Guidebook for Stroud District
Food Scene
The Woolpack Inn
Slad RoadLocal, great food.
First (and best) organic café in the UK, still going strong.
21 locals recommend
Woodruffs Organic Cafe
24 High StFirst (and best) organic café in the UK, still going strong.
Lavender Bakehouse & Coffee Shop
20 London RdGreat coffee and cakes
Jolly Nice
Great place to buy locally sourced meat and vegetables.
Charm personified in the picturesque village of Sheepscombe, near to Slad. Great for walking up onto the common and then coming back for a pint outside overlooking the village on a sunny day or for lunch/dinner. Consistently good and therefore gets a thumbs up from us!
51 locals recommend
Butchers Arms
Charm personified in the picturesque village of Sheepscombe, near to Slad. Great for walking up onto the common and then coming back for a pint outside overlooking the village on a sunny day or for lunch/dinner. Consistently good and therefore gets a thumbs up from us!
Definitely worth a wander on a Saturday morning. Get local produce for your stay or just enjoy a tasty lamb burger and coffee/tea there whilst watching the world go by. Get there earlier rather than later (9am/10am) as parking in Stroud gets scarce when it's sunny around 11am, when everyone heads there!
35 locals recommend
Farmers Market
Definitely worth a wander on a Saturday morning. Get local produce for your stay or just enjoy a tasty lamb burger and coffee/tea there whilst watching the world go by. Get there earlier rather than later (9am/10am) as parking in Stroud gets scarce when it's sunny around 11am, when everyone heads there!
Fostons Ash Inn
Great food and service. Excellent own-label gin!
Drinks & Nightlife
Great beers, wines and food all served up by the superb Ian and Stuart. Check out the courtyard with cosy woodburner out the back.
8 locals recommend
The Retreat at Stroud
28 Church StGreat beers, wines and food all served up by the superb Ian and Stuart. Check out the courtyard with cosy woodburner out the back.
Perfect for a pint whilst your children play in the kids' playground. Excellent steak also.
6 locals recommend
The Clothiers Arms
1 Bath RdPerfect for a pint whilst your children play in the kids' playground. Excellent steak also.
Ian Morrison is the host with the most! Great Orangeboom and real ales on draft (tap) and also a fabulous wine list.
37 locals recommend
The Retreat
10/11 Suffolk ParadeIan Morrison is the host with the most! Great Orangeboom and real ales on draft (tap) and also a fabulous wine list.
The Black Horse Inn
LittleworthProper locals pub (great space at the back for hiding away!)
Perfect night if you love gigs - run by the very welcoming Lottie and Miles. Just up the hill from where Jon grew up and Antonia's cottage, where she and Jon used to live when they first got together!
19 locals recommend
The Prince Albert
Rodborough HillPerfect night if you love gigs - run by the very welcoming Lottie and Miles. Just up the hill from where Jon grew up and Antonia's cottage, where she and Jon used to live when they first got together!
Everything Else
Amazing views across the River Severn on a clear day. Grassland for walking.
32 locals recommend
Rodborough Common
Amazing views across the River Severn on a clear day. Grassland for walking.
Great for kite flying, enjoying an ice cream (local Winstone's) or a round of golf on the Old Course.
56 locals recommend
Minchinhampton Common
Great for kite flying, enjoying an ice cream (local Winstone's) or a round of golf on the Old Course.
Stroud
Farmers' market on a Saturday morning, art galleries, café culture.
Fabuolous, unfinished Gothic mansion in a spectacular valley (park is National Trust) with lakes stepped down. Also the place where Antonia and I celebrated our engagement party in December 2009!
35 locals recommend
Woodchester Mansion
Fabuolous, unfinished Gothic mansion in a spectacular valley (park is National Trust) with lakes stepped down. Also the place where Antonia and I celebrated our engagement party in December 2009!
Coaley Peak
21 Rock RoadViews galore across the Severn.
Painswick
Queen of the Cotswolds. A fun place to browse.
Great market town with must-visit restaurants (William's Kitchen, Wild Garlic, The Olive Tree, Hobbs House Bakery).
69 locals recommend
Nailsworth
Great market town with must-visit restaurants (William's Kitchen, Wild Garlic, The Olive Tree, Hobbs House Bakery).
Great playground for kids as well as skate park and lake to feed the ducks.
30 locals recommend
Stratford Park Leisure Centre
Stratford RoadGreat playground for kids as well as skate park and lake to feed the ducks.
Slad
The walks and stunning vistas
Entertainment & Activities
The Britannia
New Market RoadGreat for all the family right in the heart of Nailsworth.
Great local vineyard with a tasting room and very friendly staff.
39 locals recommend
Woodchester Valley Vineyard
Convent LaneGreat local vineyard with a tasting room and very friendly staff.
Parks & Nature
Slimbridge
Wildfowl sanctuary, perfect for the kids with play area (and otters)
Amazing gardens all year round but especially beautiful with the drifts of snowdrops from mid January - March and then again late April/May for the bluebells. Just outside Painswick. Magical!
107 locals recommend
Painswick Rococo Garden
Gloucester RoadAmazing gardens all year round but especially beautiful with the drifts of snowdrops from mid January - March and then again late April/May for the bluebells. Just outside Painswick. Magical!
Head to Woodchester Park for a circular walk of up to 8 miles (shorter ones possible) through a hidden valley with lakes stepped through it. At the centre is the unfinished, Gothic masterpiece of local architect, Benjamin Bucknall, open to the public on certain days. We had our engagement party in the mansion in December 2009 - that was a lot of fun!
16 locals recommend
Woodchester Park
Head to Woodchester Park for a circular walk of up to 8 miles (shorter ones possible) through a hidden valley with lakes stepped through it. At the centre is the unfinished, Gothic masterpiece of local architect, Benjamin Bucknall, open to the public on certain days. We had our engagement party in the mansion in December 2009 - that was a lot of fun!
Sightseeing
Norman Castle and home to the Berkeley family. Largely kept intact during the Civil War.
97 locals recommend
Berkeley Castle
Norman Castle and home to the Berkeley family. Largely kept intact during the Civil War.
Neighbourhoods
The place to go for numerous walks and nature. We are located deep in the Slad Valley and guests enjoy circular walks from our doorstep. Enjoy Catswood, Swift's Hill, Laurie Lee Wood, Frith Wood, Snowshill Nature Reserve, the Dillay valley, the church where Laurie (and now Polly Higgins, founder of Extinction Rebellion) is/are laid to rest and, of course, the Woolpack (centre of village life - head for the communal table right outside to get the local gossip!).
14 locals recommend
Slad
The place to go for numerous walks and nature. We are located deep in the Slad Valley and guests enjoy circular walks from our doorstep. Enjoy Catswood, Swift's Hill, Laurie Lee Wood, Frith Wood, Snowshill Nature Reserve, the Dillay valley, the church where Laurie (and now Polly Higgins, founder of Extinction Rebellion) is/are laid to rest and, of course, the Woolpack (centre of village life - head for the communal table right outside to get the local gossip!).
Enjoy walks across Rodborough and Minchinhampton Commons which, from Spring through to October, are home to cows grazing and the odd horse due to ancient grazing rights dating back to the Doomsday Book. Tee off at the Old Golf Course (pay and play) or just enjoy a picnic looking across the Woodchester valley from Rodborough Common towards Selsley and The River Severn in the distance (and Brecon Beacons on a very clear day).
32 locals recommend
Rodborough Common
Enjoy walks across Rodborough and Minchinhampton Commons which, from Spring through to October, are home to cows grazing and the odd horse due to ancient grazing rights dating back to the Doomsday Book. Tee off at the Old Golf Course (pay and play) or just enjoy a picnic looking across the Woodchester valley from Rodborough Common towards Selsley and The River Severn in the distance (and Brecon Beacons on a very clear day).