Dean Forest Railway - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Taurus Crafts is a vibrant visitor centre where you can see a wide range of arts and crafts. Throughout the year, there are opportunities to discover your own creativity, As well as being the home to a fantastic range of independent businesses, we run two shops with a mixed ability team.

Mallards Pike Lake is in the centre of the Forest of Dean and is a beautiful lake surrounded by woodland. The lake is a hub of activity, with something for everyone, such as big family picnic areas, Go Ape, watersports, family cycling trails, parkruns and Gruffalo Orienteering for kids.

Mallards Pike Lake is in the center of the Forest of Dean and is a beautiful lake surrounded by woodland. This is an ideal starting point for a walk or bike ride. This is the main location for Go Ape, the family cycle trail passes by here and there's a fab cafe too. One of the iconic attractions to relax and also you can spend some beautiful time with your loved ones in the center of greenery.

At Clearwell Caves you discover the hidden world the miners created, as they dug through impressive natural caverns to remove iron ore and ochre pigment. The caves are part of a Natural England designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and the notification includes parts of Clearwell along with Old Bow, Lambsquay and Old Ham mine complexes.

A beautiful two large ponds, which offers a large flat grassed area close to the car park and next to the ponds. It was home to lots of wildlife including mandarin ducks, awards, and dragonflies. The top pond is a wildlife trust nature reserve.

St Briavel’s was an important royal castle on the frontier with Wales and the administrative and judicial centre of the Forest of Dean – a royal hunting ground where the game was protected and the king alone allowed to hunt. It was originally built between 1075 and 1129 as a royal administrative centre for the Forest of Dean. During the 13th century the castle became first a favourite hunting lodge of King John, and then the primary centre in England for the manufacture of quarrels, large numbe