Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods

Cranham is a village in the English county of Gloucestershire. Forming part of the district of Stroud it is to be found a mile or so east of the A46 road between Stroud and Cheltenham. The Cotswold Way long-distance footpath also runs nearby. Composer Gustav Holst lived in Cranham for a while, and it was there, in the house now called 'Midwinter Cottage' that he wrote what is probably the best known tune for the Christmas carol In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti. A Ham class minesweeper, HMS Cranham, was also named after the village. A Fairport Convention album, Gladys' Leap, is named after local postwoman Gladys Hillier, who would jump over a local stream to avoid a long journey. The Ordnance Survey have renamed that place in her honour.In 1948, Cranham Scout Centre was opened by the chief scout of the time. Over 2000 people attended the celebration of the opening ceremony. Since then it has developed from a small campsite into an activity centre with indoor accommodation. In 1949 George Orwell stayed at a sanatorium near the village, in his search for a relief if not a cure for the tuberculosis from which he was suffering and which would kill him six months later after his admission to University College Hospital. While in the sanatorium he sketched out in 4 pages of a notebook a short story to be called A Smoking Room Story, set in Burma. The story was never written.In 2010, pop star Lily Allen bought Old Overton House, just outside Cranham, for a reported £3 million. Old Overton House is grade II listed with the earliest part of the property dating back to the seventeenth century.

Great Witcombe Roman Villa was a villa built during the Roman occupation of Britain. It is located on a hillside at Great Witcombe, near Gloucester in the English county of Gloucestershire. It has been scheduled as an ancient monument.

The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill, near Gloucester in England. Participants race down the 200-yard (180 m) long hill after a round of Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling down it. The event was traditionally held by and for the people who live in the local village of Brockworth, but now people from all over the world take part. The Guardian called it a "world-famous event", with winners coming from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Nepal.The cheese-rolling event returned on Sunday 5 June 2022 after a two-year absence: it had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 spring bank holiday was moved to June 2 and was followed by an additional bank holiday, to create a four-day jubilee weekend in celebration of Elizabeth II's 70 years of reign.

Workmans Wood (grid reference SO900109) is a wood just to the east of the village of Sheepscombe, in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire. It is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest being part of the Cotswold Commons And Beechwoods SSSI. The Wood is part of a designated national nature reserve (NNR).

Great Witcombe is a village and civil parish 5 miles (8 km) south east of Gloucester, in the Tewkesbury district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. In 2001 the parish had a population of 80. The parish touches Badgeworth, Brimpsfield, Brockworth, Cowley and Cranham.

Sheepscombe is a small village in the civil parish of Painswick, in the Stroud district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Sheepscombe is located some 6.5 miles (10 km) south-east of the city of Gloucester, 6 miles (10 km) north-east of the town of Stroud, and 1.5 miles (2 km) east of the village of Painswick. It lies in a narrow valley, hidden behind the Cotswold scarp, and just off the A46 and B4070 roads.

Gloucestershire ( (listen) (listen) abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gloucester and other principal towns and villages include Cheltenham, Cirencester, Kingswood, Bradley Stoke, Stroud, Thornbury, Yate, Tewkesbury, Bishop's Cleeve, Churchdown, Brockworth, Winchcombe, Dursley, Cam, Berkeley, Wotton-under-Edge, Tetbury, Moreton-in-Marsh, Fairford, Lechlade, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden, Bourton-on-the-Water, Stonehouse, Nailsworth, Minchinhampton, Painswick, Winterbourne, Frampton Cotterell, Coleford, Cinderford, Lydney and Rodborough and Cainscross that are within Stroud's urban area. Gloucestershire borders Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The current Gloucestershire County Council area does not have the same geographical boundaries as the historic county. Some northern parts of the county, including Long Marston and Welford-on-Avon, were transferred to Warwickshire in 1931. Following the Local Government Act 1972, some southern parts of the county were transferred for administrative purposes to the new county of Avon, which ceased to exist on 1 April 1996. After 1996, the city of Bristol and South Gloucestershire became separate unitary authorities.

Prinknash Abbey (pronounced locally variously as "Prinidge/Prinnish") (IPA: ) is a Roman Catholic monastery in the Vale of Gloucester in the Diocese of Clifton, near the village of Cranham. It belongs to the English Province of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation, which is itself part of the worldwide Benedictine Confederation. It is noted for its manufacturing of incense. [1]

Henley Bank High School is an 11 to 18 academy in Gloucester, England. It is sponsored by the Greenshaw Learning Trust. In January 2018, the school was taken over by Greenshaw Learning Trust, in order to assist in improving aspects of the school - this resulted in a name change from Millbrook Academy to Henley Bank High School. The Headteacher is Stephen Derry supported by Executive Head and Director of School Improvement at the Greenshaw Learning Trust, Ben Parnell.

Brockworth is a village and parish in the Borough of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Barnwood. It is located 4 miles (6.5 km) southeast of central Gloucester, 6 miles (9.5 km) southwest of Cheltenham and 11.5 miles (18.5 km) north of Stroud. The population taken at the 2011 census was 7,387. The population increased to 9,422 at the 2021 Census.Since the mid-20th century, Brockworth has been known locally for the annual rolling of Double Gloucester cheese down Cooper's Hill. During World War II the nearby village of Hucclecote at the Gloster Aircraft Company produced the famous Hawker Hurricane fighter, and following the war it gained renewed fame for producing several notable aircraft, including Britain's first jet aircraft, which was test flown here. Brockworth is also the birthplace of actor, comedian and writer Simon Pegg.

Painswick Lodge is a grade I listed house in Painswick, Gloucestershire, England. The rubble stone building, which has been extensively reworked and remodelled since the 16th century, was home to Lord of the Manor of Painswick between 1530 and 1804.

The Camp is a hamlet in the south of Gloucestershire, approximately 10 miles south of Cheltenham and 5 miles north-east of Stroud. It is in the parish of Miserden, a village about 2 miles east of The Camp. The village clusters around two roads: Calf Way and Honeycombe Road. Calf Way is thought to be a Roman road, presumably named for the cattle driven along it. Honeycombe Road leads to Honeycombe Farm, and then on to Miserden. How the village came to be known as The Camp is a matter of debate. Some sources claim that it is related to Neolithic camps – and there are the remains of Neolithic burial chambers close to the village. Others claim that it was a Civil War encampment. In either case, at some point before 1767, the village was known as Hazlehouse-Yate. Hazle House is a large house close to the village; "yate" means gate. One of Neolithic barrows was opened in around 1720, and contained the skulls and skeletons of eight bodies. Another barrow was opened a few years later – this one contained human bones and an urn, and was assumed to be Roman (the village is not far from Ermin Street, one of the great Roman roads). Over the years, there have been a number of businesses in the village, some serving locals, and others finding customers further afield: the New Inn was the village pub until the 20th century; the village had a bakery; a quarry supplied roof tiles to the region; there were a number of farms; a motorbike garage servicing classic bikes; and there is still a thriving riding school. The Camp currently has around 25 houses … of which 10 had been built by 1779.