Fri 2 & Sat 3 Oct 2026
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Venues & Travel
Stroud is a walkable town. The main venues are a short walk from the train station. Throughout the festival there will be opportunities to travel a bit further out to see commoning in practice.
Venues
Our two main venues are Lansdown Hall and St Laurence Church. Both are in the centre of Stroud, and about a five minute walk from the train station and the main bus stop on Merrywalks.
Over the course of the Festival there will be opportunities to travel a bit further out to see commoning in practice.
On Friday night we'll be having food together at The Long Table, based at Brimscombe Mill and there will be dancing at Stroud Brewery. Both are walkable along the canal. We will provide lifts for people with access needs.
Travel
Stroud is a very walkable town and has a train station near the centre. We recommend travelling by train rather than driving as there is limited on-street parking in town.
If you are coming by train, you may find the following links useful when planning your journey:
If you are coming by car, there are several pay and display car parks just a short walk from the two main venues. The nearest is short stay car park on Church Street, which has 5 Disabled Parking bays and is free after 5pm.
WANT TO CAR SHARE?
Here is a link to join a WhatsApp group to arrange car sharing WhatsApp Group Invite. The Festival is providing this space to help people connect but does not arrange, vet or endorse individual car-share arrangements. Lift-sharing is between the people involved and is at your own discretion.
Accessibility
The first floor Hall at the Lansdown is accessed via a staircase with handrails. Step free access is at the back of the building in Bank Gardens, which can be accessed via the path from the bottom of the High Street.
There are accessible toilets in the Hall next to the bar and in the gallery.
A hearing loop is in place on their PA system.
There is a short set of uneven steps between the car park and the church, or there is level access by going out onto the High Street past The Retreat pub, turning right, then right again by Costa Coffee onto the Shambles.
There are no toilet facilities in the church but there are toilets located next door in Shambles Hall including an accessible toilet with a baby changing mat.
Assistance and support animals
Trained assistance dogs are very welcome at the festival.
We also recognise that some people rely on emotional support animals. As these don’t have the same legal status as trained assistance dogs in the UK, different venues may have different arrangements.
If you’d like to bring an emotional support animal, please get in touch with us before the festival and we’ll do our best to work out what’s possible.
Please don’t bring other animals to the festival — this helps us make sure the festival works well for everyone, including people with allergies, fears or other access needs.
Please contact us:
If you have particular access requirements please contact us in advance at programme@festival-of-commoning.org and we will make every effort to assist and accommodate you.