GIFFORDS Circus rolls back into Stroud next week after the first stage of a whirlwind summer tour of the UK.

The Painted Wagon’s new whip-crackin', horse-wranglin', boot-stompin' show will pitch up at Frampton on Severn Village Green on August 4.

The Wild West extravaganza will be performing two daily shows in the village from Thursday 4 until Monday 8.

From there the show will head up to Minchinhampton Common from Thursday 11 until Monday 22.

There are still tickets available for shows, which feature acrobatics and aerialists, dancing horses, bounty hunting and gold panning, all to the beat of the Dodge City Giffords Circus saloon band.

Stroud News and Journal:

Gun-slinging, rope-spinning teenage cowgirl Lilian Konyot joins the troupe for the first time.

Giffords Circus stalwarts Madame Nancy Trotter-Landry, rodeo rider Dan Fortt, jugglers Bibi and Bichu, El Gifford and funny man Tweedy the Clown all make a welcome return.

Top stage and screen director, Cal McCrystal is back for his fifth year as director.

Cal’s portfolio of work includes comedy direction of the Royal National Theatre’s West End and Broadway hit, One Man, Two Guvnors, the clown routines in Cirque du Soleil and the original Mighty Boosh, along with comedy consultation on major movies.

The circus’s unique 60-seat restaurant will follow the group and serve up a delicious meal at the end of the final show on each day.

The kitchen is housed in two magnificent showman's wagons with an awning attached to the side, providing space for grand candle-lit, communal oak tables.

The tour started in May and runs through the summer months until September.

The final show returns to Giffords HQ at Fennells Farm in Stroud from September 22-25.

For more information and to buy tickets, priced from £22 for adults and £14 for children, visit www.giffordscircus.com