Gloucester Holiday Saturday 23 April - Day One

Today was the day we were due to depart for our week away in glorious Gloucestershire; after Monty had been dropped off at the kennels Deb returned we piled into the car and were on our way. Our first stop was in Redditch where we had lunch with Alf and Doreen, Deb’s parents, before we continued on. This is the first place where accounts of our trip differ. So far as I (M) recall we left shortly afterward and continued on our journey. According to (D) I fell asleep on the sofa, although for how long she doesn’t say, and no doubt disturbed everyone with my incessant snoring. As I wouldn’t remember being asleep I can’t disprove this assertion however if I did it couldn’t have been for long because we weren’t late, despite Sat-Nav mishaps ([due to repeated loss of GPS lock on while going through villages?] takes us wrong way – 1st of many such occasions… (D)), and reached Dursley and Stouts Hill the Time-Share where we were staying.

Stouts Hill, previously a private (Public) school (and one of his many former Alma-Martas from which Stephen Fry was expelled) was, as can be seen from the above photograph, rather impressive from the outside and lived up to expectations inside. We were shown to our room, located at the top of the stairs, by one of the receptionists who took us there via a brief guided tour of the downstairs facilities. There was a very impressive dinning room

were one could attend an evening dinner on Wednesdays

plus a combined Honour Bar (a first) and Library.

The staff locked up and left at 6:00 pm so guests were left to their own devices after that hence the honour bar.
Our room was large and spacious and over looked the grounds. There was a separate bathroom and kitchen plus a bedroom and large lounge. The sofa in the lounge converted into a large double bed and provided additional sleeping facilities.

We needed provisions so decamped and headed for Dursley the small town nearby. Luckily there was a decent sized Sainsbury’s here and we stocked up with the necessary comestibles. Sainsbury’s, if we are being truthful, was all we really saw of Dursley apart from a very brief walk around one evening later in the week.

Once we were back at Stouts Hill we went for a walk to explore the facilities. There was a small swimming pool, for which we were given a key, available to use 24/7. To one side of the pool there was a similarly sized games room, equipped with air hockey and a pool table, and to the other there was a badminton court. The pool was the only facility we really made use of during the week.

After we ate and settled down to watch until eventually Deb and Hannah went to bed. Nat and I were due to share the sofa but he eventually ended up sleeping on the floor next to the radiator. This was because after their bedded down I stayed up reading and went down stairs and outside for a smoke on a number of occasions. Unfortunately I also used these trips as opportunities to make use of the Honour Bar (yes I did pay) and learned again why it is I don’t normally drink spirits. When eventually I did go to bed I tossed and turned and apparently (here D takes over…Nat sleeps on floor as he is unable to share with M who sleeps diagonally – no not Diagon Alley but diagonally, N horrified when M tried to give him a hug in the middle of the night hence he slept on the floor)

At least I didn’t snore.



Stouts Hill is a stone castellated country house in a gentle green valley surrounded by the rolling hills of the Cotswolds. It stands in a 27 acre estate looking across to the village of Uley. It was completed by 1755, and has been described as a rococo gothic extravaganza. It ceased to be a family residence in 1934 when it became a preparatory school for boys. Famous former pupils are Mark Phillips, who married Princess Anne, and Stephen Fry, the actor and writer. When the school closed in 1979, the estate was acquired by Cascade International Properties of Calgary, Canada, and after sympathetic conversion and restoration re-opened as a holiday resort with nine apartments in 1982. After building five mews cottages in the 1990s, Cascade withdrew, and Stouts Hill became a co-operative, entirely owned and managed by those who have bought weeks at the resort. This gives owners a controlling interest that is extremely rare in holiday resorts.