Martin Elvery heads to Oxfordshire’s highest town Chipping Norton, famous for bracing air, great views and the antics of its eponymous social ‘set’.

Chipping Norton people are proud their town is often dubbed as the ‘Gateway to the Cotswolds’ and so they should be.

Sitting at 700 ft above sea level Chippy, as it is affectionately known, is the highest point above sea level in Oxfordshire, and the views to the west across the Cotswolds are simply stunning on a clear summer’s day.

The earliest traces of the town’s history can be seen at the nearby Rollright Stones. Blessed with stunning views, this series of Bronze Age stone circles nestles like broken teeth among fields of daisies and makes an idyllic spot for a picnic.

The town itself didn’t really get going until medieval times when the Normans built a now vanished motte and bailey castle, but it really came to prominence in the the 13th century when it became a centre for the wool trade, serving as a market for the surrounding Cotswolds.

Tucked away down a side street, the picturesque Anglican St Mary the Virgin church was built on the hill next to the old castle and parts of it date to the 13th-14th centuries.

A terrace of beautiful alms houses were built in 1640 by a gentleman called Henry Cornish after which a local care home is now named.

Gradually industries developed including a tannery, an iron factory and a glove making factory. The chimney of Bliss Mill, built in 1872, as a tweed factory still dominates a valley to the south of the town.

Gracing the town centre is the historic Grade II-listed town hall. Built in honeyed Cotswold stone in 1842, this majestic, neo-classical structure adds a majesty to the town centre and mirrors the genteel side of the town, which is home to many a retired university academic, artist and politician.

But the town also has a colourful social scene with a series of annual festivals including the ever expanding Chipping Norton Literary Festival which draws professional authors to the town for four days of literary debate. The Chipping Norton Music Festival features a range of styles from jazz, blues and classical and the Chippy jazz festival speaks for itself.

There is a also thriving rock festival in the summer when the hay bales come out as seats, adding a rural charm to a festival which helps promote local rock bands. The town has a colourful celebrity scene with the so called Chipping Norton Set constantly in the national press.

Prime Minister David Cameron lives in nearby Dean, Jeremy Clarkson owns a property in the town and Rebekah and Charlie Brooks reside nearby.

The town is famed for its small boutique shops including the wonderful Jaffe and Neale Bookshop in Middle Row where you can browse over a coffee to your heart’s delight.

And there is still a market every Wednesday and the mop fair in September. In the summertime you can enjoy a swim at the recently refurbished Chipping Norton Lido where you can laze and be forgiven for thinking you were somewhere in the Mediterranean.

But the town’s hidden gem is its theatre. Tucked away on Spring Street, this converted Masons Hall is a charming little venue bursting with character and is a great place to duck in off the street on a rainy night and watch productions bursting with colour and light which bring a little bit of magic to the town.

The annual pantomime at The Theatre is something to behold. Always packed with songs and quips, children love the moment when the cast throw sweets from the stage.

Comedian Ronnie Barker once ran an antiques store in the town and this fits perfectly with the town’s quirky image.

Not an instant beauty like Burford or Bourton-on-the-Water, it is a place that grows on you the more you discover and is well worth devoting time to.