast of Strictly really is a dream come true. I've watched it for years, especially cheering on all the amazing dancers I know and work with who've been part of it. I can't wait to get stuck in, have some fun, and be part of something special! '