Gloucester (England)

Gloucester (pronounced "gloster") is the county town of Gloucestershire in England's West Country. A major attraction of the city is Gloucester Cathedral, which is the burial place of King Edward II. Other features of interest include the museum and school of art and science, the former county jail (on the site of a Saxon and Norman castle), the Shire Hall (now headquarters of the 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.

Understand
The city of Gloucester is the furthest inland port in the UK, situated beside the River Severn. It inspired the old English nursery rhyme:


 * "Dr Foster went to Gloucester in a shower of rain.
 * He stepped in a puddle,
 * Right up to his middle,
 * And never went back again."

'Dick Whittington', born around 1350, a well-known character through the pantomime story, has connections with Gloucester. The story is based on the real-life Richard Whittington, who, unlike his pantomime character, was not poor, being the third son of Sir William Whittington of Gloucester. The traditional tale has a 'poor' Dick going to London to seek his fortune, but he eventually becomes Lord Mayor of London.

A traditional rhyme is associated with this episode, as follows:

"Turn again, Whittington, Once Mayor of London, Turn again, Whittington, Twice Mayor of London, Turn again, Whittington, Thrice Mayor of London!"

The city is also known for 'The Tailor of Gloucester', a children's novel by Beatrix Potter that was first published in 1903. It is traditionally read to children on Christmas Eve, just before bedtime.

It was a main Roman city, Glevum—Roman tunnels and fortifications exist underneath the city centre and can be visited through the museum.

Language
As a provincial British town, you will almost certainly need to be able to speak English to get around in Gloucester. There is a sizable immigrant population in Gloucester from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Poland and the Czech Republic so you may have more luck with these people should you speak one of their languages. Gloucester also has a large (for the region) black (mainly of Caribbean origin) community.

The Tourist Information Office has literature in most major languages, including Japanese.

Generally, the Gloucester accent is clear to understand and isn't peppered with dialect terms. However, understandably for the area, there is a West Country 'burr' and tourists whose experience of English accents is limited to either Cockney or Queen's English (Received Pronunciation) may notice this. The 'burr' becomes more pronounced more westerly, in the nearby Forest of Dean.

Local information

 * Gloucester City Council website

By car
Gloucester is well served by the motorway system and can easily be accessed by junctions 11, 11a and 12 on the M5. It also lies on the A38 and is easily accessible from Wales (Gloucester is the most southerly point on the River Severn with a bridge—apart from the motorway Severn Bridges near Bristol and Newport). Because Gloucester was a major Roman city, it has very good A road connections throughout Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds.

By train

 * Wikivoyage has a guide to Rail travel in Great Britain



By bus
Gloucester is a large hub for buses and coaches. There is also a park and ride service available, see the National Park and Ride Directory.



By boat
Gloucester was built up around the River Severn. It has a sailing heritage. It is possible to visit Gloucester via river or the Gloucester Sharpness Canal via boat.

By plane


Birmingham Airport and Bristol Airport  are each only a couple of hours' drive (north and south respectively) and are served by a wide range of flights from across Europe and beyond.

It can take several hours to drive from the London airports, Heathrow, Gatwick , Luton and Stansted.

By bus
Stagecoach operates most of the local bus services and between Gloucester and Cheltenham. There are many bus services to the Forest of Dean, South Wales, Gloucestershire, the South West and the Midlands.

By bicycle
There are several cycle routes around Gloucester and it is possible to have a fairly stress-free cycle ride around the city and its suburbs. There are also cycle routes to Cheltenham and to Bristol.

By foot
The centre of Gloucester is quite compact and flat so you can easily walk around it.

By car
The best way to get to the countryside around Gloucester is by car.

See




Do
Take a look around the absolutely stunning cathedral. Various parts of the cathedral were used as Hogwarts Castle in the Harry Potter films.

The docks is also worth a look; boat journeys down the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal are available every other hour in summer time


 * Hartpury University RFC play in the Championship, the second tier. Their campus and grounds are five miles north of town.
 * The beautiful countryside — get out walking!
 * The beautiful countryside — get out walking!
 * The beautiful countryside — get out walking!
 * The beautiful countryside — get out walking!
 * The beautiful countryside — get out walking!

Buy
Shopping is easy in this compact centre, with four streets, named below, radiating from the focal point The Cross, with its adjacent church tower.



Gloucester has a variety of generic high-street chain stores, and more bespoke or individual retail locations. Eastgate Street is the primary shopping area, with most of the banks, the Kings Walk Shopping Arcade and the Eastgate Shopping Centre.



Westgate Street is more 'bohemian' and has many sole traders and cafes. If you're looking for something a little more unique, the Westgate area is your best bet, especially in the small streets leading away to the Cathedral.

Northgate is the 'budget' end of town—if you're looking for groceries, then the Sainsbury's and Wilkinsons stores are good options.

On Fridays, Northgate Street and Southgate Street play host to the local farmers' market.

Outside of the city centre is the Gloucester Docks, which is home to the Gloucester Quays Designer Outlet shopping centre.



If you are travelling on the M5, the nearby Gloucester Services Southbound is rather unusual, built into a hill with grass on the top and sells locally-sourced homemade food comparable to the Ludlow Food Centre.

Eat


There is also a usual range of fast-food outlets throughout the city centre, including McDonald's, KFC and Subway. However, Gloucester has a great range of restaurants in the city centre and on the outskirts. A complete dining out guide is available from the Tourist Information Centre on Southgate Street.
 * If you want a quick snack there is a gorgeous sandwich place which makes sandwiches to order opposite the church on Northgate Street, opposite Number 45 hairdressers and J Sainsburys.
 * If you want a quick snack there is a gorgeous sandwich place which makes sandwiches to order opposite the church on Northgate Street, opposite Number 45 hairdressers and J Sainsburys.
 * If you want a quick snack there is a gorgeous sandwich place which makes sandwiches to order opposite the church on Northgate Street, opposite Number 45 hairdressers and J Sainsburys.
 * If you want a quick snack there is a gorgeous sandwich place which makes sandwiches to order opposite the church on Northgate Street, opposite Number 45 hairdressers and J Sainsburys.

Drink
There are several brilliant pubs worth a visit in the town centre, most notably of which the

The following city centre pubs have been awarded places in the Good Beer Guide by Camra.

For a more conventional modern British night out, Lower Eastgate Street is home to the majority of the bars and clubs within the city. These vary in quality of both facilities and clientele—use your own discretion in deciding where you want to drink. The far end of Eastgate Street is home to the two biggest clubs in Gloucester—Liquid/Diva and The Registry. 'Liquid' is typically the biggest, and can have large queues for entry, but it is also the largest club and has a range of special nights. The Registry offers free entry, and occasional live events. Other options include, The Regal and Butlers as bars with music and late-licences.

Sleep
There are several hotels in Gloucester. Many of the pubs offer B&B. There are a few campsites dotted around, and, in the countryside, there are many, many good hotels and pubs, some of which are luxury ones.



There are also Premier Inns around the suburbs.



Connect
As of May 2022, Gloucester has 4G with EE and O2, and 5G with Three and Vodafone.

Go next
Map of places with Wikivoyage articles nearby
 * The Cotswolds – a range of rolling hills which are to the east of Gloucester
 * The Malvern Hills rise in the north
 * The Forest of Dean – the "Queen of forests"—one of England's few remaining ancient forests—lies to the west
 * Cheltenham is nearby and worth a visit
 * Swindon – The heart of the Great Western Railway, only half an hour on the train (or an hour by car on the A417/A419 dual carriageway)
 * Just south of Gloucester lies Painswick, the "Queen of the Cotswolds", a superb example of a Gloucestershire village, which has a number of fine houses and a church which reflect the prosperous era when it was the centre of the thriving wool trade.
 * Ross-on-Wye
 * Tewkesbury