Westbury-on-Severn

Westbury-on-Severn itself is too small to support a hotel of its own, so most visitors looking for a proper hotel stay base themselves a short drive away in Gloucester, which offers everything from budget chain hotels to smarter options near the historic docks and cathedral, all within about 20 minutes of the village. Newnham-on-Severn and the small towns fringing the Forest of Dean, including Lydney and Coleford, add a scattering of independent inns and guesthouses with rooms, often set in older buildings with a more local, countryside feel than a chain hotel. For something closer to a country-house experience, the wider Forest of Dean and Severn Vale hold a handful of hotels set in converted manor houses and historic buildings, well placed for combining a comfortable stay with days out to Westbury Court Garden, the Forest's walking and cycling trails, and the Wye Valley further west. Wherever you base yourself, the compact geography of this part of Gloucestershire means Westbury-on-Severn, the river, and the forest are rarely more than a short drive from your hotel door, making it easy to explore all three without long journeys between them.

Westbury-on-Severn rewards a slow, unhurried visit, whether that means a wander through a historic garden, a walk beside the river, or a drive into the Forest of Dean that begins just a few miles up the road.

• Westbury Court Garden — A National Trust property and a rare survival of a late 17th-century Dutch water garden, laid out from 1696 with long formal canals, clipped yew hedges and a restored walled garden planted only with varieties known before 1700. It was the Trust's first garden restoration project, begun in 1971, and the parkland's black poplars are among the tallest and oldest the Trust cares for.
• St Mary, St Peter and St Paul's Church and its detached tower — An unusual arrangement of a 13th-century parish church standing separate from its own bell tower, built as a watch tower around 1270 with a striking wooden spire, sheathed in oak shingles and recently re-clad. Cromwell's troops are said to have stabled horses here during the Civil War.
• The River Severn and the Severn Bore — The tidal river forms the village's boundary, and stretches nearby offer some of the best vantage points in the county for watching the Severn Bore surge upstream on the right tides, alongside quieter riverside walks and views across to Framilode.
• Forest of Dean — One of England's oldest and largest ancient woodlands begins just a short drive north-west, offering way-marked walking and cycling trails, sculpture trails, Puzzlewood, and the deep gorge scenery around Symonds Yat.
• Newnham-on-Severn — A short hop along the riverbank road, this small Severn-side town has a handsome high street, a church with sweeping river views, and a good spot to pick up the Severn Way long-distance footpath.
• May Hill — Rising to the north of the village, this National Trust hilltop, topped with its distinctive clump of pine trees, gives panoramic views across the Severn Vale, the Malverns and into Wales on a clear day.
• Westbury Brook Ironworks and Forest of Dean mining heritage — The wider Forest of Dean holds the remains of a centuries-old free mining tradition, with old iron and coal workings, scowles and disused railway lines to explore within easy reach.

The village's own pub, the Red Lion, has served the community from its corner spot on the main street for well over a century, a traditional stop for a pint after a visit to the water garden or a riverside walk. Apple Orchard Campsite, just outside the village, runs a café and tea room using local produce, popular with both campers and passing visitors. For a wider choice, Newnham-on-Severn and the Forest of Dean towns nearby offer a good spread of country pubs, cafés and restaurants, many making the most of local Gloucestershire produce, from Forest of Dean venison to Severn Vale fruit and Gloucester Old Spot pork, while Gloucester itself has a full range of restaurants, cafés and its historic docks for a change of scene.

Camping around Westbury-on-Severn means pitching where the flat Severn Vale meets the first wooded rise of the Forest of Dean, a landscape of orchards, water meadows and ancient woodland within a few minutes of each other. As in the rest of England, wild camping is not permitted here without the express permission of the landowner, so a stay means booking into one of the area's established sites rather than pitching freely in a field or forest clearing, however tempting the scenery. The best-known option right on the doorstep is Apple Orchard Camping & Caravan Site, a family-run park just outside the village with around 60 pitches, electric hookups, a café and bar, a play area, and a clutch of wooden glamping pods for those who want the setting without the tent-pitching. Its position, a short stroll from the River Severn, also makes it a popular base for watching the Severn Bore surge past on the right tides.

Further afield, the Forest of Dean holds a wider scattering of campsites and glamping options, from simple family-run touring parks to yurts and safari tents tucked into woodland clearings, all within easy reach for day trips back to Westbury-on-Severn's water garden and church. Forestry England also operates campsites within the Forest itself, offering a genuinely woodland pitch a short drive from the village, well suited to those wanting easy access to the Forest's cycling and walking trails as well as the Severn Vale.

The camping season here runs broadly from Easter through to late September or October, mirroring the opening hours of Westbury Court Garden and the milder, drier stretch of the Gloucestershire weather calendar; spring brings blossom in the vale's orchards, while a settled spell in September and October often delivers some of the best light for both riverside and forest walks, alongside quieter sites once the school holidays have finished. Midsummer is busiest, particularly around the Severn Bore's bigger equinoctial surges and school holiday weeks, so early booking is worthwhile at the smaller sites. Whatever the season, the combination of river, orchard and ancient forest within a few miles of each other makes this one of the more varied corners of Gloucestershire to camp in, with something different to explore on each side of the pitch.