Walking in the Forest of Dean

Guidebook to 25 walks in the Forest of Dean, between the Severn and Wye, from 4-mile routes to all-day sections of long-distance trails such as the Offa's Dyke Path and Gloucestershire Way, this guide is ideal for exploring the forest and its history and includes the information needed for walkers of all abilities to explore this ancient area.

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Overview

A walking guidebook to the Forest of Dean Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. From short walks of 4 miles to all-day sections of long-distance routes such as the Offa's Dyke path and the Gloucestershire Way, the 25 walks in this guidebook gives you the information needed to enjoy a wide range of walking among the rolling countryside of the Forest of Dean.

21 of the walks are circular, and 4 one-way linear routes along historic long-distance trails are described, alongside 1:25,000 OS map extracts and a wealth of background information on places of interest along the way. The walks in this guidebook take you to all corners of the forest, along shaded valleys and gorges, across wide-open farmland and over high ridges with big views. Every route is supplemented by historic, geological and wildlife information to help you make the most of your days walking in the Forest of Dean, as well as practical information on public transport and other local facilities.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
Introduction
Geology and landscape
Plants and wildlife
The impact of man
Getting to and around the Forest
Where to stay
What to take
Maps and waymarking
Using this guide
1 Above the River Wye
Walk 1 Around the northern ridges
Walk 2 Biblins and Yat Rock
Walk 3 The Stones of Staunton
Walk 4 Dean’s Cathedral and the old Wye
Walk 5 Across the Hudnalls
Walk 6 To the Devil’s Pulpit
Walk 7 Woolaston Common
2 The Heart of the Forest
Walk 8 Speculation and the northern collieries
Walk 9 Bixslade and Cannop Ponds
Walk 10 Nagshead and Dark Hill
Walk 11 Parkend to Blakeney
Walk 12 The Sculpture Trail
Walk 13 New Fancy and the Speech House
Walk 14 Mallards Pike
Walk 15 Soudley Ponds and Blaize Bailey
Walk 16 The Soudley Rural Geology Trail
3 Eastern Dean and Severn Shore
Walk 17 May Hill
Walk 18 Littledean and Welshbury
Walk 19 Longhope and Flaxley
Walk 20 Newnham and Bullo Pill
Walk 21 The Awre Peninsula and the Old Severn Bridge
4 The Long-distance Trails
Walk 22 Offa’s Dyke Path
Walk 23 The Gloucestershire Way in the western Forest
Walk 24 The Gloucestershire Way through central Dean
Walk 25 The Wysis Way

Appendix A Route summary table
Appendix B Useful contacts

Maps

Every one of the routes included in this guide is covered on a single 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey (OS) map, Outdoor Leisure sheet 14 (Wye Valley & Forest of Dean), and it is recommended that this should be used to supplement the detail provided on the 1:50,000 map extracts which have been reproduced at 1:40,000 in this book. Many of the routes use forest roads and tracks, which may occasionally be closed because of forest operations.

Waymarking in the Forest of Dean is extremely variable, ranging from exemplary along the Offa’s Dyke Path national trail to unsatisfactory in a number of the less frequented parts of the area. Even some of the better-known routes, such as the Wysis Way, suffer from erratic waymarking, with signposting missing at a number of crucial points along the route. Some roadside signposts are missing, vandalised or badly sited, and waymarks in the deeper countryside are not provided in some crucial places. Gloucestershire County Council’s priority is to maintain roadside signposts rather than to waymark routes in the countryside, which is understandable because of resource constraints but can be deeply frustrating. Path problems can be reported online at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/prow. Where problems exist a more detailed description of the path to be followed is given in the route description.

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