Gloucestershire

Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Gloucestershire shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Gloucestershire offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Gloucestershire at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Gloucestershire? Wrong! If the Gloucestershire is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Gloucestershire then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Gloucestershire? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Gloucestershire and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Gloucestershire wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Gloucestershire then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Gloucestershire site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Gloucestershire, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Gloucestershire, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{| class="toccolours" style="border-collapse: collapse; float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="300"|+ Gloucestershire|-| colspan=2 style="text-align: center; background: white;" | |-| colspan=2 style="background: #f0f0f0; font-weight: bolder;" | Geography|-! width="45%" | Status|Ceremonial counties of England & (smaller) Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England county|-! width="45%" | Origin| Historic counties of England|-!Region:|South West England
- Total
- Admin. council
- Admin. area|[List of Ceremonial counties of England by Area
1 E9 m² square kilometre
List of Administrative shire counties of England by Area
2,653 km²|-!Admin HQ:|Gloucester:|GB-GLS|-![ONS coding system:|23|-!Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 3:|UKK13|-| colspan=2 style="background: #f0f0f0; font-weight: bolder;" " | Demographics|-! style="font-weight: normal;" | Population
- Total ()
- Density
- Admin. council
- Admin. pop.]

/ km²
List of non-metropolitan counties of England by population
|-!Ethnicity:|97.3% White|-| colspan=2 style="background: #f0f0f0; font-weight: bolder;" " | Politics|-|colspan=2 align=center|
Gloucestershire County Council
http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/|-!Executive||-! MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005|

Roger Berry Labour Party (UK)
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Conservative Party (UK)
Parmjit Dhanda Labour Party (UK)
David Drew Labour Party (UK)/Co-operative Party
Mark Harper Conservative Party (UK)
Martin Horwood Liberal Democrats (UK)
Doug Naysmith Labour Party (UK)/Co-operative Party
Dan Norris Labour Party (UK)
Laurence Robertson Conservative Party (UK)
Steve Webb Liberal Democrats (UK)

Gloucester

Tewkesbury (borough)

Cheltenham

Cotswold (district)

Stroud (district)

Forest of Dean (district)

South Gloucestershire (Unitary)

|}Gloucestershire (pronounced ; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a Counties of England in South West England England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean.

The county town is the City status in the United Kingdom of Gloucester, and other principal towns include Cheltenham, Stroud, England, Cirencester, and Tewkesbury.

When considered as a Ceremonial counties of England, Gloucestershire borders the Preserved counties of Wales of Gwent (county) in Wales, and in England the ceremonial counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Somerset and Bristol.

According to a 2002 campaign by the charity Plantlife, the county flower of Gloucestershire is the Wild DaffodilBBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3684291.stm, 5 May 2004, retrieved 8 April 2006..

History Historically, Gloucestershire, until 1973, included Bristol. The area of South Gloucestershire was made part of the administrative County of Avon in 1974. Upon the abolition of Avon in 1996, it became a unitary authority, and is now part of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire.

The official former postal county abbreviation was "Glos.", rather than the frequently used but erroneous "Gloucs." or "Glouc.".

2007 Flooding In 2007 United Kingdom floods in recorded British history, with tens of thousands of residents affected. The Royal Air Force conducted the largest peace time domestic operation in its history to rescue over 120 residents from flood affected areas. The damage has been estimated at over 2 billion pounds. BBC - News Flood crisis grows as rivers rise

The county is recovering rapidly from the disaster, investing in attracting tourists to visit the many sites and diverse range of shops in the area. Economy This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Gloucestershire at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.{| class="wikitable"|-! Year || Regional Gross Value AddedComponents may not sum to totals due to rounding || Agricultureincludes hunting and forestry || Industryincludes energy and construction || Servicesincludes financial intermediation services indirectly measured|-| 1995 || 5,771 || 196 || 1,877 || 3,698|-| 2000 || 8,163 || 148 || 2,677 || 5,338|-| 2003 || 10,617 || 166 || 2,933 || 7,517|}Also the river severn was damaged

Towns and villages Antiquities and other places of interest

Berkeley Castle, an example of a feudal stronghold.
Beverston Castle
Forest of Dean
Hailes Abbey
Owlpen Manor
Sudeley Castle
Tewkesbury Abbey
Tyndale Monument
WWT Slimbridge

The cathedrals of Gloucester Cathedral and Bristol Cathedral, the magnificent Tewkesbury Abbey of Tewkesbury, and the church of Cirencester with its great Perpendicular Period porch, are described under their separate headings. Of the abbey of Hailes near Winchcombe, founded by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, in 1246, little more than the foundations are left, but these have been excavated with great care, and interesting fragments have been brought to light.

Most of the old market towns have fine parish churches. At Deerhurst near Tewkesbury, and Bishop's Cleeve near Cheltenham, there are churches of special interest on account of the pre-Norman work they retain. The Perpendicular church at Lechlade is unusually perfect; and that at Fairford was built (c. 1500), according to tradition, to contain the remarkable series of stained-glass windows which are said to have been brought from the Netherlands. These are, however, adjudged to be of English workmanship, and are one of the finest series in the country.

Calcot, Gloucestershire Barn is an interesting relic of the abbey of Kingswood. Thornbury Castle is a fine Tudor dynasty ruin, the pretensions of which evoked the jealousy of Cardinal (Catholicism) Thomas Wolsey against its builder, Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, who was decapitation in 1521. Near Cheltenham is the fine 15th-century mansion of Southam de la Bere, of timber and stone. Memorials of the de la Bere family appear in the church at Cleeve. The mansion contains a tiled floor from Hailes Abbey. At Great Badminton is the mansion and vast domain of the Beauforts (formerly of the Botelers and others), on the south-eastern boundary of the county. At Owlpen is one of the most picturesque Tudor manor houses set in a densely-wooded valley.

There are several royal residences in Gloucestershire, including Highgrove House, Gatcombe Park, and (formerly) Nether Lypiatt Manor.

Gloucestershire in popular culture

In Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, Colonel White#The New Series's family estate is in Gloucestershire.
Laurie Lee's novel Cider with Rosie is set in Gloucestershire.
Loise Lawrence's apocalyptic novel Children of the Dust begins in Gloucestershire, and the following chapters are presumably set near the destroyed city.
The movie Hot Fuzz is set in Gloucestershire, in a fictional town called Sandford. It was actually filmed in Somerset in the city of Wells.