Trip to the Forest of Dean

 

 

 

So I live in quite a central location in England, so it is easy to access places.

 

One of the places I have not visited for many years is Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean. 

 

It has been used for filming many things, from Doctor Who, Jack the Giant Slayer, Star Wars and recently The Secret Garden.

 

Dotted around the woods, there were interesting facts such as

• Roman forts used nails forged in the Forest of Dean
• To extract the iron, iron ore was heated to 1150 degrees by burning charcoal made from trees
• Iron Ore was mined in the area by the Romans and the local people before them
• Iron is magnetic, but hematite (the iron ore found in the Forest of Dean) is not
• In 1849, 3000 Roman coins from 3rd century AD were found in these woods

It was a very overcast day, so the images do look rather "flat", but I think it still depicts the variety of trees, roots and moss that are in the Forest.

I do always enjoy looking up when in amongst tall trees, sometimes they just seem to go on and on.

I did like this branch, which had many other small branches growing from it that looked like an American skyline!

Whilst walking around met this lady who is incredibly solo travelling from Australia around not only the UK but also some of Europe.

I found that incredibly brave as she was only 25 to be solo travelling!  But what an adventure. 

After the woods, before heading home, I stopped off at Mallards Pike.  A walk I used to do many times in a former life, when I used to own dogs.

The weather forecast was a bit amiss as there were showers, but nothing that standing under a tree to shelter wouldn't solve for a few minutes. 

So if you're ever in need of a "tree" fix, head over to the Forest of Dean, you will certainly get it there!