The Scowles at Puzzlewood

On my explorations of the Forest of Dean I was taken to the Scowles at Puzzlewood. Tolkien was a visitor to the Forest and it is said that Puzzlewood was inspiration for the ‘fabled forests’ (Fanghorn?) in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. They certainly are mysterious and slightly spooky too.


The Scowles are formed from certain limestone outcrops that are found within the Forest and have deposits of iron ore in them. The ore has been mined in the Forest since early times and it was thought that the Scowles were formed because of the mining. However, this has since been disproved and they are a geological phenomenon, through erosion and time.


Recently they have found evidence that they were also mined by the Romans, from finding Roman stuff on archaeological investigations. By the 18th Century the Scowles were no longer mined and abandoned. This meant that nature could retake the area and trees, moss, ferns and the like have grown to create the area as it is today.


The wood is well maintained by various organisations to preserve it for future generations. This means there is an entrance fee and visitors must keep to the paths and generally be aware of the environment.


It’s a great place to spend an afternoon, even if it’s raining as the tree canopy would probably keep the place fairly dry. The rock formations are fascinating and it’s amazing how the trees have taken root in the tiniest of cracks in a desperate attempt to grow. The trees also grow at bizarre angles to reach the light, which all combined creates an eerie place to be. And I'm sure a wood sprite was following me, there was a mysterious crackling noise when I was walking through.

Bath & Jamie’s Italian

In an effort to finish off buying the remaining bits and bobs for my trip (exciting things like USB sticks, playing cards, plastic wallets and underwear), my mum and I went to Bath, not just for the shopping, but to see the changes to the city since we were last there. I went to school in Bath and worked there for the open top buses, so I’m very familiar with the place, but recent visits have been very quick without much chance to mooch about. So we decided we would do some mooching. Also in the plans was lunch at Jamie’s Italian, just off Milsom Street.

Canoeing the Wye Valley

We’ve arrived back home tired after a half day canoeing down the Wye River. It was a great day for canoeing not too hot and not a drop of rain. The lack of recent rain meant that the river wasn’t too fast flowing so we could gently meander with the current without too much exertion.

Chocolate and Courgette

Yes, I know it’s not a normal combination, but recently we’ve been inundated with courgettes. Not just from those grown in our garden, but also the neighbours have kindly donated extras from their veg patch. The other week we had a visitor over for lunch, she loves chocolate so the pudding had to involve chocolate. The main course had to include roast potatoes for her son. We like to oblige people’s favourites!

Birthday Lunch at The Walnut Tree

On Wednesday my dad celebrated his 65th birthday, he’s now officially a pensioner! He went away for a couple of days with his wife, Jenny, to some Welsh town with a name I forget and probably can’t spell if I did know it. They got back home last night and we arranged to meet up for lunch today at the renowned Walnut Tree so I could join in the celebrations.


The Walnut Tree is located nestled near some Welsh hills, in a tiny village called Llanddewi Skirrid. For me the sat nav was vital in finding the place, luckily it pronounced I’d reached my destination after I’d driven past the restaurant, rather than before.