BY INDER RAJ AHLUWALIA
( THE WRITER IS AN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED , MULTIPLE AWARD – WINNING TRAVEL JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR)
NEW DELHI | 23 NOVEMBER 2025
In the heart of the Cotswolds stands a small town that I’d like to wager must surely rank among Britain’s quaintest.
Quite a bit goes into this statement, as a quick check of the fact-list will tell you.
Whichever way one looks at it, Stow-on-the-Wold belongs to the picture-postcard category. It’s got some essential ‘dream world’ ingredients, and they’re all on view and totally accessible.
Situated beside the Roman Fosseway and set on a rounded hill, this ancient Cotswold wool town is dotted with Stone and Bronze Age burial mounds and mellow Cotswold stone buildings.
The elevation and the effect of the elementary encouraged the creation of the enclosed old town square, which along with the narrow streets, has a certain character and timeless ambience. Enhancing the town’s charm are several antique shops to browse around in and historic architecture to admire. In the shadow of the St. Edwards Church, in the town square, a fountain of the Medieval Market Cross is what one might call a tourist centre-point.
That was good enough for me to take what I considered was a well-deserved break. I squatted at a choice spot and ate my ‘hasty tasty budget lunch’, that happened to be an apple and pork pie, while watching the world go by.
It soon became apparent to me that I had chosen the best spot in town. While the main thoroughfare allowed traffic, the side lanes were solely for pedestrians. That, and the sunshine, made for busy times, by local standards, that is.
Lunch devoured, people watched, and spirits rejuvenated, it was time to move, and so I did. But I didn’t have to move far. Literally a hundred steps got me a cluster of shops, and I spent the next half hour window-shopping and browsing around in some notable local establishments.
A mere thirty steps from the square brings one to ‘Talbot’, renowned for wines and traditional ales. A few more steps will see you duck into ‘Racing Green’ a trendy boutique with quality clothing but somewhat sobering rates. Adjacent lies ‘The Cotswold Cobbler’, a known name in town. Facing this is ‘The King’s Arms’, the pub in town, a former authentic coaching inn, where Charles 1 stayed during the Battle of Naseby in 1645. I ducked my head in for a second, and saw a dozen men in a sort of ‘merry’ mood.
Now I set about exploring Digbeth Street and its famous landmark – the Royalist Hotel, said to be England’s oldest inn, since 947 AD. St. Edwards Hall stands in the Square and was built in 1878 from unclaimed deposits placed in the Town Saving Bank. Besides providing the town with a meeting place, it also houses the library.
There are other interesting, historic sites around. Built between the 11th and 15th Centuries, the Parish Church of St. Edward is an immensely impressive structure. Its impressive exterior apart, its 88 feet-high tower houses the heaviest peal of bells in Gloucestershire. The south aisle has a painting of the Crucifixion, painted by Gaspar de Craeyer, a contemporary of Rubens and Van Dyck.
Maybe the town’s small size had lulled me into believing I didn’t have to spend too much time here, but the fact is that I did see quite a bit. Before I knew it, the afternoon had slipped by and it was time for me to move along on my jaunt.
‘Heart of the Cotswolds’. Ancient town of tradition. Pleasant little watering-hole! Call it what you will, Stow-on-the-Wold is an ideal centre for touring the Cotswolds, and deserves being given the ‘once over’.
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