Forest of Dean Heritage Centre

Having 2 months in the UK before I go travelling is giving me ample opportunity to explore the local area. And the Forest of Dean has lots of things to investigate. As my mother works at the Dean Heritage Centre I have visited it before, but didn’t take any photos and the sun wasn’t shining either.

The Heritage Centre is located on the edge of the village of Soudley in the Forest of Dean. It is a museum with the aim of preserving the heritage of the Forest of Dean. It has various galleries showcasing the Forest from way back in the Ice Age to today. It is housed in an old mill, with a mill pond and working water wheel. Though I’m not sure if the wheel does anything else (like generate power) except turn, but it is pretty.


The galleries within the museum cover all aspects of the forest with lots of photos and displays. Mining, old villages, geology, animals, crafts and lots more areas are covered, so something is bound to interest everyone.


However I found that the bits outside the main building are more interesting, but that could just be me. There’s a forester’s cottage you can wander around, which is set up as it would have been in Victorian times. There are even a couple of pigs outside to say hello to, last year they were called Trinny and Susannah. There’s also a charcoal burner’s camp and a freemine. The Camp is still used now for demonstrations and Forest of Dean charcoal can still be bought for barbecues – much more environmentally friendly than a lot of charcoals on the market.


As is normal, there is a shop and café, so plenty of ways to spend money and support the work of the centre. You can even buy a chainsaw work of art, or to be clearer wood blocks that have been carved into artworks using a chainsaw. Clay is the wood artist and he has a workshop at the end of the car park where you can see his amazing and sometimes bizarre carvings.


It is run by a charitable trust and the majority of staff are volunteers. Like most charities it does need your support and is worth a visit if you’re in the area, you can have a picnic or barbecue there too. There’s also an adventure playground, not sure if it has an age restriction, but no one told us off for using it!

Dean Heritage Centre