20 Attractions to Explore Near National Trust Cotswold Way

Stratford Park is a 56-acre park located just outside the center of Stroud, with a great range of facilities to suit all kinds of recreation. The park has won the Green Flag Award on multiple occasions by Keep Britain Tidy and also a Special Innovation Award winner for Community involvement. It was home to a fantastic arboretum and a miniature railway and so many activities are there.

The Museum in the Park is set in the beautiful grounds of Stratford Park. Our collection tells the story of the Stroud Valleys and the wider district, giving you the chance to find out about the people who lived and worked here, from the earliest settlers through to the present day. With over 4,000 objects on display from dinosaur bones to even one of the world’s first lawnmowers, there's something to spark the interest of all of visitors. The collection spans social history, geology, archaeolog

Designed in the 1740s as a fanciful pleasure garden for the owner of Painswick House and his guests, today it’s a place to roam free, to get up close and personal with nature, or to feel the warmth of the sun on your face as you take in the spectacular views of the Cotswold countryside and magical follies.

The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal was once the broadest and deepest in the world. Even today, it stands out from other navigations because of its sheer scale and impressive engineering. With huge swing-bridges and pretty bridge-keepers’ houses to pass along the way, you’ll never be short of landmarks or beautiful viewpoints.

The Stroudwater Navigation in the Cotswolds is an 8 mile stretch of canal with 12 locks along the route. It is a canal managed by the Cotswold Canal Trust. These are a group of volunteers who are actively working on restoring the canal to its former glory.

The Thames & Severn Canal was built ten years after the Stroudwater Canal and extended its route to Lechlade. With many locks climbing through the picturesque Golden Valley to the famous Sapperton Tunnel it then winds its way to Lechlade on the Thames – a 36 mile cross-country route.

Robinswood Hill is a hill and country park to the south of the city centre of Gloucester. Two-hundred and fifty acres of open countryside with viewpoint, pleasant walks and way-marked nature trails that cover the hill. It is home to much wildlife and affords spectacular views of the surrounding area including other hills of Gloucester, the Cotswolds, Malvern Hills, May Hill and on a clear day the Severn Bridges.

Woodchester Mansion is an unfinished, Gothic revival mansion house in Woodchester Park in Woodchester, near Nympsfield, Gloucestershire, England. Today the mansion, which appears completed from the outside, provides a unique insight into the techniques of Victorian stone masons. the venue is open to the public from Easter to the end October and holds weddings, theatres and other events at various other times in the year.

Coaley Peak is a small limestone summit at the west edge of the Cotswold Hills, elevation 764 feet, along one of the steeper sections of the escarpment, where the land falls away by over 600 feet to the lowlands of the Vale of Berkeley. Coaley Peak was for many years a seasonal home to a community of new age travellers, who were evicted around 2002 to make way for more grassland.

Gloucester Waterways Museum tells the story of our wonderful canals and rivers. It was housed in a warehouse at the heart of Gloucester’s fine Victorian docks. you can find out all about the people who lived and worked there – as well as marvel at the original Dunkirk Little Ship floating alongside the working steam dredger.

Great Witcombe Roman Villa was one of the largest Roman houses in Britain and was part of a cluster of very wealthy villas in the Cotswolds area. A rich family lived here, together with their slaves and freedmen, for around 200 years, until the end of the Roman period in Britain. The remains include a bathhouse complex and perhaps the shrine of a water spirit. Mosaic pavements hint at the villa’s opulence in Roman times.

The Museum of Gloucester in Brunswick Road is the main museum in the city of Gloucester, England. This is a vibrant museum to visit for tourists and locals alike with regular events and exhibitions, exciting activities for children and a café for refreshments. It tell the story of Gloucester through archaeology and natural history, while fine and decorative arts are found on the first floor. The art gallery has a fine collection of paintings, most of which have been donated or bequeathed by loca

The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum is located in Gloucester’s Historic Docks. The Museum displays the remarkable story of the Soldiers of Gloucestershire who have served their regiments since 1694. It depicts their courage, humour, their traditions and their sacrifices in exciting and colourful exhibitions for all ages to enjoy.

Gloucester Life Museum is one of the oldest-established museums dedicated to social history. It holds an important and fascinating collection of artefacts from the last few hundred years up to the 1960s and 1970s including a working jukebox.

The magnificent Gloucester Cathedral was built in 1100 as a Norman abbey church and survived the Dissolution thanks to its historical connection with the monarchy. It has one of the largest medieval stained glass windows in England and an elegant and impressive interior. The diocese covers the greater part of Gloucestershire, with small parts of Herefordshire and Wiltshire. The cathedral has a stained-glass window depicting the earliest images of golf.

WWT Slimbridge is a wetland reserve situated close to Slimbridge village near to Dursley, Gloucestershire. It was the first Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) to be opened. Many water birds live there all year round, and others are migrants on their ways to and from their summer breeding grounds. Other birds overwinter, including large numbers of white-fronted geese and increasing numbers of Bewick's swans.

Westbury Court Garden is a Dutch water garden in Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire, England, 9 miles southwest of Gloucester. The garden was designed 1695-1705. The house has gone but the garden survives and has the reputation of being one of the best examples of the 'Dutch Style in England' and of a 'Dutch canal garden'.

The Cotswold Way is a long distance walk that runs for 102 miles (163km) from the medieval market town of Chipping Campden in the North Cotswolds, to the historic City of Bath. Although recognised as a suitable route for a National Trail in due course, the path was initially sponsored by Gloucestershire County Council, who had no powers of footpath creation, and so used only existing rights of way.

The Wysis Way is a long distance hiking path that begins in Monmouth and leads east through The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the town of Kemble. The Way runs between Monmouth in Wales and Kemble, Gloucestershire in England.

A beautiful country park that covers an area of 143 acres of grassland and beechwoods situated on the Cotswold escarpment. Site of archaeological interest with panoramic views and waymarked trails. The park is a haven for nature and home to many birds, reptiles and mammals and is recognized as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its wonderful variety of wildflowers. Rising above the city of Gloucester, Crickley Hill it also boasts breath-taking views over the Severn Vale, the Brecon Beacon