AnnieH17

I will be taking a trip to London in May. One of my day trip destinations will be Gloucester Cathedral. I would also like to see the English countryside and wondered if I could walk from Gloucester to some of the countrysides and smaller villages? (Even taking a cab would be fine).

Havana128

Not easily. Personally I would take a train from Gloucester to Stroud (18 mins) or Kemble (25 mins) and walk or taxi/ walk from there. Then you can pick up the train to London from either place on the return. You could walk from Stroud up the Slad Valley (Laurie Lee is buried there) in 30 mins or get a cab to Painswick in 5 mins.

AnnieH17

Thank you so much! I am having a hard time squeezing everything I want to see into one trip!

julia_t

hi Annie.

You can't easily walk into the countryside from Gloucester city centre, ie the Cathedral.

Havana128 has the best idea about getting the train elsewhere. Now I live near Stroud, and work in Stroud. If you got the train to Stroud as Havana suggests, you still can't easily walk to anywhere particularly picturesque, but you could get a bus up to Minchinhampton, Chalford, or along to Painswick - which is probably your best bet as buses run every half hour or so, and Painswick in a very pretty Cotswold village - known as the Queen of the Cotswolds, and it is only 3 miles from Stroud. A return ticket costs £3.20.

You could happily spend a few hours wandering in Painswick and down the valley before getting the bus back to Stroud and the return train to London for a late supper. Depending on when you are travelling in May, I may even be around to join you for a cup of tea at the Patchwork Mouse (in Painswick) or at one of the many cafes in Stroud!

My email is [email protected] if you want to get in touch with a 'local'!

AnnieH17

Thanks so much Julia Always love meeting new people.. We will be there the last week of May.

Havana128

Can I ask why Gloucester Cathedral in particular? Do you have a personal connection with the place?

AnnieH17

No, I don't Havana128.. Nor am I religious.. It is more for the historical aspect of things. We will spend 3 days solely in London. We are taking one day trip to York for sure.. A day for Windsor .. I would really like to see Canterbury and Dover as well. But will have to cut something out because we will only be there 6 days.

AnnieH17

And Gloucester will probably be the thing to get cut, but I would really like to see the countryside, so that might save it if I could do both.

janisj

You only have 6 days total - one will be spent in York and almost a full day at Windsor. Gloucester doesn't seem to be critical/a must - there are other glorious cathedrals much more convenient/doable in your time frame . . . Like Westminster Abbey for instance. Not technically a cathedral - but for a visitor the difference is irrelevant -- if it looks/quacks like a duck it is a duck.

6 days is not enough to see just the <i>major</i> sites in London and you really only have 4.

As for the countryside - julia's suggestion works and the added Fodors mini-GTG is a real bonus. As long as you realize you really won't be seeing much of London.

AnnieH17

We will actually arrive on a Saturday morning, and not leave until the following Friday afternoon.. So we will have 6 full days. For London, all I care to see is the Tower of London and of course Westminster Abbey. Then we will spend a day just wandering around London. But yes, we plan for York to take a full day (we may even stay the night in York).. So that leaves us with 2 more full days. One of which will be spent at Windsor.. So that leaves one day to fill in.

AnnieH17

I have always wanted to see the cliffs of Dover, but have read they are actually hard to "see" unless you are in the water.

janisj

>>So we will have 6 full days.<<

Probably not. Are you flying in on Sat Morning? Count that as a 1/2 jet lagged day. If you decide to stay overnight in York that is 1.5 days minimum and more likely 2 full days. And if you are flying out on Friday afternoon there is simply nothing you can do that day (an hour to the airport/2.5-3 hours advance check in and you'd have nothing except possibly a free hour or two in the morning.

London isn't really a 'wander around for a day sort of place - it is huge (ENORMOUS) so any wandering around will likely just be in a single neighborhood or two.

W/ 1/2 a day on Sat, and minus 1 to 2 days in York, 1 day in Windsor, you'll have between 2.5 and 3.5 days for London.

Just pointing out that you may not have as much time as you think.

(Now, IF you are arriving/departing by train and no airports are involved - you'll eke out another half a day.)

AnnieH17

By wander around, I should have said "let my husband go to some pubs". We plan to fight through the jet lag so as not to lose a half day. But will stay close to our apartment in case we need to crash. Fortunately for me, my husband has been all over Europe, so this is more for the things I want to do... And honestly London just isn't the biggest draw for me, it is just the place we will be renting an apartment from. But we will be flying from the US.. so will be arriving Heathrow).

AnnieH17

But you are right Janisj, we will be pressed for time... We plan to go back again in the next couple of years, so hopefully I will be able to see whatever I miss this time, on the next trip. Thank you for your information though

julia_t

Oh well, if you cut Gloucester this time at least you'll be back in a couple of years!

If you like pubs, then there are a couple in Painswick, and several in Stroud, some of which sell local ales from Stroud Brewery.

Gloucester Cathedral is pretty stunning, but then as janis says, so are others closer to London.

So, let me know if and when you'll be in the area. I'm not going anywhere at the end of May.

Whatever you do, have a great trip!

AnnieH17

Thank you Julia! I replied to your email I do desperately want to see the countryside, so we shall see where we end up!

Havana128

Did you know the tune of The Star Spangled Banner was written in Gloucester, by the son of the Cathedral organist?

<THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
John Stafford Smith (1750-1836) was a choirboy here, his father being our organist. John wrote a tune called “Anacreon” which became popular in America in the latter part of the 18th Century. Francis Scott Key must have had it running in his head, when, after the siege of Baltimore, he set his own words to it and it became “The Star-Spangled Banner”. There is a memorial to John Stafford Smith on the north wall of the Nave. Above it hangs an American flag, the gift of the Rotary Club of New York.>

AnnieH17

Wow! Very interesting Havana128.. And nope, I had no idea

Havana128

I didn't know either until a few days ago wandering around the Cathedral in my lunch break and I came across the memorial.