Our local guide to Stanleys

Lying in the shadow of Selsley Common, the neighbouring villages of King’s Stanley and Leonard Stanley are just down the road from Stonehouse. It’s hard to believe now that Leonard Stanley was once one of the biggest villages in the country. The Domesday Book records that the settlement consisted of 25 households – placing it, by size, in the top 40% in the country!

Today the village is a peaceful place to live, sitting beneath the Cotswold escarpment and overlooking the Severn Vale. Originally a Saxon village, it still has a number of beautiful ancient buildings, including a church that dates back to c1130, sitting alongside more modern development. The village also has a school, a village hall and a playing field.

Enjoy a bracing walk in Penn Woods or across the fields and then stop off at the Frocester Fayre farm shop nearby to pick up some delicious bacon or sausages for a mouth-watering sandwich.

You can also walk across the fields to King’s Stanley – or take in the amazing views from the topograph on Selsley Common – and then drop into the Boho Bakery for homemade food and great coffee. The family-run bakery, cafe and venue use local produce and is a fab place to refuel.

King’s Stanley also has a village shop and a Co-op, an active village hall and playing fields, a primary school and church. Just outside the village is the historic Stanley Mills, now redundant but still an imposing presence in the area.

We know that sometimes you might want to swap those wellies for high heels or a suit, and for people who want the best of both worlds – country living, but near good road and rail links – we feel these two villages definitely fit the bill!