The Marlow FM Hidden Gems awards winners were announced yesterday at the awards party night at Harleyford Golf Club. It was a great night out, with a very deserving set of nominees, and some special recognition awards too.
Pat Reading of Marlow FM told us “We had over 600 nominations and over 3,000 votes – there is a lot of love in Marlow for everyone who was nominated and then shortlisted. And in our eyes everyone is a winner”
Here is the full list of winners, with many thanks to Ian Branch for the photography.
Best Cuppa – M Café.
One nomination pretty much summed up the reason they have won. M Cafe, the most gorgeous cafe in Marlow, their coffee is the best in town served with the biggest smile, our favourite place!
Best Pub – for the third year running, The Duke (Queen’s Road).
This one went to the absolute wire on voting with the Barn Club leading the way for the first week – but a last push sealed the deal and Steve and team retain the crown. As one nomination said: The Duke as it is truly the best pub in Marlow by a long shot, friendly staff, great atmosphere, amazing food.
Best Breakfast – Fego
The nominations said: amazing service. Best people on High Street!!!The English breakfast is the best at Fego Marlow. You won’t find such a delicious breakfast anywhere else.
And its not just Marlow that thinks so, Fego Marlow is officially the highest-rated cafe for a full English breakfast in all of Buckinghamshire.
On TripAdvisor, the cafe has a rating of 4.1 out of 5 from more than 560 reviews, out of those, over 260 are rated ‘excellent’.
Best Event – Marlow Bottom Scarecrow Trail
Th event was described as community event fun for big kids ( like me ) and little ones ! Also raises funds what more could you want.
An amazing and cheap day out for the family or friends, brings life to the local community and brings new people to Marlow Bottom to help boost local pubs and cafes. It really brings the local community together in a fun and creative way.
Best Night Out – The Duke (Queen’s Road)
Crazy good live music, incredible cocktails and dance music on any given Saturday and the best Karaoke in town every month swing t award for the Duke!
Nominations said: You wouldn’t find some of the bands anywhere else in Marlow, proper original music , great people, vibes and music.
Best Sports Club – Marlow Rugby Club
Another close contest with Harleyford very close behind but the Rugby Club scored the try and the conversion.
Nominations said: Always in the community and the most welcoming environment for all!
Best Therapist – Tree Nail Spa
An independent, family-run business with an exceptional reputation. Boasting a multi-generational client list, thanks to its flawless manicures, friendly and highly-skilled team, beautiful space, and use of the best products on the market. Led by Pham, a passionate advocate for wellness, the salon has this year introduced the first luxury head spa experience in Marlow. This is a growing salon with holistic wellbeing at its core. And if you want a second option, Hot on the heels of being awarded Buck’s Nail Spa of the Year 2025, they won England’s Best Nail Salon this week. UK, Bucks, Marlow crowns it all
Best Teacher – Mrs Ambrose, Holy Trinity
One of the nominations for Sue said: endlessly inspiring teacher at Holy Trinity for both colleagues and children. Puts wellbeing at the forefront of everything for all. Tirelessly optimistic and always there to help. Goes above and beyond every day. Supports others, trains newer colleagues, nothing is too much.
Best Local Producer – Rebellion
Rebellion have won this category every year since we introduced it.
The nominations all said the same things very simply; the best beer and the best customer service!
Services to Charity and Service to the Community
The awards for Services to Charity and Service to the Community are nominated by the good people of Marlow but the decision is made by a committee: Pat Reading, Fundraising Director at Marlow FM, Hilary Martin from the Town Council, Paul Merchant from My Marlow and Peter Evans, President of the Chamber of Trade.
They were all in total agreement of the very worthy winners and decided to award two in each category.
Services to Charity sponsored by Chives
THE LINK FOUNDATION
The Link Foundation is a volunteer run charity which many people are unaware of. They’ve been around for almost 20 years and even have a Queens Award for their service. They provide hundreds of items such as beds, clothes food and more to children living locally whose families are struggling due to bereavement, domestic violence, illness or poverty. Approaching its 20th birthday, the charity has helped many thousands of children including Christmas presents and hot meals during the pandemic. This small but mighty children’s charity has tiny overheads meaning over 97% of donations go directly to the community and those in need!!
THE MARLOW STRIDERS
The Marlow Half Marathon and it’s associated events run by the Marlow Striders has been running for over 30 years since 1989 and have raised over £314,000 for various charities. This year they are supporting Bucks Vision and Dementia Action Marlow. The event is run entirely by volunteers and all profits go to the nominated charities.
Services to the Community is sponsored by Pink Affinity Ltd
SHELLEY ROBSON OF THE BARN CLUB
Shelley and her staff do so much for the local community whether it’s raising funds or just supporting local residents who need some support.
As the nominations said: Nothing is too much trouble or too small for her to do. She gives so much to the community of Marlow Bottom, from arranging carers, buying mobility scooters, taking people shopping, supporting the elderly. And that’s on top of running the community hub that is the barn club. She supports other venues locally and supports the youth. I have never known a more selfless human being! Amazing
VICKY AND GRAHAM EVERITT , CHIVES
Vicky and Graham have a huge heart for their community and Chives has become a centre for so much more than a coffee and breakfast bap. They support Newfield Community Church every Monday night, host meetings for Lighthouse, have been the venue for Rotary, have art events, host meetings for Marlow FM including our now legendary Christmas Party.
You will frequently see people on their laptops enjoying the free wifi and unlimited filter coffee, it’s dog friendly – and as one of the nominations said. Chives are brilliant! The coffee and food are always excellent as are the staff. They do a lot more for the community that people realise. They get my vote all day long!
Special Recognition Award – Pat Reading
There was a surprise for the party compere Pat Reading of Marlow FM, as it was announced she was being given a Special Recognition Award for her many and varied services to Marlow FM and the wider community, including the Lighthouse charity. A very deserving recipient!!
What a great list of winners for 2025! Congratulations to them all from us at MyMarlow!