Stow-on-the-Wold

About Stow-on-the-Wold

At 800 feet, Stow is the highest town in the Cotswolds. It grew rich on the medieval wool trade — as many as 20,000 sheep would once change hands on a single market day. The wide square at its heart is still ringed by the coaching inns, antique shops and tea rooms that the trade left behind.

Don't miss the north door of St Edward's Church, framed by two ancient yew trees and an iron lantern — said by some to have inspired Tolkien's Doors of Durin.

The Cotswold Guide view

Stow is a beautiful market town, based around its Market Square. Definitely worth a visit. If you can, go when an event fills the market square; it gives a feel for how life used to be!

The Cotswold Guide Top Tips

The yew-tree door of St Edward's Church is on the north side, down an alley off the square — easy to miss if you stay on the main road.
Visit on the second Thursday of the month for the Stow market.
Make sure you pop into Talbot Square, a beautiful pedestrianised area with independent shops.
If it's quieter, you can try parking in the Market Square — free for two hours. At busier times, the pay-and-display car park on Maugersbury Road or the visitor section of the Tesco car park (free) are good alternatives.

Attractions in Stow-on-the-Wold

Where to eat & drink

New England Coffee House
Great coffee, warm welcome in an old house.
The Porch House
Beams, flagstones and 1,000-year-old fireplaces. Booking essential at weekends.
Lucy's Tearoom
Old-school cream teas and proper Welsh rarebit in the Market Square.
The Old Butchers
Family-run, warm and inviting, great food — one of the loveliest dining spots in the Cotswolds.

Getting there

By car
1h45 from London on the A40 then A429. Free 2-hour parking in the Market Square; longer stays on Maugersbury Road or at Tesco.
By bus
The 801 connects to Moreton-in-Marsh railway station.

Best time to visit

Stow is a year-round town — antique-hunting, pub lunches and bookshop browsing work in any weather. The horse fair (May and October) brings big crowds and many businesses close for a few days — unless you're coming for the fair itself, best to avoid these dates!