Thriving market town packed with independent shops and pubs — 1 thing ruins it | UK | Travel

It’s a stunningly beautiful market town in the heart of arguably the prettiest part of the UK. It is packed with independent shops and cafes, has a fascinating history strongly linked to past kings and claims to have the UK’s oldest inn.

It also has a unique feature said to have inspired part of one of literature’s most famous works by one of the world’s best-loved authors.

The average house price is close to £600,000 and the rolling countryside around it is home to A-listers like David and Victoria Beckham, David Cameron and Jeremy Clarkson. The UK’s poshest farm shop, where Ferraris dot the car park, is a short drive down the road and the local schools are said to be “outstanding”.

It’s no surprise then, that Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds is considered an “exceptionally desirable” place to live. At its heart is Market Square, which has been an important site for centuries. It’s surrounded by traditional pubs, antique shops and coffee shops, a medieval church and the narrowest alleyways (called ‘tures’) I’ve seen in any historic town. They are barely wide enough to stand in for a selfie.

Like many other Cotswolds towns and villages, it’s the perfect combination of higgledy-piggledy and perfectly manicured, with many of the homes and businesses built in the mellow, honey-coloured Cotswold stone.

You could lose hours here slowly pottering around its streets, popping into its shops, pubs and coffee shops for a browse, a drink or a bite to eat. There is so much choice. I spent a weekend in the Cotswolds and spent most of it wandering around open-mouthed at how pretty it all was, with Stow-on-the-Wold a highlight.

Stow has a rich and important history going back millennia, thanks in part to its location as the highest town in the Cotswolds and at the point where six roads meet (including the Roman Fosse Way).

In 1107, King Henry I granted it a charter allowing markets to take place and in 1476 King Edward IV did similar. It became a centre for sheep trading and the famous 18th century writer Daniel Defoe remarked that 20,000 sheep were traded here in a single day, having been led into the square through the tures mentioned above.

It has also played a pivotal role in British history as the site of the last battle of the first English Civil War. In 1646, as a Royalist army passed through the Cotswolds in an attempt to join up with King Charles I at Oxford, they were confronted and defeated by a Parliamentary force in a bloody battle at Stow. Before an earlier battle, King Charles is said to have stayed in the Kings Arms, which still stands in a gorgeous building on Market Square today.

This sense of history is impossible to escape as you walk around Stow, which also claims to be the home of Britain’s oldest inn. The Porch House is yet another building it felt like a privilege to be able to walk into and settle down with a pint of the Oxfordshire-brewed Brakspear ale at a cosy table under its low, beamed ceilings. It’s obviously a popular place with tourists.

The tures

There are several small alleyways in Stow-on-the-Wold known as tures. These were used to funnel sheep from the surrounding countryside into Market Square on market days, which were extremely busy. Today you can use them as shortcuts to and from the square.

St Edward’s Church and Tolkien’s door

This pretty church sits just off Market Square and was built on the site of a former Saxon church between the 11th and 15th centuries. It played a key role in the last battle of the first English Civil War when it is said 1,000 Royalist prisoners were held here. But its main draw for visitors is to see what has to be the second most-photographed door in Britain after 10 Downing Street.

You need to walk through the churchyard’s main entrance and around to the back where you will find “Tolkien’s door”. This is the church’s north door, which was put in place around 300 years ago and flanked by two yew trees said to be the inspiration for JRR Tolkien’s Doors of Durin in Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was a professor in nearby Oxford for years and was said to be a regular visitor to Stow.

Market Square

It has been here since 1107 and was, for a time, the heart of the UK wool trade with tens of thousands of sheep being traded here having been funnelled here through the tures from the surrounding fields. Today, it is surrounded by homes, pubs, coffee shops, restaurants, antique shops and gift and interior shops all made from Cotswold stone. You could lose a day popping in and out of them all.

Guided tours

Stow Civic Society runs 90-minute guided tours at 10.30am every Sunday from April to September. It costs £5. They come highly praised, with visitors calling it an “excellent experience” with “lovely guides” and adding: “I would recommend this to anyone in Stow on a Sunday.”

Live like an A-lister 

Soho Farmhouse is the Cotswolds off-shoot of Soho House, the famous London members’ club. It is 30 minutes away. An eight-minute drive away, Daylesford Organic is an exclusive farm shop owned and run by billionaire Lady Bamford, who goes to the races with King Charles and Queen Camilla. I visited it and the food was not the first thing I noticed.

Moreton in Marsh Show

A short drive away, this is a celebration of farming and food. Expect sheep-shearing, show-jumping and delicious local food.

The Big Feastival

Focusing on music and food, The Big Feastival is held on Blur guitarist Alex James’ farm 10 minutes away. This year, the line-up included Faithless, Travis and Nelly Furtado.

Stow is definitely not short of places to eat, drink and stay. It was almost impossible to choose which of the cosy, centuries-old pubs built from Cotswold stone to walk into and I wish I’d been able to visit them all.

I eventually went for The Porch House, said to be Britain’s oldest inn dating back to the late 10th century, where I settled down at a cosy table with a pint of ale. It also serves good pub food and has luxurious rooms to stay the night in. Other highly recommended options include the Queens Head on the square, and The Sheep on Sheep Street.

There’s also The Cellar, which looks more like something you’d find in Shoreditch or Covent Garden and specialises in wine alongside cheese and charcuterie plates. The Old Butchers is a highly-regarded restaurant with a “nose to tail” philosophy. And that’s just scraping the surface.

To be clear, Stow-on-the-Wold is a beautiful, charming town and I’d live there in a heartbeat if I could. But the joy of walking around, revelling in its history and sampling its pubs and shops was diluted by the fact that the focal point of all that history, Market Square, now resembles a car park.

When I visited in early summer the place was full of tourists and I felt a bit guilty parking up (after a few stressful laps trying to find a space) right next to a couple having a coffee at a pavement table a foot or two from my wheels. At the height of summer, it’s even busier, with “coaches full of day-trippers” descending on the town, as they do in nearby destinations like Britain’s “prettiest village” and “the Venice of the Cotswolds”.

It’s a feature that’s remarked on by other guests too, with one saying “unfortunately cars can park in the square which completely spoils the ambience created by the beauty of the village” and another describing the square as “one big car park”.

Of course, the square is far more than that and I have no alternative suggestions on where people should park, but I can imagine that a Market Square without cars would be even more magical.