Outdoors & Active
There’s plenty to do in and around Dursley if you enjoy being outdoors and getting active. Sitting on the famous Cotswold Way route, the town is surrounded by one of England’s finest beech woods nestled in a valley under the glorious Cotswold escarpment. With wonderful walks, vibrant clubs and a fantastic range of sports and leisure facilities.
Discover outstanding natural beauty & landscape
Walk or drive to the summit of any of the hills surrounding the town and you will be rewarded with breath-taking panoramic views of the Gloucestershire countryside, including the Severn estuary and even Wales. If you are just wandering around the town or high street you will be able to enjoy the woodland’s colourful seasonal displays of bright green in spring and orange-red in autumn. No-one living here is further than 670 metres from its edge!
The woodlands are a peaceful haven full of flora and fauna. The Dursley Sculpture and Play Trail can be found in Twinberrow Woods and is a great place for all ages to explore.
From late April to mid-May you will find Bluebells, which turn the slopes of nearby Cam Peak blue from a distance, and carpets of wild garlic.
When you see wildlife in our area, you can report it to GCER which helps to improve our records used by conservationists and planners to help protect the environment.
Walking in Dursley
Dursley is the ideal place for walkers with a network of footpaths which criss-cross the surrounding Stinchcombe Hill, Cam Peak, Cam Long Down, Uley Bury and Downham Hill. It is one of 9 ‘Cotswold Gateway‘ towns situated on the Cotswold Way National Trail and it is an ideal centre for this long-distance trail which stretches from Chipping Camden to Bath. Every year the town hosts the Dursley Walking Festival, which offers a full programme of free guided walks for a range of abilities. The Walking Festival is organised by the Dursley Welcomes Walkers Group and their website provides information on all the events as well as a library of local walks to enjoy all year round. There are also a number of local walking clubs that arrange regular guided walks which you can attend as a visitor. Check out the Dursley Walkers page on Facebook.
The free Discover Stroud Trails app is great to explore the undiscovered beauty of Dursley and the Stroud District, just download via app stores.
Cycling in Dursley
Cyclists are very welcome in Dursley, the town is home to the famous Pedersen Bicycle and was part of the Tour of Britain route in 2016 and 2023. The surrounding countryside is full of lovely scenery, lanes and bridleways making cycling a great way to get out and about to explore.
Highfields Play Area is home to a BMX track and Dursley’s high street has two bicycle shops, Delta Bikes on Silver Street and Dursley Meccanica on Parsonage Street. With prominent cycle parking facilities located at The Market Place, outside Sainsbury’s supermarket on Castle Street and by the shops at Kingshill Road, there are plenty of places to park up for a pit stop. Dursley is also not far from Slimbridge where cyclists can join Route 41 of the National Cycling Network, which runs from Bristol to Rugby.
Parks & Playgrounds
The War Memorial Recreation Ground (‘Rec’) is popular with people of all ages its also the home ground for Dursley Town AFC. There’s plenty of play equipment for children to enjoy and green space to run around and play. There’s a circuit of outdoor gym equipment, petanque court and tennis courts which are all free to use. People can sit at the picnic benches and seats provided and take in beautiful countryside views that surround the town. In the summer months, Spring Villa often opens their hatch onto the ‘Rec’ to sell food and drinks. Other playgrounds in the town are situated at Highfields Play Area, Kingshill House Play Park and Cambridge Avenue.
Sport & Leisure Activities
The town has many active sports clubs including Dursley Town AFC, Dursley Rugby Club, Dursley Bowls Club and Dursley Running Club. Its home to the iconic ‘Dursley Dozen’ all terrain race and sits below Stinchcombe Hill Golf Club, which is one of the most scenic courses in the Country.
Don’t let bad weather stop you from being active! At Active Lifestyles Dursley you can make use of a modern fully equip gym, dance studio, swimming pool and fitness classes. Kingshill House runs many health and wellbeing classes and supports sessions to help improve physical and mental health as well as social wellbeing. The Chantry Centre is used as a venue for dance classes and indoor sports including cheerleading, table tennis and curling. The town also has a number of local businesses running gyms, health, wellbeing and fitness classes.
