4th November 2017 - Forest of Dean - Nags Head Nature Reserve

A nice short nature walk for you today through the Forest of Dean. It’s that time of year when all the leaves are turning golden and any walk is a bit special. We did admittedly get a bit wet at times but that doesn’t diminish from the beautiful forest. We parked in a small spot opposite the Mary Rose Young pottery shop a few miles west of Parkend. There isn’t much space here so arrive early. We headed north but you can set off in any direction from here.

Big sticks abound in the Forest of Dean.

The path took us up a drive and across a cycle path. Be aware the actual path is somewhat obscured by a large overhanging tree. This meant we had to trek across some undergrowth and jump a stream to get back on the path once I had realised the error. There is another small car park here for the RSPB Nagshead Nature Reserve. I forgot to check if it was free or not. Sorry.

Despite sounding like one, Nagshead is not a pub.

The nature reserve has a lopped trail of about a mile. Around the trail are posts with nature questions on them. They are aimed squarely at children however, so don’t expect anything too taxing nature lovers. We didn’t finish the whole loop but kept walking towards the quarry opposite Cannop Ponds. We had a brief torrential downpour which hadn’t been forecast. Thankfully we were prepared. Always carry a waterproof no matter what the weather man says.

Rain makes for pulling faces. Gore Tex saves the day however.

The path climbs quite steeply up above the quarry and as such affords some wonderful views over the forest to the north. Up at the top the golden leaves give way to deep evergreen conifers. The track runs along Broadwell and Coalway villages. This is quite a busy spot for dog walkers from the local area. Some are great and let their dogs play, others do that odd thing where they go off the path and completely shield their dogs because ‘they might bark’ or ‘they play too rough’ or may favourite as their dog sits their excited with tail wagging in a play pose ‘he’s scared of German Shepherds’. Thankfully some people were happy for their dogs to play with Chuck and yes, he did bark.

Chuck admiring the view across the forest.

The path back took us past the nature reserve again. We got on the correct path that we should have taken previously and this is how I discovered it was obscured by a tree. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. The Forest of Dean is great for a walk that doesn’t require much planning. As there are so many tracks you can expand or shrink your walk on the fly according to the weather or tiredness. There isn’t an ugly bit and there are loads of activities for what I assume is a reasonable fee. There’s even a steam train. It really is a great place to go all year round.