Where to stay in Stroud

In the town

The Clothiers Arms on Bath Road, a pub since 1891, has seven rooms, each named after a local mill, among them a family suite that takes a whole floor, with breakfast served. Premier Inn Stroud stands opposite Stratford Park, close to the free Museum in the Park, and has free parking on site.

On the commons

The Bear of Rodborough is a dog-friendly hotel on the National Trust's Rodborough Common above the town, with walks from the door; cattle graze the common, so drive slowly. The Bell Inn at Selsley is a village pub with rooms on Selsley Common, which the Cotswold Way crosses.

A manor house

Stonehouse Court at Stonehouse is a seventeenth-century manor house with 44 rooms.

From your door

The farmers' market fills Cornhill and the streets around it every Saturday morning. The Museum in the Park is free, the Cotswold Canals Trust's boat runs trips from Wallbridge, and Slad, where Laurie Lee grew up, is 2 miles up the valley. Painswick is about 10 minutes away on the 66 bus.

Getting here and parking

Stroud station has direct trains to London Paddington, about hourly, in about an hour and a half. Five of the district council's car parks in the town (Cheapside, Church Street, London Road surface, Parliament Street and Rowcroft) are free on Sundays and bank holidays, and Blue Badge holders park free in any bay. For other bases, see where to stay in the Cotswolds.

The town

Stroud grew on cloth: by 1608 the parish had 19 clothiers, 76 weavers and 33 fullers. The canals reached the Severn in 1779 and the Thames in 1789, and volunteers have been restoring them since 1972. On Fridays and Saturdays the Shambles market is held by St Laurence's church, whose old spire top stands in the churchyard.

For the view from above, the Cotswold Gliding Club at Aston Down, between Stroud and Cirencester, offers air experience flights. For the day, see things to do in Stroud and the Five Valleys, and for meals, places to eat in Stroud and in the Five Valleys.