For new-comers to the village… and others
Sheepscombe is a friendly village, and your neighbours will be happy to provide you with information to help you settle in. The Sheepscombe News is a monthly magazine which will be delivered to you for a subscription, and you can also subscribe to the Social Scene; an email newsletter which is updated very frequently.
Below is some information about services within the village.
Refuse collection
Refuse is collected each Tuesday morning. The Council provides plastic bags for general waste, and plastic bins or bags for recyclable waste. There is also a grey plastic bin for food waste.
General waste and recyclables are collected on alternate Tuesdays. Food waste is collected weekly. Place your waste at the entrance to your house early in the morning. Please ensure that the food bins are locked, and that all refuse is protected from foxes or badgers, who know that Tuesday can be a possible easy breakfast!
Bus Service
Public transport is very limited, but there is a bus service that runs between Sheepscombe and Stroud on a Thursday and Saturday. The timetable can be viewed here.
Mail and other deliveries
Royal Mail deliver each day but can arrive quite late. Since all houses in the village have names and not numbers, it is not a simple matter for delivery vehicles to find you, and large lorries often cannot get through the lanes. Check with delivery companies whether they can send small lorries or vans.
There are several post boxes throughout the village, the main one being next to the Village Hall. Collections are at 4:30pm. The main Collection Office is at Salmon Springs, on the outskirts of Painswick, and parcels that cannot be delivered are usually held there.
Shops
Pharmacy: nearest is on the main street of Painswick.
Groceries: nearest general store is Best-One in Painswick, open 7 days.
Fresh produce: Nearest farm shop is Stancombe Beech Farm, near Bisley,
GL6 7NF.
Petrol: The Green Shop, near Bisley, GL6 7BX and J.W. Goddards in Painswick, GL6 6XN.
(The Green Shop also sells Hobbs House bread, some general groceries and a wide range of ecological goods.)
Fuel oil: There is no gas in the village and many people use oil as their heating fuel. The Sheepscombe Oil Syndicate enables villagers to buy heating oil as a group and obtain substantial discounts compared with buying individually. Contact them at sheepscombeoilsyndicate@gmail.com.
General shopping: In Stroud you will find the supermarkets: Waitrose, Tesco, and Sainsburys, plus a small branch of the Co-op. There is an award-winning Farmers’ Market every Saturday morning in the centre of the town, plus many independent shops and cafes.
Newspapers
Newspapers can be ordered from ??? and are delivered to the Butchers Arms pub in the centre of the village. You can collect them from just inside the porch door.
Milk
Milk, dairy produce, juices, eggs etc. can be ordered from The Cotteswold Dairy and delivered to your door.
Dogs
There are many wonderful walks around the village (see the Countryside page). Please remember that dogs cannot be allowed to run free where there is livestock, and always be sure to leave gates as you found them, open or shut.
Medical Professionals
There are doctors’ surgeries and dentists in Painswick, as well as in Stroud. There is a small hospital in Stroud with an A&E department that is open in the daytime. The two main hospitals are in Gloucester (24 hour A&E) and Cheltenham.