Overview
- New travel features portray the Cotswold town as exceptionally desirable for its independent shops, cafes and honey‑colored stone streets.
- The focal Market Square is heavily used for car and coach parking, which visitors report diminishes the ambience, especially in peak season.
- Notable draws include St Edward’s Church’s much‑photographed “Tolkien door” and The Porch House, which claims late‑10th‑century origins.
- Stow’s past includes market charters in 1107 and 1476, a wool trade bustling enough for Daniel Defoe to note 20,000 sheep in a day, and a 1646 Civil War battle.
- Affluence frames the setting, with average house prices near £600,000 and nearby high‑end attractions such as Daylesford Organic, Soho Farmhouse, the Moreton‑in‑Marsh Show and The Big Feastival; no official parking changes are reported.