Some of the most beautiful common land in England lies within Stroud District.
Minchinhampton and Rodborough Commons
Minchinhampton Common is known as a "surprise" landscape. Its Cotswold scarp top, once medieval woodland, was used by commoners needing wood for house repair and fuel. An essential part of the working agricultural landscape, some earthworks remain - the "Bulwarks" are considered prehistoric.
Quarrying took place in the fourteenth century, but three centuries later, the woodland was replaced by open limestone grassland - some of the finest in Europe and protected by English Nature.
Look out for a sealed Neolithic long barrow known as Whitefield's Tump, which gets largely obscured by summer vegetation and is where the Methodist leader preached sermons to thousands.
Minchinhampton's "Standing Stone", a piece of limestone, stands almost eight feet, with two big, natural perforations and a number of small ones. Ancient sources claim that passing a baby, arm, hand or foot through the hole, acts as a cure for rickets or smallpox.
The "Tingle Stone" just outside Minchinhampton, on Princess Anne's patrolled land in Gatcombe Park, is so-say charged with electricity. According to local tradition, the stone runs around the field at midnight!
Rodborough Common provides panoramic views of the District's secret valleys. It is also home to a number of wild flowers and butterflies. Perched on the Common's edge is a much used refuge. Eight times winner of the Silver Cup for Excellence, Winstones has been making ice cream, since 1925 when it was served from a motorbike and sidecar.
Minchinhampton and Rodborough Commons cover approximately 335 hectares and are owned and managed by the National Trust. Further information can be found on the National Trust website www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Selsley Common
"If up on this hill for pleasure you ride
The prospect is pleasant on every side
And if you do walk, the pleasures are still
To be seen from each corner of Selsley Hill".
Anonymous, 1841
Selsley Common is 160 acres of grazed hill-top land that is managed by Stroud District Council in liaison with local graziers. It too offers views of the Stroud District landscape.
Selsley Common hides a Rabbits Burrow, Tumps Quarry and the remains of a long barrow called The Toots, built in the Neolithic Age. It also has remnants of a camp, established by soldiers, loyal to Edward (later Edward I), who possibly used Selsley Hill as a look-out during the Baron's War of 1263-67 between King Henry III and his barons.
Selsley Common isn't all archaeology however. Its open grassland is also awash with wildlife. Bird's Foot Trefoil, Kidney Vetch and Ox-Eye Daisy are among its flowers; Marbled Whites and Common Blues its butterflies, and if you hunt carefully enough, you may find the Common Spotted and Early Purple Orchids.
Selsley Common also acts as a launch pad for hang gliders and para gliders - both novel ways to breathe in the extensive views stretching to the Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons and Malvern Hills. Other airborne activities include kite and model plane flying.
Another interesting attraction nearby is Selsley's unusual All Saints' Church, home to William Morris' famous rose window depicting Christ in Majesty and the Days of Creation. It was the founder of the Arts and Craft Movement's first commission for ecclesiastical stained glass. His fellow Arts and Crafts workers Maddox-Brown and Rosetti, also fashioned windows for the church. Evidence of the creative influence of William Morris & Co can be seen throughout the District, which now continues to boast a plethora of authors, actors and artists.
