Important Contacts

Forest of Dean Tourism Official Website.
Email

Telephone+44 (0)1594 812 388
Fax+44 (0)1594 812 330

District Council Official Website.
Email

The Royal Forest of Dean, once called ‘The Queen of the Forests All’, is one of the most fascinating regions of Britain. Its relative isolation created by the valleys of two great tidal rivers, the Severn and the Wye, together with its hilly terrain have helped preserve a pattern of land use, culture and heritage unlike anywhere else in the country.

It is one of the few remaining Royal Forests in England. The Saxons were the first people to realise its potential for hunting. Thereafter it became the hunting reserve of Kings for many hundreds of years to follow. The Norman kings loved to hunt deer and wild boar and they introduced Forest Law and officials called Verderers who were charged with looking after the animals and the woods they lived in.

Designated as a national forest park in 1938, the unique heritage and culture of the Forest reflects a close working relationship between people and the environment. The underlying rocks of the Coal Measures, Carboniferous Limestone and Old Red Sandstone together with the rich veins of haematite ore gave rise to the mining and quarrying industries.