Gloucestershire Tourist Guide - Articles

The Forest of Dean is an area of outstanding natural beauty that is often overlooked by visitors to the Cotswold’s. It covers an area of around 24,000 acres and lies between the Severn Estuary and Wales. It became the country’s first National Park in 1938, its varied landscape now attracting walkers, cyclists, nature lovers, artists or those just looking for a variety of places to visit within a peaceful rural landscape. Within the guide you will find all the information you need to make the most of your visit, including all types of Forest of Dean Accommodation. There is something for everyone here, with a fantastic choice of outdoor and leisure pursuits, beautiful villages, historic towns such as Coleford and Cinderford and the port of Lydney on the River Severn where the harbour is enjoying a revival.

The Dean Heritage Centre pictured above is located in Soudley and records the social and industrial history of the area and its people. The centre comprises a museum, beam engine, waterwheel, forester's cottage, craft workshops, art and craft exhibitions, nature trails, adventure play area, picnic tables, barbeque hearths, pigs, shops and a restaurant called The Heritage Kitchen which provides home made snacks and full meals.

The museum consists of five galleries telling the history of The Forest of Dean through displays of a wide variety of artefacts from industries such as coal and iron mining, timber, stone working and clock making that have been supported by the forest throughout its history.

The Dean Heritage Museum Trust is a registered charity formed in 1979 in response to concern that the heritage of The Forest of Dean was disappearing. The trust bought a scrap yard called Camp Mill and opened a museum there in 1983.

The forest is steeped in history. The Royal Forest of Dean was first established by William the Conqueror nearly a thousand years ago as a royal hunting forest. There are Iron Age forts and the area was settled by the Romans, the attraction was the natural resources of the area, including iron ore, ochre and charcoal produced from the woods. Later, the forest was used exclusively as Royal hunting grounds by the Tudor Kings but its rich deposits of iron ore led to its becoming a major source of iron at this time. Timber from the forest was particularly fine and was regarded as the best source for building ships, including possibly the Mary Rose and Admiral Lord Nelson's ship, the Victory.

The forest is composed of both deciduous and evergreen trees. Predominant is oak, both pedunculate and sessile. Beech is also common, and sweet chestnut has grown here for centuries. Conifers include some Weymouth Pine dating from 1781, Norway spruce, douglas fir and larch. The deer are predominantly fallow, reintroduced during the second world war. Regrettably the red squirrels are long gone, and the grey squirrels are abundant and cause much damage. Wild boar have been re-introduced and are growing in numbers. The Dean is well known for its western birds - pied flycatcher, redstart and woodwarbler. Hawfinch are regularly seen. The mixed forest supports what is probably Britain's best concentration of goshawk - a viewing site at New Fancy is manned during February and March when the soaring birds are best seen. Peregrine can be easily seen nesting from the viewpoint at Symonds Yat rock. The ponds in the Forest are good for mandarin duck which nest up in the trees. Butterflies of note are small pearl bordered fritillary, wood white, white admiral. Gorsty knoll is famed for its glow-worms and Woorgreens lake for its dragonflies.