The organisers of the eco protests which have brought chaos to London plotted their campaign in a small Cotswold market town which has become known as 'Hippy Central.'
Four key players behind Extinction Rebellion (XR) come from Stroud in Gloucestershire, and they were regularly joined by activists from all over the country in a small vegetarian café where they plotted the mayhem.
Co-founders Dr Gail Bradbrook and her partner Simon Bramwell, 46, live there - and, nearby, two of the first to be arrested for damaging the Shell building, Jane Augsburger and Katerina Hasapopolous, have had homes on the same street.
Dr Gail Bradbrook, a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, is pictured this morning at the protest on Waterloo Bridge in London
The beautiful £400,000 Grade II-listed cottage in Stroud, Gloucestershire, where Extinction Rebellion protest co-founder Dr Gail Bradbrook used to live with her husband, former RAF fighter pilot John Fisher
They were joined by other protesters in the Star Anise café in the town centre in the weeks before they launched the campaign to plan their civil disobedience.
'They would often come in here and we would see Dr Gail,' said Azra Sangster who works in the café where leaflets warning of 'Ecocide' adorn the walls.
'They are all very nice and there is a big movement in the town over the awareness of climate change and what is happening to our Earth.'
Stroud is one of the 'greenest' towns in the country with its town council and district councillors fully signed up to tackling climate change and hoping it is 'carbon neutral' by 2030.
Many New Age supporters and other allied groups have moved into Stroud.
Jane Augsburger was among those arrested following a protest outside the Shell headquarters in London on Monday
The home in Stroud of Jane Augsburger, who was arrested for criminal damage outside Shell's headquarters on Monday
One resident said: 'If Stroud had a theme tune it would have to be 'Shiny Happy People' by REM.
Many New Age supporters and other allied groups have moved into Stroud
Dr Bradbrook, 47, who has been described as the Godmother of XR, has lived in Stroud since 2006, having set up home in a Grade II-listed cottage with her husband a former RAF fighter pilot John Fisher.
But the marriage ended when the committed climate change warrior left the £400,000 home after returning from Costa Rica having taking a psychedelic drug which she said re-wired her brain and gave her the codes for 'social change.'
Mr Fisher still lives in the cottage overlooking playing fields on the edge of the town and the couple share custody of their two young boys. He is looking after them while his ex-wife is leading protests in London.
When approached by MailOnline, he declined to comment.
Since the split, she lives in rented accommodation in the town with her partner former builder Bramwell, who also often stays at his 80-year-old mother's home.
He was photographed being led away by police after his arrest outside The Shell building on Monday.
His mother Sheila said while she supported his demonstration and arrest, she wasn't too happy about the disruption to public transport when activists climbed on the roof of a Docklands Light Railway train, causing huge disruption to commuters.
'That was a bit self-defeating and I did not agree with that. The point of the demonstration was to get cars off the road and people to use public transport. If that can't run what is the point.'
Police officers detain climate change activist Simon Bramwell, 46, outside the Shell building in London on Monday
Bramwell, who was arrested earlier this week, often stays at his 80-year-old mother's home in Stroud, Gloucestershire
Dr Bradbrook has been involved in other activists groups in Stroud and two years ago stripped to her underwear to protest the installation of an incinerator in town, which is about 90 miles from London.
She told MailOnline that her own green credentials were not the best as she drives a diesel car and added: 'No one is perfect.'
Katerina Hasapopolous has also been involved in the protests
She said the car was vital to get around in the rural community where she lives with her partner and two children.
'I would like an electric car but I could not afford one. I am not perfect, I know that. But something has to be done or we are all 'f***ed.'
