The Forest of Dean

Thursday 22nd December 2011 

After a couple of days in Brecon I left and headed back into England, but just as I reached the border I nipped into the Forest of Dean. This is an area that I'd never been to before so when I realised that I drive past it every time I go to Brecon I decided to stop and enjoy the delights of this large area of woodland. I was possibly not seeing the forest at its best, but nevertheless this was still a grand walk with a much wider variation in colour than I would maybe get at other times of the year. Just like the day before I was following a walk that I’d found in the pages of TGO magazine. This time I was following the directions to walk 8 in the October 2011 issue. I parked near the Speech House Hotel in the centre of the forest and struck out along the broad Spruce Ride soon reaching the picturesque Speech House Lake. The weather for this walk was fantastic and  the sun shone along the length of the water lighting the northern end in a multitude of colours that you simply wouldn’t get in the middle of the summer. Returning to the Spruce Ride I followed the straight-as-an-arrow lane until it deteriorated into an abominably muddy track, which after the relaxing stroll along Spruce Ride was a huge crash back down to Earth. Somehow I managed to get through the slippery mud and up to the small hill-top settlement of Staple-edge where I turned right and slowly descended the ridge all the way down to Mallards Pike Lake which could be glimpsed through the trees. 

I crossed a road and continued along forest tracks into an open area which afforded me with good views of the surrounding area. I was finding that the problem with walking in woodland is that views are poor unless a gap can be found in the trees. At this point I could see over bracken and scrub to the undulating landscape of trees arrayed in their many colours, from the dark greens of the conifers to the light browns of the bare deciduous trees. After passing the Rising Sun Inn I joined a cycle track that took me all the way down to the Cannop Ponds. From the dam of the northern pond I climbed steeply through dark coniferous woodland to the edge of Broadwell, and turning north I took a weaving route along the western edge of the forest above the steep valley of Wimberry Slade until I got to Edge End where I turned back into the forest and wearily made my way back into the heart of the forest at Speech House. 

Walking though woodland is always invigorating but after a while it started to get a bit tedious for me. By the time I reached my car I was relieved to be back as towards the end the never-ending miles were beginning to drag. The lack of views is a real killer for woods but in small doses there is nothing better. If I was in the Forest of Dean in the spring maybe things would be have been different, as there would then be more to look at than just bare trees. I do have one reservation though in that none of the trees looked particularly old, probably because this is a working forest where mature trees are felled in favour of new ones. Still a return at a better time of the year would not be a bad idea to fully appreciate the appeal of the Forest of Dean.