That doesn't surprise me. Gloucester is a step up from most places in America that I have seen... and Gloucester is a step down from most places in UK.... in my opinion
@@markdavies8946 what an incredibly rude thing to write. Insulting to Americans, and those from Gloucester and surrounding areas. Gloucestershire, Warickshire, Worcestershire tend to be very beautiful and extremely productive counties.
@@johnthebeloved6598 steady on John! Who made you the top reviewer of TripAdvisor? It's my opinion said without directly insulting anyone so I don't see why you've got upset.
Remember that Gloucester is an industrial city, and although the docks have been developed recently it is still not a tourist destination in the same way that York is. The reason why Gloucester is a port is because it stands at one end of the Gloucester and Sharpness canal, connecting the city to the Severn estuary. I cannot believe you did not visit the cathedral when you are there though. It has one of the finest Norman naves in the country and a most magnificent organ perched on top of the rood. When you are there you know you are not in London because they don't charge you £20 to go in like they do at St Pauls or Westminster Abbey. In fact they don't charge you anything and it is only a 2 minute walk from your hotel too.Next time you visit the Cotswolds why not stay in the Cotswolds? Stow on the Wold and Moreton in Marsh are both beautiful and probably much closer to what you are looking for.Incidentally, the nasty part of Gloucester near the railways station and bus station was "redeveloped" in the 1970s, and all the historic buildings in that part of the city were destroyed. Believe it or not Kings Square received an award even though most people agree that it is absolutely hideous. Presumably you would have walked through Kings Square on your way to the New Inn and I agree, it does not provide you with an attractive introduction to the city.
Do you remember the old nursery rhyme: Dr. Foster went to Gloucester in a shower of rain. He stepped on a puddle right up to his middle and never went there again!
@@nickm8810 At least I am not alone. I wonder if we could get up a class action. I'm told i haven't been the same since. But then I wasn't much before either.
That Sea Shanty group in the courtyard is El Pony Pisador from Barcelona. They frequently go to Britain for music festivals, and they frequently play with the Bristol sea shanty band The Longest Johns!
As soon as he said "I don't like talking to people" I realised why they didn't like Gloucester. Gloucester IS it's people. You'll never find a more unique, friendly, funny and ever so slightly oddball bunch of people. You have to be to think up a centuries old tradition of chasing after a cheese down a hill that's about as steep as a cliff.
I couldn't disagree more. I grew up in the FoD and later moved to Gloucester and I don't like Gloucester. I have been in many situations where I did not feel safe, especially as a young woman at night. I cannot wait to move away from this shitty city
@@elizabethkate3207 90% of medium to large cities you wouldn't feel safe at night in the city centre. In fact I'd struggle to name one in the UK that is entirely safe these days. I'm sorry you've not met anyone that you feel is worthy of praise in a city of 150,000 people but maybe rather than writing off that many people you should open your mind a bit, put out more positive vibes and then attract more positive people. I wish you luck in wherever you move to.
Pray in medieval cathedrals, drink beer in Tudor pubs, take afternoon tea in Georgian dining rooms, dine in Victorian restaurants, sleep in 21st century hotels
Such great stories about your experiences in Gloucester!! Your adventures with the hotel room(s), were definitely unique. I'm glad it worked out okay in the end!! 😊
Thank you for sharing your experiences in Gloucester, Laurence and Tarah. I haven't been to England (yet!), so it's nice to learn about some of these places. And I'm sorry you had such a rough time, at first. xx
Gloucester (UK) has a large docks, at the end of a 16 mile canal starting at Sharpness on the River Severn. It is/was the furthest in-land port in the UK.
Yes they did, Gloucester was a major port city and very strategically important; we are quite far inland but we sit next to the mouth of a large River, so we've always been a seafaring city. The man who wrote the lyrics to the US national anthem came from my city, and so too did one of the Founding Fathers
I live in Gloucester, thats not a good place to stay. I'm sure it looked interesting to you but you shouldn't expect a good standard of comfort in whats basically a city centre pub and a very old one at that.
I know these are a little back-catalog (probably pre-pandemic) for you guys, but as a relatively new Ponder and someone who shares & admires Laurence's sense of humor, I find I'm getting a lot out of these earlier, less formulaic vlogs involving travel, & it's lovely to see the both of you together. Just watched the Grimsby ep before this one - I relate to recognizing the very hyperlocal smells of home; & I appreciate getting the very specific perspective on English places of a native Brit who has also lived a very long time in the US. Like many Americans, especially on the east coast, my roots are (documentedly) about 50 percent in England - among which is a colonist four centuries back out of Wootton-Under-Edge in Gloucestershire, so I was curious. I also totally forgot it was a port, even though I'm sure Dickens shouts it out at some point. I think (if possible) you might get a highly popular video out of interviewing both Laurence's and Sarah's family members, the former about Laurence's pre-emigration life, & the latter w/r/t early impressions of him. (Unless you've already done that, in which case, thanks for doing that!) Enjoy you a lot, always a bright spot in my day.
I always pack earplugs with me when traveling, you never know when your going to have someone playing loud music in the next room or a pack of seagulls outside your window😃
Tarah, I'm totally with you on the earplugs. I wear them every night at bedtime because my upstairs neighbors walk very loudly, and I can hear every squeaky board and nail. Yeah, good times.
I bought some when in a San Francisco hotel with noisy air con on a flat roof outside our window. Now they come in very handy when my hubby is snoring!
I would have been at the Tall Ships Festival and the Cathedral! When I lived in San Francisco, I participated in a sea shanty sing along on one of the ships and hauling of the sail. It was wonderful! I am very much into folk music and would have loved to sing with the people in the courtyard! I do miss the sea being land locked in Colorado!
Things to do in Gloucester: Go and stand in the Shed at Kingsholm, and watch the rugby; Visit the Cathedral and try and catch a choral or organ recital, the acoustics are amazing. The cloisters are absolutely spectacular; the docks; shouting at random people in the street, it's great fun and it scares the tourists.
I can't recommend enough to anyone visiting the Cotswolds to stay at the Inn at Fossebridge. It's a charming inn with a fabulous charming restaurant and pub.
I've lived in Gloucester just over a year. Like a lot of smaller cities it is a mixed bag. It has a lot of history, both ancient and recent - the beautiful cathedral has been a focal point for 100's of years for pilgrims. More recently the victorian Gloucester Quays where you say the tall ships. There is a long canal into the Gloucester Quays and this joins the river severn about 18 miles south. The canal was an amazing feat of engineering being 30' wide and 20' deep and was made so that bigger ships could travel up the Bristol estuary and then into Gloucester, the river being unavigable for bigger ships. The railway station is opposite a residential area which has a high percentage of younger people and is a bit run down - so you do see some 'characters' hanging about - mainly drug addicts. So all in all Gloucester has both rough and smooth. Cheltenham was a spa town and victorians went there to take the 'waters' many years ago. It is more upmarket than Gloucester, but also a lot more expensive. It has the Cheltenham horse races there which is a popular venue for horse racing types. I prefer Gloucester though. The New Inn you stayed in is a beautiful old building with a lot of history. It could be fantastic but unfortunately its full potential is not being realised by having investment in it. I had a meal there and was not impressed. Shame really.
The trouble with Gloucester is it has constant new development but little investment in existing development. The Quays is very nice but has taken away shoppers from the city centre which is now struggling. In the 1960s the centre was remodelled and many ancient buildings demolished. These 60s buildings are now looking very tired.
PageMonster Especially if it’s a strong Gloucester accent, to an untrained American ear it might sound something like an angry pirate, particularly with all the ships about!
We have stayed in the same Inn a few years ago. 7 mins in you describe it as chaotic which is exactly how we found it. The staff were lovely and the rooms were quirky, but it was as if the staff didn't know how to run a guest house! It was a fun weekend though.
Visit Gloucester Cathedral for some culture. There's the tomb of King Edward II. The Cathedral was used as a set for the Harry Potter's school, Hogwarts. There's the Three choirs festival too. In Tudor times people were shorter, no wonder Laurence banged his head on the beams. If you want to see English Country life watch, This Country on TH-cam (or elsewhere) 😉😂😂😂
You know that moment where you comment an then scroll down after lol, yeah you are right! I'm not particularly religious but looking up at the interior made me believe they had divine intervention as it Was built many years ago an the mind boggles how they done it! I think gloucester is full of history an plenty of haunted pubs an hotels to check out! I get a good vibe in gloucester an I know bad places an Gloucester ain't that bad at all, sure you get the odd bad area but that's life ain't it, glad you've seen an appreciated the cathedral, like I said I was gobsmacked with it an it was free, sure you can donate in a box if you like an I liked the candles you can get with a small donation an light it for someone's memory or just paying respects to the amazing place that it is! This couple really missed out an they was literally a stones throw from their hotel!
@@TruthfullLuke The cathedral is amazing isn’t it? I think those cloisters must be the most beautiful in all of Europe; with that outstanding mid-14th century fan vaulting (earliest fan vaulting in existence). Then of course there’s the “Great East Window” (created 1350) - one of Europe’s finest and the size of a tennis court (it was the largest window in the world at its time of construction), incredible early Perpendicular interiors (notably the gossamer thin stone supporting the choir vault), a very large collection of early misericords (14th century) etc etc etc. Such a beautiful building!
Ha,ha,ha! Gloucester is where I lost her!!! Those are the kind of things I say to embarrass my kids! Love it! Thanks for taking my thoughts across the pond tonight. First time I laughed all day. That's sad.
I’ve only found your channel recently, so I’m slowly working my way through your videos. It’s a shame you didn’t get to visit many of the museums there, the Gloucester regiment museum I found was particularly interesting, especially the circumstances on how they eared their back badge
As a British person you should already be aware that *everywhere* in Britain has something to offer tourists, except perhaps really tiny villages in the middle of nowhere and even then they are probably worth a photo or two. A stark contrast to the US which (when you get away from the big cities and designated tourist attractions) is filled with cookie-cutter towns that lack any distinguishing character whatsoever.
I'm from Gloucester and your observations are entirely right. The place is a bit grotty, particularly around the train and bus station, but it has some gems such as the Docks and Cathedral, so definitely better to stay in Cheltenham. As it was the Tall Ships weekend, did you manage to see the Cheese Rolling nearby in Brockworth?
The Cathedral is one of the best bits about Gloucester. There are plenty of good pubs you just have to know where you’re going. The fountain inn is a nice traditional pub in town but if you go overnight I recommend avoiding the New Inn and staying in the Judges Lodgings down near the Docks
Love your videos! They're the next best thing to spending all that money on airfare, a Tudor-era Hotel, and so much more - but there's nothing equal to just "being there"! Thanks for the vicarious tour of northern England!!
I was intending on walking up the canal parallel to the Severn to Gloucester. The idea was to camp each night. Probably not a bad way of keeping socially isolated, but I'm trying to keep as local as possible, and I live 100 miles away on the south coast. I guess it's got to be another year.
Sadly, Gloucester has never properly capitalised upon its amazingly rich history that spans from Roman times to the present. So many influential people were born in or lived in the city, and major events have taken place there through the centuries. The 1960s and 70s demolition and rebuilding programmes were the outworking of dreadful town planning policies and unfortunately the post-industrialisation period of the city has seen great wealth-creating industries replaced by out of town retail sheds. Nevertheless I still have a great fondness for the place.
Strangely enough, the only thing I remember about Gloucester history is that it is a port city. But England has so much history compared to America that it's not surprising you didn't know this fact. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the vlog.
I'm from near Gloucester and know the walk from the station to that hotel. It is kinda rough to be honest, I prefer Bristol as a city as I live in between there and Gloucester
RAMMSTEIN are my fav band Gloucester is a dump, lived in tredworth just off the highstreet for 10+ years, moving down south was my best move. To anyone who lives there , don’t hesitate to venture out. Once you realise how crap Gloucester is you won’t go back.
🤣 the towel thing! I'm really hoping, since I saw the light saber Christmas sweater, that it was an actual sci fi film reference. If not, then you were twice as funny and didn't even know it. 🤣
As someone who is from Gloucester I know exactly what hotel you stayed at and your right xD in the eaving when you go to the end of the city center street (northgate, southgate, westgate and eastgate street) they tend to get a bit rougher as the night goes on xD u believe the new inn is down northgate street and that's where people tend to gather at the end of an evening
Born and lived in G for 55 years. Was great. In the 1980s and 1990s 10,000, mostly aeronautical jobs, dissapeared. GAC, a large aircraft manufacturer and the huge Walls ice-cream factory closed down. The RAF Personnel Centre moved out. The Bank of England moved out. Being a huge agricultural area, we were famous for our Farmers Market, which also has closed. It lost it's reason for being and is now a dump, like most towns and cities in England. We left in 2005. England is being destroyed on purpose.
@@markdavies8946 u because you came to Gloucester at one of the most busyes times of the year when a festival was going on so there will always be rowdy people at that time of year so don’t disrespect my city
Hmmmm ok. Alot of anti social crime in Gloucester. Leads me to believe that's not just around the festival time. Maybe you should promote people being nicer to each
@@MrWill13245 I don't mind what you say, I'm learning about Gloucester. You seem passionate about this City. Just some advice, when covid is over, travel.
Don’t know why they come back to Britain if is so bad... stay over there . It annoys me intensely when Brits who emigrate to Other Countries then persistently put down their home country..it’s like he is trying to crawl up America’ s arse.
Not Gloucester, but I had a wonderful stay in Canterbury in 2019, at the Cathedral Gate Hotel, with a room that faced out into a public square. They just gave up on any illusion of external quiet and just provided earplugs along with the towels and soap and things. Ironically, I have lived in a noisy neighborhood for 20 years and didn’t need them.
I visited a good part of England for 3 weeks back in1981. I remember every hotel I stayed in was just like "The New Inn". Electricity was not their strong point.
I am a new subscriber to this channel and I find it very entertaining and informative. As a note to seagulls I live in rapid City South Dakota and our garbage dump landfill attracts seagal's. I saw seagulls while in New York state that's how I could recognize the sounds. To my surprise we also have them in South Dakota.
I stayed a couple of nights in an "upscale" hotel near St. James in London. Despite its being "repaired" twice, I could not get the toilet to flush. Was wondering if toilets were flushed differently in England, you know, like driving on the opposite side of the road. I'd been in Zimbabwe, Egypt, France, and Austria. All the toilets, no matter the style or state of repair, flushed.
Gloucester has a lot to offer, yes it’s a bit rough round the edges. I live in the centre of Gloucester and the seagulls are arseholes nest on our roofs but after a couple of yrs you kind of not notice them x
Worcester also has a load of seagulls. One kept entering my mum's hotel room when she stayed there for the cricket one year. And the various gulls and wildfowl at Bath University are notorious
@@karencooper3428 We used to stay at Bristol sometimes cos my dad's family spent the war there as my grandad worked for BAC which the Luftwaffe were fond of bombing .
I wouldn't have had a nautical association with Gloucester. Oddly, I would have thought of cheese which probably doesn't make any sense. Although Gloucester, Massachusetts does make me think of the ocean and seaport. I like that there was a nice sea chanty performance. That makes it bit unique. Thanks for the information. Tarah's scarf is so delightfully retro British. Very pretty. Is that cider you are sipping,Tarah?
NickyL I did have a vague recollection of an event that takes place in which a cheese wheel is rolled/chased down the hill. But if that happens in Gloucester that is what made the association. Have you tried the cheese?
You two are like sitting with friends while they recount their weird travel stories. I guess that’s what you were doing. However you are very engaging I felt like I was sitting on the other side of your coffee table.
Hi there. I really hope you enjoyed your visit to England. I will be flying out of England to America in September for three weeks. And the last 5 days will be in Chicago. I can't Waite to visit American and I love the American accent. WOW
That's where my family lived before immigrating to the United States. Not Gloucester itself, but Gloucestershire. I believe my Great Great Grandfather was born in Stroud.
Hi Laurence, sounds like an interesting experience in Gloucester Gloucester. I notice on your vids the camera often shifts focus for a second, you could try focusing and then switching to manual focus so it doesn't start searching. Keep the vids coming.
So I actually live in Gloucester and have been living in Gloucester all my life these guys have not done Gloucester at all like yes you have the docks but you also Gloucester rugby, the queys waterways museum the war museum got the sea cadets that parade in the evening and go rowing in the water like theirs so much got eastgate shopping centre, jdr karting and lasertag soo much so you need to do it again put stay at the premier inn or the hotel next to the station !!
I'm from gloucester and stayed in almost all the hotels near just because if you are going to attic with two or 3 mates cheaper then taxis and I'd say the centre hotel is the best in town
5:35 I think they were either putting you on or really made a mistake umm - broken shower, too? Ye gods! I’ll make sure to check out hotels online :) glad you had fun though. 🌷🌱
Don't let the people shouting put you off as Gloucester on a whole is actually really nice, town centre not so much but try Luton Town centre an Gloucester will seem like a paradise lol, that place you stayed in is haunted an I will stay there at some point as I'm into all that, cathedral blew my mind an worth seeing
I know a really old inn being called 'The New Inn' can be a bit confusing. When they'd finished building it in 1450,they were at a loss what to call it. So, for a while, they didn't call it anything while they wrestled and argued with ideas such as 'The Miner's Shovel' or 'The Cooper's... er... thing for making buckets with...'. Anyway, while they were deliberating, the locals started calling it the NEW inn because... well... it was new. The other inns were a bit older but this one without even a name yet was opened last week... it was the NEW inn. Well, when the committee for figuring out a name for the newly opened inn finally emerged two weeks and several barrels later, the chair of the committee who probably had a name like Grenling Cobbles or something said "We've decided to call it 'The Goose & Gander'." "Call what 'The Goose & Gander'?" the people said, though probably not in unison. "The inn" said the Chair of The Committee for figuring out a name for the newly opened inn. "Which one?" spake the people. "Wocher mean 'which one?' you daft buggers! THIS bluddy inn! The one you're throwin' up on the floor of right now! This inn wot we just finished buildin' you daft sods!" "Oh, you mean the NEW inn?" the people said. It was at this point that Grenling Cobbles had a brilliant idea. The local signwriter, Mylar Gurzle, charges a whole farthing per letter. He calculated that 'The Goose & Gander' was 25 letters longer than 'The New Inn'... maths wasn't his strong point. So the committee quickly agreed to go to Plan B and The New Inn was born. No doubt hoping for a nice little earner here, Mylar Gurzle pointed out that it would not always be new (after he'd painted the sign of course). After a few more inns have been built, 'The Not Quite As Old As Some Of The Older Inns But Not Quite As New As The Newer Ones... Inn' might be more appropriate. The committee thought about this for about two seconds then Grenling Cobbles said "Nah. You're all right, mate. This'll do us". I can't believe you witnessed somebody shouting at somebody else! That's UNHEARD of!! When was this? I haven't heard anything on the news about this. Who would have imagined that? In a CITY, of all places! I can only apologise on behalf of my fellow townfolk. With regard to the wiring in the New Inn, Tudor electricians were notoriously shoddy... possibly due to the fact that electricity had yet to be harnessed. The good news is that it has now been refurbished. The BAD news is that what you saw WAS the refurbishments. The Tudor electricians had left exposed bits of string because they didn't now anything about electricity. The refurbishments in 2019 replaced the exposed bits of string with exposed bits of wire to bring it up to date. Anyway, congratulations on getting out of Gloucester without being eaten. Not many manage that. Street cleaners have been complaining about clearing up all the remains every morning for years but nobody bothers to do anything about it.
CORRECTION: Edward VI, not Edward IV. Let's just call him the child king.
Although that nickname could also be Ed V. Not necessarily a lucky name really, especially when one considers Ed II
So, can we call him "Little King Eddie"?
@@FireCracker3240 don't do that, thank you 🙏
@@manchestertart5614 What, too soon? 😂
@@ChrisPage68 😂😂😂😂
As an American I been living in Gloucester for 4 years and I love it.
Enjoy.
That doesn't surprise me. Gloucester is a step up from most places in America that I have seen... and Gloucester is a step down from most places in UK.... in my opinion
What exactly do you love about Gloucester
@@markdavies8946 what an incredibly rude thing to write.
Insulting to Americans, and those from Gloucester and surrounding areas.
Gloucestershire, Warickshire, Worcestershire tend to be very beautiful and extremely productive counties.
@@johnthebeloved6598 steady on John! Who made you the top reviewer of TripAdvisor? It's my opinion said without directly insulting anyone so I don't see why you've got upset.
Remember that Gloucester is an industrial city, and although the docks have been developed recently it is still not a tourist destination in the same way that York is. The reason why Gloucester is a port is because it stands at one end of the Gloucester and Sharpness canal, connecting the city to the Severn estuary. I cannot believe you did not visit the cathedral when you are there though. It has one of the finest Norman naves in the country and a most magnificent organ perched on top of the rood. When you are there you know you are not in London because they don't charge you £20 to go in like they do at St Pauls or Westminster Abbey. In fact they don't charge you anything and it is only a 2 minute walk from your hotel too.Next time you visit the Cotswolds why not stay in the Cotswolds? Stow on the Wold and Moreton in Marsh are both beautiful and probably much closer to what you are looking for.Incidentally, the nasty part of Gloucester near the railways station and bus station was "redeveloped" in the 1970s, and all the historic buildings in that part of the city were destroyed. Believe it or not Kings Square received an award even though most people agree that it is absolutely hideous. Presumably you would have walked through Kings Square on your way to the New Inn and I agree, it does not provide you with an attractive introduction to the city.
Build Brutalism, expect brutes.
Do you remember the old nursery rhyme: Dr. Foster went to Gloucester in a shower of rain. He stepped on a puddle right up to his middle and never went there again!
I once banged my head on a beam at Warwick Castle - I was distracted reading the sign that warned me about the beam. Hurts doesn't it.
People were much shorter back then.
@@ChrisPage68 LOL. Probably not Edward IV though who judging by his armour was most likely well over six foot - taller than our Lawrence.
I did the same I'm only 5 11
@@nickm8810 At least I am not alone. I wonder if we could get up a class action. I'm told i haven't been the same since. But then I wasn't much before either.
🤣
That Sea Shanty group in the courtyard is El Pony Pisador from Barcelona. They frequently go to Britain for music festivals, and they frequently play with the Bristol sea shanty band The Longest Johns!
As soon as he said "I don't like talking to people" I realised why they didn't like Gloucester. Gloucester IS it's people. You'll never find a more unique, friendly, funny and ever so slightly oddball bunch of people. You have to be to think up a centuries old tradition of chasing after a cheese down a hill that's about as steep as a cliff.
Yep 👍
I couldn't disagree more. I grew up in the FoD and later moved to Gloucester and I don't like Gloucester. I have been in many situations where I did not feel safe, especially as a young woman at night. I cannot wait to move away from this shitty city
@@elizabethkate3207 90% of medium to large cities you wouldn't feel safe at night in the city centre. In fact I'd struggle to name one in the UK that is entirely safe these days. I'm sorry you've not met anyone that you feel is worthy of praise in a city of 150,000 people but maybe rather than writing off that many people you should open your mind a bit, put out more positive vibes and then attract more positive people. I wish you luck in wherever you move to.
Pray in medieval cathedrals, drink beer in Tudor pubs, take afternoon tea in Georgian dining rooms, dine in Victorian restaurants, sleep in 21st century hotels
Cath Robilliard Sound advice!
Hahaha! Great advice! :-)
My hometown Gloucester 👌🏼
Yessir
Same here
@@amosstarkey485 'Scuse me... why is the uce in Gloucester silent?
Heyy could you plz help to find a job in Gloucester
3 gems of Gloucester. The Cathedral, The Quays (Docks) and The Rugby Club (Kingsholm) Enough history to make it an interesting place.
and Fred West if you're a Real GLOSLAD
I'm just glad you pronounce Gloucester properly. Used to live in a town by that name in NJ. Some of the ways people try to say it is painful.
What's painful is having to say it the "right" way (according to locals) when you care anything about phonetics 😉
Such great stories about your experiences in Gloucester!! Your adventures with the hotel room(s), were definitely unique. I'm glad it worked out okay in the end!! 😊
Thank you for sharing your experiences in Gloucester, Laurence and Tarah. I haven't been to England (yet!), so it's nice to learn about some of these places. And I'm sorry you had such a rough time, at first. xx
Seagulls...yup that’s Glos. Even worse at the docks. How did you not go to the cathedral, from the New Inn?!
Seagulls are not such a problem in glos, having lived elsewhere, but the docks, yh
I thought the same, its like a 2 minute walk from the New Inn 😂
@@karencooper3428 I once got royally shat on by a seagull by the Hooper Monument. Damned bird scored a bullseye.
@@karencooper3428 And then I got dive bombed on top of the Kings Walk multi-storey. Squawked in my ear as it went past. I nearly messed my pants.
I assume that folks from Gloucester England settled Gloucester Massachusetts? Definitely a seafaring city. "They that go down to the sea in ships"....
Gloucester, ma also has a tall ships festival every year.
Gloucester (UK) has a large docks, at the end of a 16 mile canal starting at Sharpness on the River Severn. It is/was the furthest in-land port in the UK.
Yes they did, Gloucester was a major port city and very strategically important; we are quite far inland but we sit next to the mouth of a large River, so we've always been a seafaring city. The man who wrote the lyrics to the US national anthem came from my city, and so too did one of the Founding Fathers
There's also a Gloucester in NJ. Also, a Gloucester County & Gloucester Township. And all three are not the same place.
@@stacyrussell460 there's one in VA also
I'm from Gloucester Massachusetts so I totally had to watch this
Sally I’m also from Gloucester Massachusetts!
I living in Gloucester Gloucestershire
How do you, pronounce Gloucester?
@@47thstreetsupplyco gloss ter. Gloucestershire is pronounced "glos ter sher" (if you can pronounce Worcestershire, it's the same - wus ter sher)
Im from Gloucestershire in England! I don't live in Gloucester, but near
I’m 6’5” and when I first looked at the picture of the Tudor hotel I instant,y thought, “Oh no. I’m too big for that place.”
I frequented the New Inn many times when I was a soldier posted to the Gloucester area. I loved the pub and the people who frequented it (mostly).
I live in Gloucester, thats not a good place to stay. I'm sure it looked interesting to you but you shouldn't expect a good standard of comfort in whats basically a city centre pub and a very old one at that.
I know these are a little back-catalog (probably pre-pandemic) for you guys, but as a relatively new Ponder and someone who shares & admires Laurence's sense of humor, I find I'm getting a lot out of these earlier, less formulaic vlogs involving travel, & it's lovely to see the both of you together. Just watched the Grimsby ep before this one - I relate to recognizing the very hyperlocal smells of home; & I appreciate getting the very specific perspective on English places of a native Brit who has also lived a very long time in the US.
Like many Americans, especially on the east coast, my roots are (documentedly) about 50 percent in England - among which is a colonist four centuries back out of Wootton-Under-Edge in Gloucestershire, so I was curious. I also totally forgot it was a port, even though I'm sure Dickens shouts it out at some point.
I think (if possible) you might get a highly popular video out of interviewing both Laurence's and Sarah's family members, the former about Laurence's pre-emigration life, & the latter w/r/t early impressions of him. (Unless you've already done that, in which case, thanks for doing that!)
Enjoy you a lot, always a bright spot in my day.
I always pack earplugs with me when traveling, you never know when your going to have someone playing loud music in the next room or a pack of seagulls outside your window😃
Charles Dickens described Gloucester as "a wonderful and misleading city".
Misleading how?
Ah Dickens.
Best kind of city, in my opinion
Seems like he's also describing the town of Gloucester City in NJ... lol
Dull as hell know
Tarah, I'm totally with you on the earplugs. I wear them every night at bedtime because my upstairs neighbors walk very loudly, and I can hear every squeaky board and nail. Yeah, good times.
FireCracker3240 isn't that the worst?! I have one of those upstairs too.
I bought some when in a San Francisco hotel with noisy air con on a flat roof outside our window. Now they come in very handy when my hubby is snoring!
I've tried can't sleep with them in
@@LJBSullivan I sleep on my side, so I put only one in. The other ear is against my pillow so it's muffling the sound that way.
I would have been at the Tall Ships Festival and the Cathedral! When I lived in San Francisco, I participated in a sea shanty sing along on one of the ships and hauling of the sail. It was wonderful! I am very much into folk music and would have loved to sing with the people in the courtyard! I do miss the sea being land locked in Colorado!
Douglas Adams taught me to always bring my towel when I travel, and I always do. 🤷🏾♀️
"It had a kind of a 1980s look to it with Tudor era safety practices." LOL! Too bad you didn't have video to share. :/
Basicly it's a Tudor building with 80s furniture
HAHAHHA
Things to do in Gloucester: Go and stand in the Shed at Kingsholm, and watch the rugby;
Visit the Cathedral and try and catch a choral or organ recital, the acoustics are amazing. The cloisters are absolutely spectacular; the docks; shouting at random people in the street, it's great fun and it scares the tourists.
It is outrageous if they would even be trying to rent a room out that was in that disastrous of condition.
If you want to go to Gloucester and stay near the port, I'd stay at the newly built Travelodge at Gloucester Quays
Thank you Adam. Great advice.
@@ibosquez5238 hope it helps
@@adambennett805
It does, thanks.
I can't recommend enough to anyone visiting the Cotswolds to stay at the Inn at Fossebridge. It's a charming inn with a fabulous charming restaurant and pub.
I love how you and your wife have your own style. Love the glasses.
Always lovely to see your lady Tara
The innkeeper wasn't a gent names Basil Fawlty, was he?!
Couldn't help it, was the irst thing I thought of, Fawlty Towers.
He didn't mention the war, did he?!?!
To be honest it's more like Al Murray's pub landlord. Miles downmarket from Fawlty Towers.
I've lived in Gloucester just over a year. Like a lot of smaller cities it is a mixed bag. It has a lot of history, both ancient and recent - the beautiful cathedral has been a focal point for 100's of years for pilgrims. More recently the victorian Gloucester Quays where you say the tall ships. There is a long canal into the Gloucester Quays and this joins the river severn about 18 miles south. The canal was an amazing feat of engineering being 30' wide and 20' deep and was made so that bigger ships could travel up the Bristol estuary and then into Gloucester, the river being unavigable for bigger ships. The railway station is opposite a residential area which has a high percentage of younger people and is a bit run down - so you do see some 'characters' hanging about - mainly drug addicts. So all in all Gloucester has both rough and smooth. Cheltenham was a spa town and victorians went there to take the 'waters' many years ago. It is more upmarket than Gloucester, but also a lot more expensive. It has the Cheltenham horse races there which is a popular venue for horse racing types. I prefer Gloucester though. The New Inn you stayed in is a beautiful old building with a lot of history. It could be fantastic but unfortunately its full potential is not being realised by having investment in it. I had a meal there and was not impressed. Shame really.
The trouble with Gloucester is it has constant new development but little investment in existing development. The Quays is very nice but has taken away shoppers from the city centre which is now struggling. In the 1960s the centre was remodelled and many ancient buildings demolished. These 60s buildings are now looking very tired.
You live in Chicago. Isn’t people yelling at each other a very frequent event? lol
It's different if it's in an English accent.
PageMonster Especially if it’s a strong Gloucester accent, to an untrained American ear it might sound something like an angry pirate, particularly with all the ships about!
@@katemorgan8551 I think it’s a Chicago Italian thing! Hence my brother in law and family
My home town , been living in New York for 11 years now , great videos
It’s 1:00 in the morning here in England and yes I should be sleeping but I don’t care
th-cam.com/video/g2NCiNKdCYU/w-d-xo.html what are we talking about?
Dweezil zappa?
5.00am in england
Anytime is a Good Time in England! :-)
We have stayed in the same Inn a few years ago. 7 mins in you describe it as chaotic which is exactly how we found it. The staff were lovely and the rooms were quirky, but it was as if the staff didn't know how to run a guest house! It was a fun weekend though.
i would have been so disapointed with hotel room. but delightful architecture. thanks for walking those steps for me.
Visit Gloucester Cathedral for some culture.
There's the tomb of King Edward II.
The Cathedral was used as a set for the Harry Potter's school, Hogwarts.
There's the Three choirs festival too.
In Tudor times people were shorter, no wonder Laurence banged his head on the beams.
If you want to see English Country life watch, This Country on TH-cam (or elsewhere) 😉😂😂😂
Is it my imagination or does the effigy on Edward’s tomb have an uncomfortable expression on its face?
You know that moment where you comment an then scroll down after lol, yeah you are right! I'm not particularly religious but looking up at the interior made me believe they had divine intervention as it Was built many years ago an the mind boggles how they done it! I think gloucester is full of history an plenty of haunted pubs an hotels to check out! I get a good vibe in gloucester an I know bad places an Gloucester ain't that bad at all, sure you get the odd bad area but that's life ain't it, glad you've seen an appreciated the cathedral, like I said I was gobsmacked with it an it was free, sure you can donate in a box if you like an I liked the candles you can get with a small donation an light it for someone's memory or just paying respects to the amazing place that it is! This couple really missed out an they was literally a stones throw from their hotel!
@@TruthfullLuke The cathedral is amazing isn’t it? I think those cloisters must be the most beautiful in all of Europe; with that outstanding mid-14th century fan vaulting (earliest fan vaulting in existence). Then of course there’s the “Great East Window” (created 1350) - one of Europe’s finest and the size of a tennis court (it was the largest window in the world at its time of construction), incredible early Perpendicular interiors (notably the gossamer thin stone supporting the choir vault), a very large collection of early misericords (14th century) etc etc etc. Such a beautiful building!
Ha,ha,ha! Gloucester is where I lost her!!! Those are the kind of things I say to embarrass my kids! Love it! Thanks for taking my thoughts across the pond tonight. First time I laughed all day. That's sad.
Gloucester ! The place of wonderful fields, the best pubs and great communities
I’ve only found your channel recently, so I’m slowly working my way through your videos. It’s a shame you didn’t get to visit many of the museums there, the Gloucester regiment museum I found was particularly interesting, especially the circumstances on how they eared their back badge
Gloucester has docks, every City that has docks has a seedy end.
Edward VI not IV, and yeah, Gloucester Cathedral has some of the finest examples Perpendicular Gothic architecture anywhere.
ARGH! Just watched it back. Can't believe I said Edward IV. Just added 25 years to the life of VI.
@@LostinthePond He would be grateful for the donation. 🤣
My mum used to sing me sea shantys, I don't know how she remembered all the lyrics.she was amazing.
As a British person you should already be aware that *everywhere* in Britain has something to offer tourists, except perhaps really tiny villages in the middle of nowhere and even then they are probably worth a photo or two.
A stark contrast to the US which (when you get away from the big cities and designated tourist attractions) is filled with cookie-cutter towns that lack any distinguishing character whatsoever.
How very true...😂
Then there’s the Grand Canyon . . .
I'm from Gloucester and your observations are entirely right. The place is a bit grotty, particularly around the train and bus station, but it has some gems such as the Docks and Cathedral, so definitely better to stay in Cheltenham. As it was the Tall Ships weekend, did you manage to see the Cheese Rolling nearby in Brockworth?
Kimberley R and Gloucester rugby, and jdr karting 😂😂
Wow you are from Gloucester ,I am will be visiting this city next month
Cheltenhams great if your interested in more Georgian era stuff
All the money is poured into the cathedral and quays/docks area
Coney Hill
Are you sure the hotel wasn't called Fawlty Towers?
Lady Jane you mean Farty Owls. LoL.
Love a good anagram! 😁
Flowery twats
When you first brought out the ear plugs, Tara, I thought they were hard candies. I was wondering if you were going to throw them at the seagulls.
Gloucester VA here, so obviously had to watch lmao
Hey fellow G-town VA peep! I clicked this video for same reason. Lol
Should go again but go when there is a rugby game, as a season ticket holder it’s a truly great atmosphere
I live in GLOUCESTER county New Jersey, USA. Yes we have some areas that are rough also.
Gloucester, MA...same
But no charming Sea Chanty music?
Gerald O'Hare Hello from Northern New Jersey.
Gloria Stroedecke , Haha no but the Delaware bay and Delaware river are nearby and they lead to the ocean.
Lol. I live on Westminister Rd. Our subdivision is Banbury Cross.
Glouster sounded like a series of surprises! When you talked about the shower & then the Sea gulls, I found myself laughing so hard!!
I wonder if The New Inn was so "inconsistent" because they had a huge fire less than a year earlier than your visit? It's definitely a possibility 👍
The Cathedral is one of the best bits about Gloucester. There are plenty of good pubs you just have to know where you’re going. The fountain inn is a nice traditional pub in town but if you go overnight I recommend avoiding the New Inn and staying in the Judges Lodgings down near the Docks
Love your videos! They're the next best thing to spending all that money on airfare, a Tudor-era Hotel, and so much more - but there's nothing equal to just "being there"! Thanks for the vicarious tour of northern England!!
the trainstation to the new inn is one of the nicer bits of the city
I was intending on walking up the canal parallel to the Severn to Gloucester. The idea was to camp each night. Probably not a bad way of keeping socially isolated, but I'm trying to keep as local as possible, and I live 100 miles away on the south coast. I guess it's got to be another year.
Sadly, Gloucester has never properly capitalised upon its amazingly rich history that spans from Roman times to the present.
So many influential people were born in or lived in the city, and major events have taken place there through the centuries.
The 1960s and 70s demolition and rebuilding programmes were the outworking of dreadful town planning policies and unfortunately the post-industrialisation period of the city has seen great wealth-creating industries replaced by out of town retail sheds. Nevertheless I still have a great fondness for the place.
this is def one of the few (okay, many, as of late) where I wish I could have given a presentation a bit stronger than just a thumbs up
90% of Gloucester is "rough and ready"🤣 I love the place, but once I leave, I don't know if I'm coming back🤣
I felt the same when I moved away, just a half hour's drive away. Always feel happy when I visit, though.
I knew Gloucester was a port because of Gorton's of Gloucester frozen fish sticks and fish patties. Their logo was a fisherman in a rain slicker.
I’m a Gloucester boy born n bred! 👌
bred 🙄
My condolences
SAME
Same bud born and bread in gloucester
@@1273mel he must have been baked there.
Strangely enough, the only thing I remember about Gloucester history is that it is a port city. But England has so much history compared to America that it's not surprising you didn't know this fact. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the vlog.
I'm from near Gloucester and know the walk from the station to that hotel. It is kinda rough to be honest, I prefer Bristol as a city as I live in between there and Gloucester
I live in glos work at the asda near by and it depends what time you walk around the only 2 places id avoid are Barton street or Coney hill
RAMMSTEIN are my fav band Gloucester is a dump, lived in tredworth just off the highstreet for 10+ years, moving down south was my best move. To anyone who lives there , don’t hesitate to venture out. Once you realise how crap Gloucester is you won’t go back.
@@nickm8810 and Eastgate street (the bit with the clubs)
You completely missed Beatrix potter's House of Tailor of Gloucester museum 👎🏻 if only you walked up the same road a bit further... ☹️
🤣 the towel thing! I'm really hoping, since I saw the light saber Christmas sweater, that it was an actual sci fi film reference. If not, then you were twice as funny and didn't even know it. 🤣
As someone who is from Gloucester I know exactly what hotel you stayed at and your right xD in the eaving when you go to the end of the city center street (northgate, southgate, westgate and eastgate street) they tend to get a bit rougher as the night goes on xD u believe the new inn is down northgate street and that's where people tend to gather at the end of an evening
We're going to Gloucester today. The one in Massachusetts on Cape Ann. It's a coastal town.
Good vid guys. I just wanted to say how much I like Tarah's speaking voice and her old fashioned af style. 😍
Born and lived in G for 55 years. Was great. In the 1980s and 1990s 10,000, mostly aeronautical jobs, dissapeared. GAC, a large aircraft manufacturer and the huge Walls ice-cream factory closed down. The RAF Personnel Centre moved out. The Bank of England moved out. Being a huge agricultural area, we were famous for our Farmers Market, which also has closed. It lost it's reason for being and is now a dump, like most towns and cities in England. We left in 2005. England is being destroyed on purpose.
Low roofs, low doors ... my house was built in 1860 or so, much more recent than Tudor and I only just clear the internal doorways. I'm around 6 foot.
I live in Gloucester. It's heaven.
Don’t ever disrespect my home town of Gloucester
Why not?
@@markdavies8946 u because you came to Gloucester at one of the most busyes times of the year when a festival was going on so there will always be rowdy people at that time of year so don’t disrespect my city
Hmmmm ok. Alot of anti social crime in Gloucester. Leads me to believe that's not just around the festival time. Maybe you should promote people being nicer to each
@@markdavies8946 well if u don’t like what i say then don’t reply back coz i am telling the f**king truth about Gloucester end of
@@MrWill13245 I don't mind what you say, I'm learning about Gloucester. You seem passionate about this City. Just some advice, when covid is over, travel.
Have been to Gloucester. But was on a choir tour. We had home stays. We also used it as a hub. Will you sing at Gloucester Cathedral and Tewksbury.
Tewkesbury.
Its a shame they didn't put a red carpet out for these guys 😂
Yes and no “elevator” in Tudor building...
Don’t know why they come back to Britain if is so bad... stay over there . It annoys me intensely when Brits who emigrate to Other Countries then persistently put down their home country..it’s like he is trying to crawl up America’ s arse.
@@Ionabrodie69 I couldn't agree more. Who are they anyway? Lol 😂
Not Gloucester, but I had a wonderful stay in Canterbury in 2019, at the Cathedral Gate Hotel, with a room that faced out into a public square. They just gave up on any illusion of external quiet and just provided earplugs along with the towels and soap and things. Ironically, I have lived in a noisy neighborhood for 20 years and didn’t need them.
the cathedral is epic.
“We ran pretty sharpish.” American translation: “We ran for our dear lives.”
I visited a good part of England for 3 weeks back in1981. I remember every hotel I stayed in was just like "The New Inn". Electricity was not their strong point.
Always enjoy your videos. Interesting!
I am a new subscriber to this channel and I find it very entertaining and informative. As a note to seagulls I live in rapid City South Dakota and our garbage dump landfill attracts seagal's. I saw seagulls while in New York state that's how I could recognize the sounds. To my surprise we also have them in South Dakota.
I stayed a couple of nights in an "upscale" hotel near St. James in London. Despite its being "repaired" twice, I could not get the toilet to flush. Was wondering if toilets were flushed differently in England, you know, like driving on the opposite side of the road. I'd been in Zimbabwe, Egypt, France, and Austria. All the toilets, no matter the style or state of repair, flushed.
Gloucester has a lot to offer, yes it’s a bit rough round the edges. I live in the centre of Gloucester and the seagulls are arseholes nest on our roofs but after a couple of yrs you kind of not notice them x
Have you seen any other cities lol
Worcester also has a load of seagulls. One kept entering my mum's hotel room when she stayed there for the cricket one year. And the various gulls and wildfowl at Bath University are notorious
@@WolfGratz been there too, it's not far, again weston, Burnham, Bath and Bristol, all worse
@@karencooper3428 We used to stay at Bristol sometimes cos my dad's family spent the war there as my grandad worked for BAC which the Luftwaffe were fond of bombing .
@@WolfGratz I grew up a few miles from bac, dad worked for rolls Royce
Being from Bristol, occasionally visit Gloucester. I don’t know if your big fans of shopping but Gloucestershire Quays is good for that.
I wouldn't have had a nautical association with Gloucester. Oddly, I would have thought of cheese which probably doesn't make any sense. Although Gloucester, Massachusetts does make me think of the ocean and seaport. I like that there was a nice sea chanty performance. That makes it bit unique. Thanks for the information. Tarah's scarf is so delightfully retro British. Very pretty. Is that cider you are sipping,Tarah?
Gloucester has docks.
Gloria Stroedecke That’s not odd at all. There is a famous cheese called Double Gloucester.
NickyL I did have a vague recollection of an event that takes place in which a cheese wheel is rolled/chased down the hill. But if that happens in Gloucester that is what made the association. Have you tried the cheese?
Tarah Cantrell I had a feeling it was Angry Orchard. One of my favorites. That scarf is a great find!
TheRenaissanceman65 Sea "Charity"? Is Neptune taking up donations for underprivileged Mermaids?
You two are like sitting with friends while they recount their weird travel stories. I guess that’s what you were doing. However you are very engaging I felt like I was sitting on the other side of your coffee table.
Hi there. I really hope you enjoyed your visit to England. I will be flying out of England to America in September for three weeks. And the last 5 days will be in Chicago. I can't Waite to visit American and I love the American accent. WOW
OMGosh! You guys are cracking me up! LOL!
That's where my family lived before immigrating to the United States. Not Gloucester itself, but Gloucestershire. I believe my Great Great Grandfather was born in Stroud.
Not surprised he left
@@nickm8810 Stroud isn't too bad
Are you sure you weren’t staying in a Tudor style Fawlty Towers?? 😉 I’m glad it wasn’t a harrowing experience. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
No they are just a couple of wet wipes
Did you ever make your cotswold video? I just scrolled through your videos and couldn't see it!
Hi Laurence, sounds like an interesting experience in Gloucester Gloucester.
I notice on your vids the camera often shifts focus for a second, you could try focusing and then switching to manual focus so it doesn't start searching. Keep the vids coming.
Gloucester looks very interesting!
So I actually live in Gloucester and have been living in Gloucester all my life these guys have not done Gloucester at all like yes you have the docks but you also Gloucester rugby, the queys waterways museum the war museum got the sea cadets that parade in the evening and go rowing in the water like theirs so much got eastgate shopping centre, jdr karting and lasertag soo much so you need to do it again put stay at the premier inn or the hotel next to the station !!
I'm from gloucester and stayed in almost all the hotels near just because if you are going to attic with two or 3 mates cheaper then taxis and I'd say the centre hotel is the best in town
I like how u included jdr karting 😂 but it is still fun
5:35 I think they were either putting you on or really made a mistake umm - broken shower, too? Ye gods! I’ll make sure to check out hotels online :) glad you had fun though. 🌷🌱
Don't let the people shouting put you off as Gloucester on a whole is actually really nice, town centre not so much but try Luton Town centre an Gloucester will seem like a paradise lol, that place you stayed in is haunted an I will stay there at some point as I'm into all that, cathedral blew my mind an worth seeing
I know a really old inn being called 'The New Inn' can be a bit confusing. When they'd finished building it in 1450,they were at a loss what to call it. So, for a while, they didn't call it anything while they wrestled and argued with ideas such as 'The Miner's Shovel' or 'The Cooper's... er... thing for making buckets with...'. Anyway, while they were deliberating, the locals started calling it the NEW inn because... well... it was new. The other inns were a bit older but this one without even a name yet was opened last week... it was the NEW inn.
Well, when the committee for figuring out a name for the newly opened inn finally emerged two weeks and several barrels later, the chair of the committee who probably had a name like Grenling Cobbles or something said "We've decided to call it 'The Goose & Gander'."
"Call what 'The Goose & Gander'?" the people said, though probably not in unison.
"The inn" said the Chair of The Committee for figuring out a name for the newly opened inn.
"Which one?" spake the people.
"Wocher mean 'which one?' you daft buggers! THIS bluddy inn! The one you're throwin' up on the floor of right now! This inn wot we just finished buildin' you daft sods!"
"Oh, you mean the NEW inn?" the people said.
It was at this point that Grenling Cobbles had a brilliant idea. The local signwriter, Mylar Gurzle, charges a whole farthing per letter. He calculated that 'The Goose & Gander' was 25 letters longer than 'The New Inn'... maths wasn't his strong point. So the committee quickly agreed to go to Plan B and The New Inn was born.
No doubt hoping for a nice little earner here, Mylar Gurzle pointed out that it would not always be new (after he'd painted the sign of course). After a few more inns have been built, 'The Not Quite As Old As Some Of The Older Inns But Not Quite As New As The Newer Ones... Inn' might be more appropriate. The committee thought about this for about two seconds then Grenling Cobbles said "Nah. You're all right, mate. This'll do us".
I can't believe you witnessed somebody shouting at somebody else! That's UNHEARD of!! When was this? I haven't heard anything on the news about this. Who would have imagined that? In a CITY, of all places! I can only apologise on behalf of my fellow townfolk.
With regard to the wiring in the New Inn, Tudor electricians were notoriously shoddy... possibly due to the fact that electricity had yet to be harnessed. The good news is that it has now been refurbished. The BAD news is that what you saw WAS the refurbishments. The Tudor electricians had left exposed bits of string because they didn't now anything about electricity. The refurbishments in 2019 replaced the exposed bits of string with exposed bits of wire to bring it up to date.
Anyway, congratulations on getting out of Gloucester without being eaten. Not many manage that. Street cleaners have been complaining about clearing up all the remains every morning for years but nobody bothers to do anything about it.
So fun that the buildings are soooo old in Europe and the rest of the world.