landmark
Painswick
The 'Queen of the Cotswolds', a steep wool town whose churchyard holds 99 clipped yew trees and a Rococo garden nearby.
10 km · about 20 min drive
EuropeUnited KingdomEngland
Gloucester
England, United Kingdom · Europe
About Gloucester
Gloucester works well as a base: 10 minutes from Churchdown, 22km from Sudeley Castle.
Gloucester is in England, United Kingdom, with about 130,000 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Churchdown, about 5 km away.
Gloucester ( GLOSS-tər) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west. It is situated 7 miles (11 km) from Cheltenham, 19 miles (31 km) fromRead more
Monmouth, 33 miles (53 km) from Bristol, and 17 miles (27 km) east of the England and Wales border. Gloucester has a population of around 132,000, including suburban areas. It is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the Severn Estuary.
Gloucester was founded as a Roman colony in AD 97, under Emperor Nerva as Colonia Glevum Nervensis.
It was granted its first charter in 1155 by Henry II. In 1216, Henry III, aged only nine years, was crowned with a gilded iron ring in the Chapter House of Gloucester Cathedral. Gloucester's significance in the Middle Ages is underlined by the fact that it had a number of monastic establishments, including St Peter's Abbey, founded in 679 (later Gloucester Cathedral); the nearby St Oswald's Priory, founded in the 880s or 890s; and Llanthony Secunda Priory, founded in 1136. The town is also the site of the siege of Gloucester in 1643, during which the city held out against Royalist forces in the First English Civil War.
A major attraction of the city is Gloucester Cathedral, which is the burial place of King Edward II and Walter de Lacy; it features in scenes from the Harry Potter films. Other features of interest include the museum and school of art and science, the former county gaol (on the site of a Saxon and Norman castle), the Gloucester Shire Hall (now headquarters of the Gloucestershire County Council) and the Whitefield memorial church. A park in the south of the city contains a spa, a chalybeate spring having been discovered in 1814.
Economically, the city is dominated by the service industries and has strong financial, research, distribution and light industrial sectors. Historically, it was prominent in the aerospace industry.
In 1926, the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company at Brockworth changed its name to the Gloster Aircraft Company because international customers claimed that the name Gloucestershire was too difficult to spell. A sculpture in the city centre celebrates Gloucester's aviation history and its involvement in the jet engine.
Where to Stay in Gloucester
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Gloucester?
Within an hour or so of Gloucester: Painswick (10 km), Tewkesbury Abbey (15 km), Cleeve Hill (17 km), Prescott Speed Hill Climb (19 km).
Are there any good drives near Gloucester?
The nearest famous roads are A466 Wye Valley (Chepstow to Monmouth), Gospel Pass and Cheddar Gorge Road (B3135).
Where is Gloucester?
Gloucester is in England, United Kingdom, about 5 km from Churchdown.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 132,416
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- England
- Timezone
- Europe/London
- Coordinates
- 51.8657, -2.2431
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in United Kingdom
112 also works. NHS non-emergency medical advice: 111. National Highways breakdown assistance on motorways: 0300 123 5000.
Full driving guide for United KingdomTags
Worth the detour from Gloucester
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
cathedral
Tewkesbury Abbey
A Norman abbey church with the tallest surviving Romanesque tower in the world, saved from dissolution by the townspeople.
15 km · about 30 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Cleeve Hill
The highest point of the Cotswolds at 330 m, an open common above Cheltenham with views to the Malverns and Wales.
17 km · about 20 min drive
racetrack
Prescott Speed Hill Climb
Famous Cotswolds hill climb owned by the Bugatti Owners' Club since 1937, twisting up through the grounds of Prescott House. Home of the celebrated La Vie en Bleu vintage festival.
19 km · about 20 min drive
castle
Sudeley Castle
A Tudor castle near Winchcombe, the only private home where a queen of England, Katherine Parr, lies buried.
22 km · about 25 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Symonds Yat Rock
A famous viewpoint 504 feet above the River Wye, where peregrine falcons nest and the river performs a dramatic horseshoe bend.
27 km · about 30 min drive
film location
Puzzlewood, Forest of Dean (Star Wars, Merlin, Doctor Who)
The moss-covered rock maze in the Forest of Dean appears in The Force Awakens, Merlin and Doctor Who.
27 km · about 30 min drive
landmark
The Classic Motor Hub
A curated classic car showroom and events space set in the idyllic Cotswolds village of Bibury.
29 km · about 35 min drive
Driving roads near Gloucester
- 17 kmCleeve HillThe highest point of the Cotswolds at 330 m, an open common above Cheltenham with views to the Malverns and Wales.
- 27 kmSymonds Yat RockA famous viewpoint 504 feet above the River Wye, where peregrine falcons nest and the river performs a dramatic horseshoe bend.
- 35 kmDevil's PulpitA narrow limestone pinnacle perched above the Wye Valley near Tintern Abbey, offering a dizzying view down through the forest canopy.
- 35 kmA466 Wye Valley (Chepstow to Monmouth)A wooded riverside road through a designated AONB past Tintern Abbey, gentle and beautiful rather than challenging.
- 50 kmSkirrid Fawr (Ysgyryd Fawr)A landslipped 486m ridge above Abergavenny whose split profile gave rise to the legend it cracked at the Crucifixion.
- 53 kmClifton Suspension BridgeIsambard Kingdom Brunel's iconic 1864 suspension bridge soaring 75m above the Avon Gorge at Bristol, still carrying traffic and glowing with lights after dark.
Driving in United Kingdom
- Drives on
- the left
- Petrol
- ~€1.73/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
April to October
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