Discovery walks | Stroudwater Textile Trust
Source: https://www.stroudtextiletrust.org.uk/discovery-walks
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:10
Discovery walks | Stroudwater Textile Trust
Discovery
walks
Walking the textile landscape
Stroud’s textile heritage is all around us if we can only learn how to recognise it. Guided walks can teach us what to look out for and are a wonderful way to appreciate the area – both landscapes and townscapes – to see what has changed (and by how much) and what remains as it was 500 years ago.
We have an excellent collection of published maps around Stroud and Nailsworth, as well as three linear walks from Stroud (to Chalford, Nailsworth and Stonehouse). Details are given below, and these maps are a good starting point for individuals or groups. Teachers can use them to organise independent, ‘self-led’ walks, but we may be able to provide volunteer guides to help school parties on their trail of discovery. Please contact us at
education@stroudtextiletrust.org.uk
.
The Trust publishes two walks around Nailsworth and three walks around Stroud as described below. To purchase via our online shop, click on the links in the description.
Nailsworth Mills 1: Streams of Cloth
A walk around the town and up the Horsley Brook
. Pinpointing a succession of mills, it provides a background to the growth of the local woollen cloth industry and the town. (£2)
Nailsworth Mills 2: Weavers
’
Yarns
This is a walk out of town and into the Shortwood valley
. It uses mainly well-trodden footpaths and passes sites of mills and chapels, and quarries that provided stone for the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament. (£2)
Stroud Town 1: Step into the Picture
This walk invites you to cover the ground depicted in the ‘Wallbridge’ painting
(c. 1790) at the Museum in the Park and takes you into the hamlet of late 18th-century Wallbridge with its mills and fields. (£2)
Stroud Town 2: The Upp End of Stroud
A gentle walk through historic streets at the top end of Stroud
which developed in the late 1600s. (£6; including a detailed, large-scale fold-out map)
Stroud Town 3: Royal Stroud
This is an easy walk from the centre of town along the restored canal to the Museum
, pointing out connections to visits by royalty in the past. (£2)
We can also offer a guided tour within part of Ebley Mill, together with a study of the building from the outside. This is also suitable for school groups in Years 4, 5/6 and 7 and for whom we also provide a ‘trail sheet’..
Linear Mill Walks
Our three linear mill walks can be
downloaded via the Visits and Events tab
(choose Mill Walks from the drop-down). These beautiful hand-drawn, off-road routes guide you along two- or three-mile walks drawing attention to mill sites along the way. They print on an A4-sized page, enabling students to tick off each mill as it is passed.
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Donate to Stroudwater Textile Trust
The Stroudwater Textile Trust is reliant upon donations to help us keep our museum and mills open and the heritage of Stroud’s textile industry alive. All donations are most gratefully received.
Please enter the amount you would like to donate in the field below.
Donation
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School workshops
Discovery walks
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Donate To Stroudwater Textile Trust
The Stroudwater Textile Trust is reliant upon donations to help us keep our museum mills open and the heritage of Stroud's textile industry alive. All donations are most gratefully received.
Please enter the amount you would like to donate in the field below.
Donation
£
Make A Donation
Your Items
Home
About
What We Do
Brief History
Our People
Watch our videos
Visits & Events
Mill Visits
Dunkirk Mill Museum
Gigg Mill Weaving Shed
St Mary’s Mill, Chalford
Book A Visit
Events
Mill Walks
Education
Group visits for schools
School workshops
Discovery walks
Research
Articles
Mills
Alan Postlethwaite Collection
Shop
Join Us
Membership & Renewals
Volunteering
Contact
Donate to Stroudwater Textile Trust
The Stroudwater Textile Trust is reliant upon donations to help us keep our museum and mills open and the heritage of Stroud’s textile industry alive. All donations are most gratefully received.
Please enter the amount you would like to donate in the field below.
Donation
£
Make A Donation
Font Resize
Accessibility by WAH
Discovery
walks
Walking the textile landscape
Stroud’s textile heritage is all around us if we can only learn how to recognise it. Guided walks can teach us what to look out for and are a wonderful way to appreciate the area – both landscapes and townscapes – to see what has changed (and by how much) and what remains as it was 500 years ago.
We have an excellent collection of published maps around Stroud and Nailsworth, as well as three linear walks from Stroud (to Chalford, Nailsworth and Stonehouse). Details are given below, and these maps are a good starting point for individuals or groups. Teachers can use them to organise independent, ‘self-led’ walks, but we may be able to provide volunteer guides to help school parties on their trail of discovery. Please contact us at
education@stroudtextiletrust.org.uk
.
The Trust publishes two walks around Nailsworth and three walks around Stroud as described below. To purchase via our online shop, click on the links in the description.
Nailsworth Mills 1: Streams of Cloth
A walk around the town and up the Horsley Brook
. Pinpointing a succession of mills, it provides a background to the growth of the local woollen cloth industry and the town. (£2)
Nailsworth Mills 2: Weavers
’
Yarns
This is a walk out of town and into the Shortwood valley
. It uses mainly well-trodden footpaths and passes sites of mills and chapels, and quarries that provided stone for the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament. (£2)
Stroud Town 1: Step into the Picture
This walk invites you to cover the ground depicted in the ‘Wallbridge’ painting
(c. 1790) at the Museum in the Park and takes you into the hamlet of late 18th-century Wallbridge with its mills and fields. (£2)
Stroud Town 2: The Upp End of Stroud
A gentle walk through historic streets at the top end of Stroud
which developed in the late 1600s. (£6; including a detailed, large-scale fold-out map)
Stroud Town 3: Royal Stroud
This is an easy walk from the centre of town along the restored canal to the Museum
, pointing out connections to visits by royalty in the past. (£2)
We can also offer a guided tour within part of Ebley Mill, together with a study of the building from the outside. This is also suitable for school groups in Years 4, 5/6 and 7 and for whom we also provide a ‘trail sheet’..
Linear Mill Walks
Our three linear mill walks can be
downloaded via the Visits and Events tab
(choose Mill Walks from the drop-down). These beautiful hand-drawn, off-road routes guide you along two- or three-mile walks drawing attention to mill sites along the way. They print on an A4-sized page, enabling students to tick off each mill as it is passed.
Sign up to our Newsletter
Sign up to our newsletter to receive news of forthcoming events and latest offers.
Your Items
Sign up to our Newsletter
Sign up to our newsletter to receive news of forthcoming events and our latest offers.
Your Items
Your Items
Donate to Stroudwater Textile Trust
The Stroudwater Textile Trust is reliant upon donations to help us keep our museum and mills open and the heritage of Stroud’s textile industry alive. All donations are most gratefully received.
Please enter the amount you would like to donate in the field below.
Donation
£
Make A Donation
Your Items
Home
About
What We Do
Brief History
Our People
Watch our videos
Visits & Events
Mill Visits
Dunkirk Mill Museum
Gigg Mill Weaving Shed
St Mary’s Mill, Chalford
Book A Visit
Events
Mill Walks
Education
Group visits for schools
School workshops
Discovery walks
Research
Articles
Mills
Alan Postlethwaite Collection
Shop
Join Us
Membership & Renewals
Volunteering
Contact
Donate To Stroudwater Textile Trust
The Stroudwater Textile Trust is reliant upon donations to help us keep our museum mills open and the heritage of Stroud's textile industry alive. All donations are most gratefully received.
Please enter the amount you would like to donate in the field below.
Donation
£
Make A Donation
Your Items
Home
About
What We Do
Brief History
Our People
Watch our videos
Visits & Events
Mill Visits
Dunkirk Mill Museum
Gigg Mill Weaving Shed
St Mary’s Mill, Chalford
Book A Visit
Events
Mill Walks
Education
Group visits for schools
School workshops
Discovery walks
Research
Articles
Mills
Alan Postlethwaite Collection
Shop
Join Us
Membership & Renewals
Volunteering
Contact
Donate to Stroudwater Textile Trust
The Stroudwater Textile Trust is reliant upon donations to help us keep our museum and mills open and the heritage of Stroud’s textile industry alive. All donations are most gratefully received.
Please enter the amount you would like to donate in the field below.
Donation
£
Make A Donation
Font Resize
Accessibility by WAH