Stow on the Wold today
Stow on the Wold in the 21st century looks quite a lot like Stow on the Wold in the 17th century.
Stow is still the hub and service town for a rural community, but it has maintained it's traditional character. Stow is largely a town of small independent businesses rather than the large chains that make almost every town in Britain look the same.
It is this traditional character combined with the lovely honey coloured cotswold stone buildings that make Stow on the Wold so popular with tourists looking for picture postcard England. The tourist trade makes it possible for Stow to support many more good hotels, B&Bs, pubs and restaurants than a town with a population of around 3000 would normally have.
Stow on the Wold has been famous for some years as a centre for the antiques trade but in the last few years clusters of art galleries and fashionable clothing shops have started to challenge the predominance of antiques in Stow.
Although Stow is still located at the junction of several routes, motorways have taken most of the heavy traffic and the pretty market square is away from the main roads. 21st century Stow combines the good aspects of modern convenience with the Cotswold's ancient beauty.