Puzzlewood, Gloucestershire

Exploring Puzzlewood is like stepping into a fantasy world. Set in 14 acres of woodland in the Forest of Dean, this unique natural landscape is a labyrinth of paths and eerie passageways that take you through ravines of deeply-fissured moss-covered rocks, across beautifully crafted wooden bridges and past enormous ancient trees.

With its uncanny resemblance to the fabled landscape of Middle Earth described in JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, it’s no surprise to learn that the author was a regular visitor to Puzzlewood. Not only did the woodland inspire Tolkien’s fantasy tales, it has also recently been used as a filming location for BBC productions of both Merlin and Doctor Who. Away from Puzzlewood’s showbiz stature as a prime filming location, the woodland is a spectacular place for a peaceful walk.

Family attraction

Scattered across the Forest of Dean are a wide variety of geological features known as scowles (an ancient name for limestone outcrops) that formed millions of years ago. For years, these scowles were mined for iron ore, but by the 18th century most lay abandoned and overgrown beneath the forest canopy.

However, a local landowner, Mostyn Watkins, saw the potential of the scowle hidden in the woods near Coleford. Laying down a mile of pathways through the trees and constructing wooden bridges across the gulleys, he made it easily accessible for his friends and children to explore – it’s these same paths and bridges that thousands of visitors use to this day.

In the early 1900s, Puzzlewood opened to the public and today, with the inclusion of a visitor centre and an array of animals, such as Highland cattle, pygmy goats, Soay sheep and Shetland ponies, Puzzlewood continues to be a popular family-friendly tourist attraction.

Fantasy forest

Not only is Puzzlewood a geological wonder, it’s also a haven for wildlife. The network of caves running beneath Puzzlewood is home to a number of rare species of bat, including the greater horseshoe and Bechstein’s. Above ground, telltale signs, such as
fresh trails and den openings, hint at the fallow deer, foxes and badgers that make the forest their home.

And as expected in any old woodland, the ground is rich in native plants such as bluebells, primroses, wood sorrel and wood anemones. But it’s the ancient trees – oak, beech, lime, ash and yew – that are the most awe inspiring. Some hundreds of years old, their gnarly, moss-covered trunks lean at gravity-defying angles and their thick, exposed roots are entwined around craggy limestone outcrops.

Puzzlewood is an enchanting forest where you can easily lose yourself in a world many of us only read about in fantasy novels. Emerging from a walk around Puzzlewood feels like stepping back to reality after an adventure in a truly magical place.