Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England.
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Forest of Dean
5 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Cinderford Ironworks
Cinderford Ironworks, also known as Cinderford Furnace, was a coke-fired blast furnace, built in 1795, just west of Cinderford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England.
3.4 km · historic site in England, UK · Wikipedia - 02Dean Heritage Centre
The Dean Heritage Centre is located in the valley of Soudley, Gloucestershire, England in the Forest of Dean and exists to record and preserve the social and industrial history of the area and its people. The centre comprises the museum itself, a millpond and waterwheel, forester's cottage with garden and animals, art and craft exhibitions and workshops, and trails around the surrounding woodland.
3.6 km · industrial heritage centre and museum in Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom · Wikipedia - 03Parkend Ironworks
Parkend Ironworks, also known as Parkend Furnace, in the village of Parkend, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, was a coke-fired furnace built in 1799. Most of the works were demolished between 1890 and 1908, but the engine house survived and is arguably the best preserved example of its kind to be found in the United Kingdom.
2.7 km · historic site in England, UK · Wikipedia - 04Speech House
The Speech House is a hotel and former administrative building in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England, lying at the centre of the forest on the road from Coleford to Cinderford. The building was originally constructed as a hunting lodge for Charles II and the Speech House was authorised by the Dean Forest Act 1667 (19 & 20 Cha.
2 km · building in West Dean, United Kingdom · Wikipedia - 05Speech House Oaks
Speech House Oaks is a 16.26-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1972. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site.
2.1 km · Site of Special Scientific Interest · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
The Speech House walk is well worth to see for sculptures deep inside the Forest. Clearwell Caves are ancient Iron mines estimated to be worked for over 8,000 years and is worth a look into. Lydney Park is worth a visit to see some Roman ruins. Great Western Railway Museum (Coleford) is excellent for steam buffs. The main feature is the landscape - some of the towns are very ordinary.
From Wikivoyage: Forest of Dean, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Lots of scope for walking and off-road cycling. Quite a few marked trails.
- 01Way2go Adventures
20 Forest Road Milkwall Coleford, active@way2goadventures.co.uk.
From Wikivoyage: Forest of Dean, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Lots of nice restaurants and also good quality pub meals.
From Wikivoyage: Forest of Dean, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Forest of Dean
- Airports
- Bristol (BRS), 47 km · Cardiff (CWL), 71 km · Birmingham (BHX), 92 km
- Stations
- Parkend railway station, 2.7 km · Ruspidge Halt railway station, 3.2 km · Speech House Road railway station, 2.3 km
- Bristol → Forest of Dean39 km · quickest by road, 1h 41m · £5–7
- Cardiff → Forest of Dean57 km · quickest by road, 2h 4m · £7–9
- Birmingham, West Midlands → Forest of Dean87 km · quickest by road, 2h 41m · £10–13
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Forest of Dean
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Forest of Dean. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Go nextThe bridge over the river, which opened in 1906 and replaced a ferry (which promptly went bankrupt owing to an inevitable loss of custom), is particularly fine.
From Wikivoyage: Tintern, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
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If you know how people move in Forest of Dean – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean is 37 km from Bristol, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.