A weekend at Forest Holidays in the Forest of Dean. Isn’t it funny how sometimes the places that are on your doorstep are the places you don’t visit? We were that way with the Forest of Dean which is just an hour’s journey for us door to door. I think because we don’t drive sometimes we don’t get to go into the countryside as much as we’d like, although you can get trains it would have taken us three hours which seemed way too long so instead we hopped in a cab! We’ve never done that before but it worked so well, I think with the money we save not running a car and um both of us learning to drive (which we will do..one day) a few longer taxi journeys sort of equal themselves out in the long run. In just under an hour to get there it made this trip SO much easier so now I’m looking into other places less than an hour away that are a bit off the beaten track!
Forest Holidays UK
Accommodation in the Forest of Dean? It’s cabin life! But these aren’t just any old cabins; they’re like the chocolate box cottages you’d sketch as a little one, complete with log burners. Trust me, cosy doesn’t even begin to describe it. The Forest Holiday cabin we chose was a sanctuary, honestly, with nature-inspired décor and big windows that let the outdoors in, even on drizzly days! The icing on the top was the hot tub!
Apologies in advance for how picture-heavy this post is, I must have taken about ten thousand pictures so this is literally me cutting them down 😉 It was so lovely seeing these two play together a bit more, there’s something universal about the joy of splashing in puddles, it doesn’t matter what age you are! I even got in on the action!
Activities
Now, the true gold of Forest Holidays – the family experiences. It’s like someone sat down, possibly over a cup of tea (because that’s where all the best ideas happen, right?), and thought, ‘Let’s make this perfect for families!’
You’ve got bike trails that swirl through the forest, suitable for all of us. Our family went on a guided Forest Ranger activity. The gems of the forest don’t start and end with daytime antics. As the sun takes a bow and the stars come to play we slip (or rather run in the rain!) into our personal outdoor hot tub while the littles snooze away inside. There is something very special about being in a hot tub in the rain with a cold glass of bubbly in your hand!
For the days when you fancy a bit more structure to your frolics, there’s an endless list of activities. The Go Ape course is one our kids were a bit too little for but it looked so much fun. There’s also archery, horse riding, and canoeing for the more adventurous among us. We booked in for the forest school but unfortunately, it was too windy for the session to take place during our stay.
Options for dining
If you’re wondering about dining at Forests Holidays (because who doesn’t love a good meal on a well deserved break?), the forest cabins come with an all-bells-and-whistles kitchen. But if you’re in full vacation mode and cooking feels like a chore, fear not. Just a short jaunt from the cabins lies the Forest Retreat – it’s like the living room of this massive woodland home. They serve pastries, sandwiches, and local fare that hits the spot after a long day of adventuring. You can also order a pizza straight to your cabin!
I loved the architecture of the cabins at Forest Holidays, we stayed in one in the meadow but you could also get them overlooking the forest and with rope bridges like you were actually in the trees. When we were in the hot tub (in the pouring rain) it was amazing to look out onto all the Autumn trees. Despite being in the woods there is also wi-fi available which was handy as we work freelance and were able to keep on top of emails.
If you are looking for holidays in the Forest of Dean then you can’t go wrong with Forest Holidays in the Forest of Dean. We had a wonderful weekend despite the storm and will return! You can find how to book here.
If you enjoyed this post on Forest Holidays you might also enjoy:
Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail
Visiting Chepstow Castle
Clearwell Caves