It’ll be February next week, and with wassailing season drawing to a close, this week in Stroud is mostly about pretending to be Scottish.
That’s right, Burns Night falls on a Saturday this year and with it come opportunities to eat haggis, neeps and tatties up and down the Five Valleys, along with whiskies of varying qualities.
Find out more in our regular look at things coming up in Stroud and the wider district. To suggest an event for inclusion in 2025 use this form.
Regular and one off events
- Celebrate Burns Night at the Sub Rooms – Wed 22 Jan, 6pm
Chef Lynsey lays on a special Burns Night feast as part of the Sub Rooms’ regular pop-up restaurant series. The menu consists of cock-a-leekie soup, followed by haggis, neeps and tatties with whisky sauce, and clootie dumpling for dessert.
- Learn stone carving at Breakheart Quarry – Sat 25 Jan, from 9am
Join Stephen L’Normand from the Stonemasons Guild for a day of stone carving at Breakheart Quarry, on Stinchcombe Hill above the poetically named Waterley Bottom. Choose from a range of stonecarving subjects including relief carving, grotesques and letter cutting and make your own piece to take home.
- Attend a Burns Night Ceilidh at Jolly Nice – Sat 25 Jan, 6:30pm
Ceilidh band the Traditional Group bring a lively evening of ceilidh dancing to the big tent at Jolly Nice, following what we are promised will be ‘a hearty Burns Night feast’. Be sure to arrive well before 6:45pm to witness the blessing of the haggis.
- Celebrate Burns Night at Burleigh Court – Sat 25 Jan, 6:30pm
For those with slightly deeper pockets, the Burleigh Court Hotel team celebrate Burns Night with a five course dinner in association with the Speyside Macallan Distillery. Guests are told to expect a special menu created by the hotel’s Scottish head chef, David Brown, with courses paired with five of Macallan whiskies.
- Celebrate Burns Night at Vinotopia – Sat 25 Jan, 6:45pm
Vinotopia’s Nailsworth Wine Barn comes over all Scottish for the evening, with a special Burns Supper, featuring four courses, five wines and a whisky to toast the haggis. You can find the Wine Barn on the Nailsworth Mills Estate by Nailsworth Garden Centre, and hopefully your taxi driver can too.
- Watch cabaret for the Heavens – Sat 25 Jan, 7:30pm
Stroud’s own Love Circus brings together a one off evening of entertainment at Lansdown Hall, featuring special guest spots from Stroud stalwarts Tweedy and Johnny Fluffypunk. Funds raised go to support the Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society and their ongoing efforts to bring the Heavens Valley into community ownership.
Continuing this week
- See the Setting the Scene exhibition at Gallery Pangolin – Until 1 February
Gallery Pangolin’s first exhibition of 2025 seeks to set the scene for the year ahead, with a mix of sculpture, prints and drawings. The exhibition is dominated by twentieth century sculpture, including works from the late Charlotte Mayer, former Lypiatt Park owner Lynn Chadwick and celebrated Cornish farmer/sculptor Terence Coventry.
Further afield
- Take a tour of the Folk of Gloucester – Thu 23 – Sat 25 Jan, 11am
Take a tour of this fascinating Tudor timber-framed building in the heart of Gloucester, now reinvented as the Folk of Gloucester following a previous life as the Folk Museum. Join one of the Folk’s costumed tour guides for fascinating stories and gory tales which evoke the five-century history of the building. Plus, take advantage of a special offer in January, with a free tea or coffee with every ticket.
For a full month of art, music, theatre, literature, film and comedy events, pick up a copy of Stroud’s popular listings magazine, Good on Paper.