It's almost impossible to pin down the spell Giffords Circus weaves on its regulars.

The combination of the uniquely old-fashioned, magical acts, bohemian performances, and tea and home-made cake during the interval help make Giffords so special.

Whipped into a frenzy of clapping by the 10-piece Balkan brass band, Russian horse trainer and eight man vaulting act, 2008's electrifying new show Caravan is set in a 1900 gypsy horse fair, and is coming to Oxfordshire.

Think brilliantly dressed gypsies in gaudy furs and gold jewels, jostling traders, wandering musicians, chattering gold birds in cages, flying hawks and dancing dogs.

Not really what you'd expect from an Oxford educated, born and bred Catholic girl. But then nothing Nell Gifford does has ever been conventional.

Having been brought up in North Oxford, she joined her first circus in America aged 18, returned home to attend Oxford University, but then got straight back on the band-wagon, joining circus after circus to perfect her ring-leading skills.

No one was surprised when, in 2000, she announced that she was starting her own circus and painstakingly built up Giffords to be one of the best in the world.

"Yes it is a bit like a mobile village really," Nell Gifford laughs.

"We did a show in Wiltshire last night and here we are, now ready for today's show in Oxfordshire. So it is really hard work but if you have a system it gets easier.

"But it's not just about looking after the show, it's about the 40 people on tour, so today I have had to deal with a sick baby, bronchitis and posting a letter to Croatia, and we live either in our costumes or our pyjamas."

Yet when the time comes for the show to begin, the crowds are constantly amazed at the detail and thinking that goes into Giffords performances.

So does its success surprise Nell?

"No, because circuses are a really brilliant art form and so rich in diversity," she says.

"And I think they are far more fun than the theatre, which can be a bit boring, rigid and intellectual. Whilst people coming here for the first time find it quite stunning and genuinely exotic."

Yet once the season is over, instead of having a rest, Nell and her husband Tito start touring the world to find next year's new and undiscovered acts. Last winter they went to Hungary four times, as well as Russia and France, and found one of their acts on a street corner in Paris.

So no rest for the wicked then? "Well there's always a caravan that needs painting and I'm always looking for ways to improve things and push the standards up because I want everyone to really enjoy it," Nell, 34, admits.

"But then on Saturday we got a standing ovation and the audience was drumming their feet so hard that the performers had to go back out and ad lib something, and you just can't argue with that. When everything comes together Gifford's is hard to beat."

And then she adds: "Our objective from the start was to raise the standards of UK touring circuses and we feel we've achieved that."

Giffords Circus is visiting Stadhampton from June 12-16 and Tackley from June 19-23. For bookings call the box office on 01242 572573 or click on the link below.