The Cheltenham Blog
Local guides, neighbourhood deep-dives, and insider tips for getting the most out of Cheltenham. Written by people who know the town.
44 articles
Dog Friendly Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to the Best Pubs, Cafes and Walks
Cheltenham is a properly good town for dog owners. The combination of Regency parks, countryside on the doorstep, and a pub and cafe culture that genuinely welcomes four-legged visitors makes it...
Bookshops in Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to the Best Places to Buy Books
Cheltenham is a proper book town. It hosts the oldest literature festival in the world (the Cheltenham Literature Festival has been running since 1949), it has a small but genuinely excellent...
Best Pubs in Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to the Town's Finest
Cheltenham's pub scene doesn't get the attention it deserves. People come for the races, the Regency architecture, the festivals.
Best Independent Shops in Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to Boutiques, Menswear and Small Makers
Cheltenham is one of the best shopping towns in England, and the reason has nothing to do with the national chains. The Promenade is on every best-shopping-streets list because of its elegance,...
Vintage and Second-Hand Shopping in Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to the Best Finds
If you want to build a wardrobe or furnish a home from vintage and second-hand pieces rather than factory-fresh ones, Cheltenham is quietly one of the best towns in the South West.
Rainy Day in Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to Indoor Things to Do
Cheltenham in the rain is still Cheltenham. The Regency terraces still look good, the cafés still pull good coffee, and the town centre is compact enough that a drizzly afternoon doesn't need to...
Pittville Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to the Park, the Pump Room and the Neighbourhood
Pittville is Cheltenham at its most elegant and least hurried. A 200-year-old Regency estate on the northern edge of the town, built around one of England's finest spa buildings, a ceremonial...
Art Galleries and Museums in Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to the Town's Cultural Life
For a town with a population of 120,000, Cheltenham takes its art seriously. There's a major art gallery and museum with an internationally recognised collection, a composer's house with the piano...
Hidden Gems in Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to the Quieter Side of the Town
Cheltenham has an interesting problem: most visitors only see about 10% of it. The Promenade, Montpellier and the Racecourse are on every guide, and they deserve to be, but they're also just the...
Best Breakfast in Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to Early Starts and Proper Fry-Ups
There's a particular kind of joy in a good breakfast in Cheltenham. Maybe it's the light bouncing off the Regency stone along the Promenade, maybe it's knowing you've got the Cotswolds on the...
Best Walks Near Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to Getting Out on Foot
Cheltenham sits in one of the most walkable corners of England. The Cotswold escarpment rises sharply to the east and south, the Cotswold Way runs within touching distance, and you can be on a...
Best Coffee Shops in Cheltenham: A Local's Guide to the Town's Finest Cups
Cheltenham takes its coffee seriously. For a Regency spa town of 120,000 people, the concentration of independent coffee shops is remarkable.