Gloucestershire Tourist Guide - Articles

Visit Coleford which is a small market town in the west of the Forest of Dean which has a population of around 8,500. It is situated approximately four miles to the East of the Welsh border on the English side, and is close to the Wye Valley, a popular walking and canoeing area. The town is the administrative centre of the Forest of Dean district.

Coleford takes its name from one of the two rivers that merge in its centre, and was, as its name suggests, a fording point for the river. All the streams were culverted in the 19th century, but the one flowing through St John's Street was reopened in 2001 to allow for maintenance work to take place, before being recovered.

Vist Coleford as it is one of the oldest towns in the Forest of Dean, largely developed and not deeply affected by coal mining, which became the forest's staple industry during the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries. For this reason, it greatly differs visually from Cinderford the other major town situated in the east of the forest.

Coleford's architecture is mainly Georgian in appearance, although many of the façades are in fact covering much older buildings. Notable buildings include 'The Angel' pub, with its large arched entrance, hinting at its coaching inn days and the Clock Tower in the centre of the town (pictured below).

The Clock Tower was originally attached to an octagonal church, built in 1821, but when, in 1882, this church was considered to be too small for the town's population, the main building was demolished, leaving only the tower. A new, much larger church (St John's) was built on a hillside overlooking the town. One building which has survived is the former goods shed for the old railway line to Monmouth, which is now a museum to the history of the local rail network.

Today, due to its excellent location in the heart of the Forest, Coleford is popular with walkers and cyclists, and the local council have been striving to encourage further tourist interest in the area.