COLEFORD IN THE FOREST OF DEAN – TOWN CENTER

They say that a photograph paints a thousand words, so, how many words would a video with sound paint?

I don’t know any description that would be more accurate than a picture or a video. Videos especially give you a feel for the places and the addition of sound is a definite bonus.

One of the most asked questions by guest visiting out Forest of Dean lodges is; “What is Coleford like?”

Coleford Forest of Dean

Coleford is everything you would expect from a market town. It is almost a biscuit tin cliche, at first glance. Situated two miles from the border with Wales and the Wye valley, Coleford is a small market town at the west of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England.

The last census gave the population in 2011 has at less than 8400 souls. Historically, Coleford has a mixed bag, being a doorway for Charcoal and iron and also gets a mention for the English Civil war (1642 – 1651).

If you are interested in the history of Coleford then there is a great article on Wikipedia.

Modern Coleford

These days, Coleford is synonymous with the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley. Walking, cycling, birdwatching and many more outdoor activities bring the tourists to Coleford and the Forest of Dean in their thousands. Nowhere in the UK, in our oppinon, is there a more beautiful holiday location.

There is plenty to do and see in Coleford, not just the Royal Forest of Dean, although, this is the main attraction to the area.

Here are just a few links from the Royal Forest of Dean info website.

• Clearwell Caves – Ancient iron mines. Of great interest to the whole family
• Symonds Yat – Superb views over the Wye Valley, good walks, and the Peregrine Falcons nesting.
• The Wye Valley – Picturesque easy walks, canoeing, fishing
• Puzzle Wood – Pleasant easy walks
• Beechenhurst – Picnic area with barbeque hearths, tourist lodge, cafeteria etc. Good walks
• The Sculpture Trail – Interesting walk with sculptures in the forest, including the stained glass window and the giant’s chair.
• Railway Museum – An interesting collection of steam railway memorabilia from the Forest of Dean
• Perrygrove Steam Railway

For more information on Coleford and the Royal Forest of Dean, check out this link

Back to Coleford Town Center

My original aim of this posting was to point out the great availability of videos relating to Coleford and the Forest of Dean that are available on Youtube. A simple search for “Coleford Forest of Dean” with get you a weath of visual information that will be a great help when planning your holidays to Coleford in 2018.

Additionally; We would love to see any videos you have made yourself about the town, the Royal Forest or the Wye Valley. Better still, send us a link and we can feature your video on our Blog.

Where do you take the kids when it rains in the Forest of Dean?

I don’t care if it rains or freezes, Long as I have my plastic dashboard Jesus? Plastic balls perhaps?

Kids, you might be surprised when I tell you that it rains in the Forest of Dean! No! really, it does rain in the Forest of Dean.

To some people rain on their holidays doesn’t seem to be fair, after all, you have gone away to get a suntan and enjoy the great outdoors. Well, not everyone.

Some people go to the Forest of Dean in all weathers, they don’t mind the rain or the snow, its being in the forest that counts, not the weather.

Anyway; its for the poor souls that don’t like the rain on their jolly hols that I’m addressing this blog to.

Where to take the kids when it rains in Dean Forest?

Now, it all rather depends on the kids but I found a great website whilst surfing the web that addresses this very question.

I found an article on the Gloucestershire Live website entitled “9 places to take your kids when it rains in Gloucestershire?“

OK, the Forest of Dean is one of those 9 places for the kids to go but the rest are as relevant to anyone in the Forest of Dean Lodges accommodation who wants to be out and about but not wet.

The Gloucestershire Live website offers you a host of activities, from the Wilson Art Gallery, to the many museums and historical sites and there is even Go carting and Laser Tag to keep you occupied.

Other suggestions are Gloucester Cathedral and a place called Magicland.

Magic Land is where Parents everywhere should be prepared to let your hair down. Magicland is a huge 13,000sq foot play area with a large multi-tiered soft play structure, Magicland promises to keep the kids occupied for the day. Starting at £2.00 for children under 18 months, admission covers all day play! (excluding peak times). Can’t be bad.

There are many more places to see and things to do if it rains on your Forest holiday. Google is a great source of help and information and with the WIFI in your Forest of Dean Lodge, you can pick the best place for you.

Enjoy the forest, whatever the weather.

Forest of Dean Lodges – Top 5 Things to do in August

Top 5 things to do in August: August is almost upon us and the Forest of Dean will look its beautiful summer self again.

There is still time to book a Forest of Dean Lodge or cottage, if you are one of those people who leave it late when booking their holidays.

Events happen all year round in the Royal Forest of Dean and August 2017 will be no exception, there is plenty to see and do.

What are the top 5 things to do in the Forest of Dean?

This is a tricky one because we all have different ideas of what is great and what is not. One persons great day out watching trains go by would bore another person to death.

I think that the best way to go about this is to put it to a vote.

As luck would have it, there is a website that behaves just like that. TripAdvisor (Forest of Dean Lodges got a certificate of excellence from the!) allow their members to rate places they have been to.

I visited the section that is concerned with the Wye Valley and Royal Forest of Dean and checked out the votes for certain places.

Again, luck was one my side because TripAdvisor have already ranked the places to visit in order, thanks to the vast amount of votes cast by their members.

Top 5 things to do are:

1. The International Center for Birds of Prey
2. Royal Forest of Dean (Coleford)
3. Symonds Yat Rock (Coleford)
4. Clearwell Caves (Coleford)
5. Puzzlewood (Coleford)

There are more places to see and things to do ranked by the travel website and you can browse through the ones I have listed as well as a lot more besides.

Four out of the top five places are in Coleford and that is exactly where you will find the the Forest of Dean Lodges. We are right at the centre of all that is best about the Forest of Dean.

Take a look at our main website and check out our lodges and cottages, you’ll be impressed, I¡m sure of that.

If you would like to book one of our lodges or cottages, well be delighted to hear from you.

Next Doctor Who is named and this time its a woman doctor

Dr Who has regenerated as a woman by the name of Jodie Whittaker

Well, strike me blind, we have a new Doctor Who and the BBC has gone for a complete change this time.

The new “Doctor” has regenerated as a woman! That’s a neat trick even by Doctor Who standards.

Doctor Who has, traditionally, been an oddball type man with a series of female assistance and, since it began in the 1960’s the series has been a firm favourite of millions of people.

The BBC in Recent Years

The BBC was transformed by Greg Dyke from an old Conservative, prudish type of organisation to something that is often seen as a pillar of political correctness and some people think this appointment is another step in that direction.

Anyway, the new Doctors name is Jodie Whittaker who starred in Broadchurch, she is the first female to take on the part, so, good luck with that one.

Doctor Who and the Forest of Dean

Now, if you are getting a bit long in the tooth and remember the Dr. Who series from the very start, the more astute among you will know that the Forest of Dean has been used many times to shoot parts of the franchise.

After all, if you want somewhere that is both beautiful and haunting, somewhere that looks unspoilt and unfamiliar, then the Forest of Dean with its twisted trees and amazing locations is ideal

Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean has been used many times before and its easy to see why.

At the Forest of Dean Lodges we are quite used to fans of the Doctor turning up, although not dressed as Daleks, thankfully.

It may come up in a pub quiz sometime and so, I’ve found a website that will enlighten you as to the locations in the Forest of Dean that have been used to film BBC’s Doctor Who.

Take a look and I’m sure, even for the series biggest fans, there will be something new for you to see.

Forest of Dean Events July 2017

Forest of Dean attractions: King Arthur’s Cave near Symonds Yat.

Forest of Dean events; What’s on in the Royal Forest of Dean in July 2017? Good question; Fortunately, I have a good answer for you.

Finding out what’s on in the Royal Forest of Dean is very easy these days, there is so much information on the Internet that it is a question that is answerable in the blink of an eye.

What’s On in the Forest of Dean? Ask Google!

It seems that nowadays Google is literally the answer to any question.

“How do you make Apple crumble?” ask Google, “What is the square root of 1298?” ask Goole, names, places, dates, you name it and Google has the answer.

Staying at the Forest of Dean Lodges (no doubt you searched Google for that as well?) you will want to know many things, none more important than “what’s on in the Forest of Dean?” because, if you have booked one of our beautiful Forest lodges, you will want to visit places.

Our staff at Forest of Dean Lodges will help in many ways but, there is always something else you are looking for and for this reason, sites such as the Wye Dean Tourism website is a godsend.

Summer is a fantastic time to be in the Forest of Dean because there is so much going on and the Forest itself look beautiful (as it does at any time of the year)

Events such as the great Tower Party, the Faropen Exibition, a great place to be if you are interested in art and artists, the Caerleon Festival, another celebratory meeting, The Caerleon Festival is a non commercial community enterprise celebrating the arts and entertaining people throughout the year.

There some excellent Bandstand concerts on several days across July and August

Under the “See and Do” category, you are spoilt for choice and there is something for all of the family to get involved with.

The ancient mines at Clearwell Caves, see the caves and caverns hewn out of the rock by miners digging for Iron Ore for thousands of years in the Forest of Dean.

Go Ape in a tree top adventure playground, all very exciting and lots of fun.

Check out the “Myths and Legends tab of the website and you will find such great places as King Arthur’s cave.

There really is so much to see and do for all the family, please, take a little while and check out this great website and see what there is for you.

Have a nice time.

Beauty Treatments Forest of Dean – Not just Holiday Lodges

Beauty Treatments Forest of Dean? Now there’s something you won’t hear often from a company who deliver top class Forest holidays, is it?

No, of course it isn’t. You expect such a company to rap on about holidays and accommodation, not beauty treatments.

Well, the good news is this; Designed for Beauty is located in Agincourt Square, on the other side of the river Wye, close to the Chippenham playing fields, for those who know the Monmouth area well.

For those who don’t, Designed for Beauty is a short distance from Coleford and easy to find.

So, What about Designed for Beauty?

Designed for Beauty is not just a beauty salon, not just an hairdressing salon, its much more besides that.

If you have ever heard of the Ten Years Younger programme on Channel 4 with Myleen Klass and other celebrities, then you’ll understand where we are coming from, if not, thanks to Wikipedia, we shall explain.

With the help of experts the participant of the show is given a complete make over in an attempt to make them look 10 Years Younger, partially through plastic surgery.

At the start of the programme the person’s age is guessed by 100 people on the street and an average is taken.

From this average the target image is set. At the end of the show this happens again to see the results.

While Designed For Beauty won’t have a celebrity cutting your hair, they will have highly trained and qualified staff who will.

Designed For Beauty Treatments

Health Salon, Aesthetic treatments both surgical and non surgical, weight loss clinics, Spa and Health Clinics, Tanning Booths and all other health and well-being services are all available.

So, you see, when you are planning your UK vacation, keep in mind that its not all lazing about in the sunshine or walking about historical towns and villages.

Turn your Forest of Dean holiday into a health and well-being break or beauty treatment holiday.

Please take a few minutes to visit the Designed for Beauty website and see what fantastic offers they have on the very best of beauty and health treatments anywhere in the UK.