Museum in the Park The Cotswolds

Amid amenities like a leisure pool in Stroud’s municipal park, 800m northwest of the centre, this 18th-century mansion tells the history of the town and its textile industry. Interactive displays cover everything from dinosaur bones and Victorian toys to Iron Age relics recovered from the prehistoric hill fort at nearby Uley Bury. A separate gallery hosts eclectic contemporary art exhibitions, and there’s an attractive walled garden.