Pictures of Stroud

About Stroud

Stroud, on the western edge of the Cotswolds, is a town set steeply at the center of the Stroud Valleys, 5 valleys that are peppered with
gorgeous cottages, old cloth mills, wild flowers and great views all around and of the Severn Vale. In the lower reaches of the valleys you will find the old cloth mills which were powered by the local streams and rivers that flow quickly down the valleys, giving power to the mills and prosperity to the town and surrounding area. Famous cloth was produced here such as the fine Stroudwater Scarlet which was worn by famous british armies such as those of Wellington who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, and the small regiment of British troops that were so famously successful in fending off the onslaught of thousands of Zulu braves that besieged them at Rourke's Drift in Africa, made famous by the brilliant 1964 film 'Zulu' starring Sir Michael Caine.
Living in and around the Stroud Valley are many artists and authors who have gained inspiration

in the surrounding landscape, including the author Jilly Cooper and Laurie Lee, whos autobiography
'Cider with Rosie' also made the area and landscape famous.