The Local

Author Kate Young on her Stroud highlights

Author and cook, Kate Young writes queer romcoms and essays about delicious food. Her latest cookbook; Dinner at mine?, was published in March this year. Kate is based in Stroud. These are some of her favourite haunts.

The walk
We're so lucky to be in the heart of the five valleys - there is no bad direction to head if you want to walk from the centre of town. I love the canal, I love Rodborough Common (do stop for a ice cream at Winstones), I love the walk to the Woolpack along the Laurie Lee way, I love to head up to Standish Woods during the bluebell season. If you like to be outside, if you like seeing something green, you're coming to the right place. 

The market
I've been visiting Stroud since I first came to the UK nearly two decades ago. Long before I moved I was obsessed with the Saturday farmers' market - one of the best in the country. I still go every week for jalapeno sauerkraut, bunches of wildflowers, the most delicious cream in the world, sweet lettuce that stays crisp for a good ten days, and a samosa or two to eat as I wander. 

The coffee
I am horribly biased, because I work there a day a week, but come and get a coffee and a kimchi toastie from us in Rough Hands. The coffee is so delicious (I'm drinking a cold brew as I type this) and the vibe so lovely that I literally begged until Sam agreed I could have a job. 

The bookshop
Head to Borderless Books and ask Myla to recommend something. Her bookshop opened in March, hosts gorgeous events, is superbly curated, and is slowly going to bankrupt me. 

The restaurant
Juliet opened in town eighteen months ago, and I've been going regularly since its very first week. Their bistro menu always offers me exactly what I want - whether that's a snack and a little negroni at the bar, a little lunchtime plate and a glass of wine, or a table groaning under the weight of every small plate on the menu. Their menu shifts with the seasons, but I'll never get bored of their staples either; the ouef mayonnaise is a dream, the steak tartare a joy, every sorbet I've had a revelation. 

The pub
At 6am, after sunrise on Rodborough Common with Boss Morris, you can go to the Prince Albert Pub for bacon sandwiches and a singalong. They can't be beaten.