Minchinhampton is a desirable market town 4 miles to the south of Stroud. The town is close to Gatcombe Estate, home of the Princess Royal. It also has the extensive 580 acre Minchinhampton Common managed by the National Trust for the benefit of the local community and previously part of an Iron Age Fort. The main shops are clustered around the High Street, including Boots, a post office, library, dentist and doctor’s surgery, serving the local population of around 5000 people. The major supermarkets such as Waitrose, Sainsburys and Tesco are all within a 4 mile radius. The town has a primary school as well as the excellent independent Beaudesert Park School. Stroud lies in England’s largest ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ in the South Cotswolds surrounded by five valleys, with a population of around 100,000 people. The area has important historical buildings of note, such as the 13th century Frocester Tithe Barn and the 12th century Kingswood Abbey Gatehouse, the remains of a large Cistercian Abbey. Today the area is noted for its contribution to the Art world, inspiring artists in the past such as William Morris and more recently Damien Hirst. The fashion designer Jasper Conran described Stroud as the ‘Covent Garden of the Cotswolds.’