Stan's Field

Hikers, this place is close to the long-distance Cotswold Way (15 minutes’ drive) between Bath and Chipping Campden, as well as scores of great walks around the Stroud valleys. Yomp up to Painswick Beacon (also 15 minutes) for Gloucestershire views, or follow the W.A.S Way (10 minutes) circular route around Stroud itself. Mixing walks up with a bit of culture, have an amble around the Slad valley (15 minutes), the setting for Laurie Lee’s “Cider with Rosie”, where you can spot his old house, school and favourite pub. You can also have a wander through the grounds of the unfinished, Victorian-era Woodchester Mansion Trust (20 minutes) before scaring yourself silly with guided tours of its ghostly towers and vaulted hallways. If gardening is your thing, you’ve got lucky here. You can get lost along spooky forest trails dotted with follies at Painswick Rococo Garden (20 minutes), mug up on rare trees as you follow woodland walks at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum (25 minutes), and even have a poke around Prince Charles’s shrubberies at Highgrove Gardens (20 minutes).