Great place to spot Peregrines
The spring and summer are special times, too, in the Wye Valley. At Symonds Yat, a village cut in two by a 400ft gorge of sandstone cliffs, you are likely to see Peregrines. It’s one of the best places in the country to spot them and you can get help from RSPB staff at their viewpoint at the top of the craggy gorge. Cinderford is the administrative centre of the forest, a town of 7500 people. But the essence of the area is the woodland walks through broadleaved oak areas, now augmented with conifer plantings.

Part of the 177-mile Offa’s Dyke path runs past the forest, marking the English-Welsh border. It’s quite easy to walk a short section of the path, three miles of the great defensive earthwork built by Offa, King of Mercia, from AD 757 to AD 796. The English Heritage-managed section is three miles north of Chepstow off the B4228. Access is via Forest Enterprise Tidenham car park then a mile walk (waymarked) down to Devil’s Pulpit on Offa’s Dyke. It’s best to wear proper walking shoes.

As well as nature, good English food is a feature. The forest is home to a number of speciality and award-winning cheesemakers, so look out for Charles Martell’s ‘Stinking Bishop’ or Diana Smart’s ‘Single Gloucester’. Horlicks was recently claimed to be one of the world’s most popular drinks, and William and James Horlick, co-founders of the malted milk beverage, came from the forest.

The playwright Dennis Potter, famous for ‘The Singing Detective’ and ‘Pennies from Heaven’, was the son of a forest miner, and the DJ, Sir Jimmy Young, was born in Cinderford. Not so famous, but perhaps with a bigger impact on mankind was Robert Forester Mushet, who perfected Bessemer’s steel-making process in the Forest of Dean. This is a magical and fascinating place to explore. Discover it for yourself.