Sport

Is central to the life of the city. On Saturday afternoons in the season the streets around Kingsholm swarm with the Cherry and Whites' loyal fans, and visiting teams endure the chanting of the much-feared Shed heads.

In summer there's a big Cricket Festival by the river and Gloucestershire Cricket Club has its home at Winget in the leafy southern suburbs. All year round skittle leagues are the focus of fierce neighbourhood rivalries in the long, thin alleys tacked to the back of pubs. In winter the floodlights of Gloucester City Football Club glare from the darkness of the river meadows.