Forest Green Rovers and Stroud Brewery have been given a national television platform after featuring in the latest episode of BBC One’s Countryfile.
Broadcast on Sunday evening, November 1, the programme travelled to the Stroud district to examine the links between football, sustainable food, farming and locally produced organic beer. Its two features focused on local organisations whose work has helped associate the area with sustainability, organic produce and environmentally conscious business.
Inside Forest Green Rovers’ Nailsworth story
Presenter Vick Hope visited Forest Green Rovers, the Nailsworth-based club known affectionately as the “little club on the hill”. The report explored how a football team from a small Gloucestershire hamlet progressed into the professional leagues.
Hope spoke to FGR fan and football historian Tim Barnard about the club’s story. Former player Alex Sykes also contributed an insight into Forest Green’s history, adding historical and personal context to the feature.
The presenter then moved from the television studio to the pitch, trying her hand at mowing the playing surface alongside club groundsman Nick Johnstone. The behind-the-scenes section showed one of the practical jobs involved in maintaining the ground at the Nailsworth club.
A football club built around food and sustainability
The programme also considered how Forest Green’s environmental approach extends beyond football matches. The club is recognised as the world’s first fully vegan football club, with its food offering and wider environmental policies forming an important part of its identity.
The feature linked that approach to eco chairman Dale Vince. Rather than presenting the club only through its sporting history, the programme examined the way its environmental commitments influence what happens away from the pitch, including the food prepared for players.
Matt Baker met the greengrocer who supplies Forest Green with fresh produce before going into the club’s kitchen. There, he saw seasonal vegetables being turned into meals for the players, illustrating how locally sourced ingredients fit into the club’s food operation.
From Stroud barley to organic beer
Baker also followed the journey of locally brewed organic beer from the barley field to the pint glass. That part of the episode highlighted Stroud Brewery and its place in the district’s local food and drink story.
Together, the segments gave viewers across the country an introduction to two Stroud-area organisations whose identities are connected with sustainable production and environmental choices. Forest Green’s vegan football model and Stroud Brewery’s organic beer provided two different examples of how food, farming and business were presented as part of the area’s wider story.
How to watch
The episode was promoted as a special edition of Countryfile on BBC One. It is available through BBC Countryfile under the title Forest Green Rovers, allowing viewers to watch the features on the Nailsworth club, its food operation and Stroud Brewery.
