The Royal Forest of Dean is a part of Gloucestershire that is not often mentioned in the guide books, yet it is a beautiful area, in 1936 it became one of the first National Forest Parks. It can be both a place of tranquillity or awesome and foreboding, depending where you are. 

We who have lived in the forest all our life, some times fail to see the beauty around us until it is under threat from the Government or developers. Even through it became one of the first National Forest Parks it is not protected from destruction. Several organizations are trying to get the area recognized as some thing special to be preserved for future generations. 

The Royal Forest of Dean lies between two rivers, the Wye flowing through the picturesque Wye Valley, and the Severn flowing between the Royal Forest of Dean and the Cotswold's.  It can be easily reached from most parts of England as the M5, M50 and M4 Motorways pass by within a ten minute drive.

The Royal Forest of Dean was originally a Royal Hunting Area, where Wild Boar and Deer were hunted. Hence the name The Royal Forest. Deer are common in the forest and recently Wild Boar have been seen in several parts of the forest.
There are several ancient traditions in the forest that are still maintained today.
The Freeminers who are allowed to own their own mine, the Verderors who look out for the Vert and Venison for the Crown. The Vert being the vegetation and the venison being the Crown deer. The Verderors go back in history to King Canute's reign when he installed them to protect his forest the boar and the Deer.

The Royal Forest of Dean has a variety of trees growing, from old Oaks, Beeches, Chestnuts, Birches some of which are over 200 years old, to the Douglas Firs , Pines, Spruce, and the Larches of recent times. These are but a few of the different trees that can be seen as you walk along the many paths through the forest. It was an important forest at one time because of both the minerals and the timber. The timber from the Oaks and  the Beech were used for ship building. The oldest trees in the forest were planted for the ship building, Lord Nelson amongst other Admirals recognized the importance of the timber in the forest. He order that there should be  planting Oaks and Beeches to replenish the woods for the future.
In the past few years Oak trees have been felled, the timber of which has been used in the restoration work on HMS Victory. It could be that these may have been some of the very trees that Nelson ordered to be planted. 

The Forest of Dean has been a mining area from time beyond memory, iron ore was mined in the forest before the Romans came, along with Quarrying and later coal mining. 
At one time there were many Foundries in the Forest of Dean due to the closeness of iron ore, and trees for charcoal. One area between the village of Parkend and Coleford , Mushett built an iron foundry where the first Stainless Steel was produced. The remains of the buildings can still be seen. 

 During the war with Spain it is said that some of the Armada of 1588 had orders to destroy the forest so as to deprive the English of it's ship building timber. It is still a working forest today with the felling and planting of trees and other forestry activities including conservation. One area of the forest is a Nature Reserve where nesting boxes have been placed in the trees. 
The forest has also developed into a more open aspect for leisure, with the old railway tracks being turned into cycle tracks and paths for walking. 
The the splendour of the Dean Forest can be seen all the year round, in the spring the bluebells are out followed by the green tips of the ferns, which then leads into trees breaking into leaf, and then the flowering trees and shrubs, leading into the reds and whites of the foxgloves, and summer flowers. The fern spreads a green mantle under the trees before slowly changing to the reds and browns of the autumn. The trees begin to change from green to the beautiful autumn shades, that stand out against the greens of the conifers. As winter approaches the leaves and nuts begin to fall and the trees are left bare and yet majestic in a way waiting for the spring again. 

see Recreation