Painswick Glamping — Attraction in Stroud

My wife and I recently hiked the Cotswold Way, and we stayed here on the third night of our hike. We booked a tent pitch.

First the positives: On a path with limited legal tent camping options, I'm grateful that this particular option exists. The tent pitches, on the edge of a cattle farm, are well manicured and reasonably level. There is a toilet, and it is maintained to a good standard. Although there was a shower, we arrived too late to take advantage of it.

Now the drawbacks. The site is located a solid half mile from the path. Getting to it requires a road walk. Given that this was at the tail end of our longest day on the trail (17.5 miles), the bonus half mile was taxing both on our feet and on our general disposition. Communication with the proprietors is also a significant issue. When I reserved the pitch, I received no confirming email, nor did I receive any instructions on how to check in--as we received from every other accommodation we booked during our hike. They took our money and then appeared to vanish. Finally, the site itself isn't particularly glamorous. There were planks of wood spread haphazardly on one part of the property, as if there had been a construction project that had...

Liked: I stayed here as a back-packer in a tent for one night in 2023 and liked it so much I used it as my base camp for 6 nights in my tent in 2024. Campsite well maintained. Showers/Toilet immaculate. Owners friendly and respond promptly. Nice scenery with large fishing pool. The great god-send is the "pavilion", a very large pool side hut that provides an indoor food preparation area, kitchen sink, microwave, electric kettle, fridge and a vast communal meeting/dinning area. It also has several 13 amp sockets. This becomes a major benefit in bad weather. It is not the sort of place if you require half a football pitch for your own exclusive use. Overall I strongly recommend this site.

Disliked: Only has one toilet, one wash basin and one shower all in the one building. So when one of those facilities is in use the rest are unusable to the rest of...

Liked: The location is beautiful - gorgeous views from the pitch, and within a 15 minute walk of a couple of pubs which do food if you want it.

It’s a very small, adults only site (max four pitches)which suited us perfectly and so was nice and quiet.

It also has a ‘pavilion’ with a log burner and sofas so there is somewhere to shelter if the weather is bad (happily we didn’t need to use it). This also has a seating area by a mill pond which is lovely.

Disliked: The facilities are basic - one toilet/ shower between all four pitches, although there is an additional ‘fisherman’s’ loo if needed.

The washing up facilities are also basic with a very small fridge for four pitches and no hot water, although there is a kettle. This is shared with the pitches and one of the...