Pride Focus: Gloucestershire Pride

: Photograph by jamesclay (via Flickr)

It is easy to go through life and never hear much about Gloucestershire. It’s tucked away over in the west somewhere, and Hot Fuzz was set there.

What better reason to visit, though, than to check out the local gays and celebrate gay life? Fortunately for us, Gloucestershire Pride takes place this weekend, 18 June, in the city of Gloucester: a two-hour drive from London or slightly less by train directly from Paddington.

We spoke with Pride chairperson Michael Charlton-Hubble, who tells us, ‘a visit to Gloucester for Gloucestershire Pride is a chance to get away from the fast-paced life of the big city and to relax at a more leisurely pace at a smaller Gay Pride. We like to describe ourselves as “the small Pride with the big heart”. Our parade through central Gloucester is literally a march – no vehicles apart from a police officer on a motorbike and a Rolls Royce with some of the dignitaries.

‘The Pride itself, in the park, is informal, with stage performances by mainly local artists in a “village fete” atmosphere, with competitions for cheese rolling, handbag-throwing and other fun things to try. There will be the usual array of stalls, with charities, community groups and commercial companies represented.’

Gloucestershire Pride starts at noon in Gloucester Park. A parade sets off at 1.00pm, starting outside the Shire Hall in Westgate Street and it runs for about a mile before ending in the park. The event is free of charge.

For information about the event, visit the Gloucestershire Pride website. For information on local accommodation, visit Cotswolds.com

Photo from Flickr user jamesclay, used with thanks.

About the Author

Caspar Aremi

Caspar grew up in north Scotland, but fled to London in 2002 where he has since become an honourary EastEnder. He manages user generated content and social media accounts for government agencies while not nagging SSG contributors to write more.