Top Hidden Gems Day Trips from Gloucester
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Hidden Gems Day Trips from Gloucester include Great Witcombe Roman Villa, Devil’s Chimney, Uley Long Barrow, Belas Knap Long Barrow, Purton Ship Graveyard, Spoonley Wood Roman Villa, Chedworth Roman Villa and Breakheart Quarry.
Set on the Severn with the Cotswold scarp rising to the east, Gloucester makes a handy launch pad for a day among Roman ruins, ancient barrows and quiet corners of countryside. Just up the hill toward Cheltenham you will find Great Witcombe Roman Villa below Cooper's Hill, and the lone limestone spike of the Devil's Chimney on Leckhampton Hill.
Push north-east above Winchcombe for the whale-backed barrow of Belas Knap and the wood-hidden ruins of Spoonley Wood, then wander deeper into the hills to Chedworth Roman Villa near Yanworth. To the south lie Uley Long Barrow, a crawl-in Neolithic tomb, and Breakheart Quarry, a reclaimed pit above Dursley.
And down on the tidal Severn at Purton rests a long line of beached old ships. Whether your taste runs to mosaics, standing stones or riverside oddities, there is plenty within a short drive.
Here are eight hidden gems for a day trip from Gloucester.
Great Witcombe Roman Villa
Photo: Clint Mann via Geograph.org.uk
Great Witcombe Roman Villa Only a few miles from Gloucester, tucked into a hillside valley below Cooper's Hill, lie the remains of this large Roman country house. Low walls and foundations trace out its rooms, laid in a broad U-shape, with the ruins of bath suites in one wing.
Its finest mosaic floors have survived the centuries, though they are kept safe under cover buildings on the site rather than left open to the weather. English Heritage looks after the villa, which sits in genuinely quiet countryside beneath the wooded slope.
It is an easy and rewarding first stop on any Roman-themed day out from the city.
Devil’s Chimney
Photo: Michael Dibb via Geograph.org.uk
Devil’s Chimney A short hop east of Gloucester, on the Cotswold edge above Cheltenham, the Devil's Chimney is a slender pinnacle of limestone jutting from the old quarried face of Leckhampton Hill. It was left standing when the hill was cut away for stone, and now rises alone from the slope just below the crest.
A walk up the hill brings you to it, rewarded with wide views over Cheltenham and the vale beyond. The surrounding hilltop is open access land, laced with paths to wander, so you can easily make a longer ramble of it.
It is a curious, much-photographed landmark and a fine leg-stretch.
Uley Long Barrow
Photo: C Michael Hogan via Geograph.org.uk
Uley Long Barrow South of Gloucester near the village of Uley stands this Neolithic chambered tomb, known locally as Hetty Pegler's Tump. It is a long grassy mound with a low stone entrance you can actually crawl inside, built as a burial place more than five thousand years ago.
English Heritage cares for it, and it is free to enter in daylight, sitting on uneven, sloping ground with just a small layby across the lane. Inside it is properly dark, the stone chambers opening off a central passage, so a torch is well worth bringing.
It is an atmospheric and slightly eerie stop, and one that children tend to love.
Belas Knap Long Barrow
Photo: Gisela Blee via Geograph.org.uk
Belas Knap Long Barrow High on a Cotswold ridge above Winchcombe, north-east of Gloucester, Belas Knap is a Neolithic burial mound worth the climb. The long, whale-backed barrow is edged with a neat drystone wall, rebuilt to show its original form.
At one end sits a false doorway, two tall stones and a lintel in a curved forecourt, a blind entrance that leads nowhere; the true burial chambers open from the sides and far end, low stone rooms where the dead were laid over five thousand years ago. Reaching it means an uphill walk of about half a mile from the lane below, across fields onto open common, with wide views over Cotswold country.
It is free and quiet.
Purton Ship Graveyard
Photo: Philip Halling via Geograph.org.uk
Purton Ship Graveyard Down on the tidal bank of the River Severn at Purton, south-west of Gloucester, a long line of old barges and boats lies deliberately run aground. They sit on the narrow strip that keeps the river apart from the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.
From 1909, after the bank gave way, vessels were beached here to act as a barrier and stop the Severn gnawing away the land and breaching the canal, the last of them run ashore in 1965. Their decaying wooden and concrete hulls, many marked with small plaques, are seen on a walk along the towpath and riverbank.
It is said to be the largest collection of its kind in mainland Britain.
Spoonley Wood Roman Villa
Photo: Kester Harvey via Geograph.org.uk
Spoonley Wood Roman Villa Hidden in woodland near Winchcombe, a short way from Sudeley Castle and north-east of Gloucester, this ruined Roman villa rewards those willing to walk. You reach it on foot on a circular route from the town, arriving at an informal, unstaffed site where low stone walls stand among the trees.
Unusually, a Roman mosaic floor still survives in place, kept safe under cover. Over the centuries the villa grew into a large courtyard house before it was abandoned, and it was dug out in 1882; a marble statue of Bacchus unearthed here now sits in the British Museum.
Weathered and quiet, deep in the wood, it feels like a genuine discovery.
Chedworth Roman Villa
Photo: Bill Nicholls via Geograph.org.uk
Chedworth Roman Villa Set in a wooded Cotswold valley near Yanworth, out to the east of Gloucester, Chedworth is one of the largest Roman villas ever found in Britain. Visitors walk among the low walls and admire mosaic floors kept in place under modern cover buildings, along with two bath suites and the channels of the under-floor heating that once warmed the rooms.
In one corner a spring-fed shrine survives, its curved Roman wall still standing after all these centuries. The National Trust has run the site since 1924, and there is a small museum of finds on the grounds.
It is the grandest of the Roman sites within easy reach of the city.
Breakheart Quarry
Photo: Charles Drown via Geograph.org.uk
Breakheart Quarry On the hills above Dursley, south of Gloucester, Breakheart Quarry is a disused Cotswold quarry that has become a woodland nature spot. Once worked for pale local limestone, it is now grown over with trees, its old rock faces exposed among the woods and laced with paths for walkers and a rougher course for mountain bikers.
A short but steep climb brings you into the quarry, where you can study the layered stone, hunt for fossils and follow trails through the trees. The uneven, wooded ground is alive with birds and animals, badgers and deer, while the higher edges look out over the Severn vale.
It is a green, quiet retreat close to town.
FAQs
Which Roman sites can I visit near Gloucester?
Gloucester is superb for Roman remains. Great Witcombe Roman Villa lies just outside the city, while Chedworth near Yanworth and Spoonley Wood near Winchcombe sit a little further into the Cotswolds, all with mosaics on show.
Are these hidden gems free to visit?
Many are. Uley Long Barrow and Belas Knap near Winchcombe are free English Heritage sites, and the Purton ships and Breakheart Quarry near Dursley cost nothing. Chedworth, run by the National Trust, charges admission.
How long a drive are they from Gloucester?
None is far. Every gem here sits within about 25 kilometres of Gloucester, from Great Witcombe just up the hill to Chedworth and Breakheart Quarry around a half-hour drive away.
Conclusion
Few cities pack so much history into their surroundings as Gloucester. Within a short drive you can trace the outline of a Roman villa at Great Witcombe, crawl into a five-thousand-year-old tomb at Uley, or stand on the ridge at Belas Knap with the Cotswolds rolling away below.
Those after something odder can seek out the beached ships at Purton or the lone pinnacle of the Devil's Chimney above Cheltenham, while Chedworth and Spoonley Wood add yet more Roman mosaics to the tally. Wear sturdy shoes for the hill climbs, take a torch for the dark barrows, and check opening times at the staffed sites before you set off.
From ancient stone to riverside curiosity, these are the hidden gems for a day trip from Gloucester.
