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Sculpture Trail


(Average user rating4 unrated 3.5/5)
Since 1984 The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust has raised funds to commission artists to celebrate and help us appreciate and understand the life of the forest. The Trust works in partnership with the Forestry Commission which maintains the sculptures and trail.

The sculptures are inspired by the forest - its trees, wildlife and industrial past. They are mostly constructed from natural material from the Dean - wood, stone and iron. The sculptures are interspersed along the trail through majestic oaks and towering Scots pine trees

Harvesting operations are due to commence Monday 23rd January and will be located off the Sculpture Trail near Heart of Stone and Bois Mort.  A diversion will be in place until Wednesday 25th January, using shortcut A.  After this time shortcut A will be closed for harvesting works.  Please take note of any safety signage when using the tracks.

A Sculpture Trail leaflet is available containing details of the sculptures for £1 from the Forest of Dean's Coleford office or on site at Forest Connections, Beechenhurst Lodge. 

For further information on the sculptures and the work of the Sculpture Trust please use the link on the righthand side. 

Some of the Sculptures can be accessed with a power assisted wheelchair, please ring the the Forestry Comission, Tel 01594 833057, or e-mail using the link provided for further access information.

Cathedral (stained glass window) is currently being refurbished, a temporary copy is in place.

Click here to find out what else you can do in this forest.

How to get there:

Sculpture Trail can be started from Beechenhurst Lodge in Forest Of Dean. Coleford is the nearest town or village.

Travelling from Coleford to Cinderford on the B4226, continue by the junction with the B4234 (Parkend to Lydbrook road) driving up the Speech House Road for 500m before turning left into Beechenhurst.

Please don't use our postcode in your Sat Nav! It will take you to Broadwell near Coleford, this is on the B4226 but a few minutes drive away from Beechenhurst.

OS Grid Reference: SO614120
For details of public transport visit http://www.transportdirect.info

User Comments

4 Stars 4 Stars

I agree with the previous comments. There are some excellent sculptures - the Big Chair, the Stained Glass Window and the Carved Railway Sleepers (sorry I don't know their proper names), but pretty much everything else is just dross. The latest addition, Hill 33, looks like it cost a fortune, but is very poor indeed.

Dave England, 6/Oct/2011
3 Stars 3 Stars

I would just like to make some comments on the sculpture trail. I was there on Saturday with some friends we were a little disappointed that we missed several of the sculptures and in the end gave up. I visited here some 8 years ago and thought it was great what has happened since, I feel that the trail could be maked better to lead people to the various sites.Thankyou

Anonymous, 11/Apr/2011
1 Star 1 Star

Totally underwhelmed by the sculptures. The "Black Dome" for instance just looked like a pile of material left for repairing paths. Every council in the country has loads of these! However, there is an amazing tree just after this which is 10x better than any of the sculptures esp "Hill 33"

Anonymous, 27/Oct/2010
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'Cathedral' a stained glass window on the Sculpture Trail

Facilities and Activities

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Walking

Trail

Grade of trail

Stout waterproof footwearModerate

Trail waymarking

blue

Length of trail

4.5 miles

Approximate time of trail

2-3 hours

Open or closed

open

Contact

Forest Of Dean Recreation Ranger
01594 833057
e-mail: dean@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
The Heart of Stone on the sculpture trail

What's of interest

There are two waymarked shortcuts back to Beechenhurst Lodge should you not wish to walk the whole Sculpture Trail route. Shortcut A is a 2.2mile loop and takes you by the first 6 sculptures. Shortcut B is 3 miles and takes in sculptures 1-14.

What to see now

The most recent addition to the trail is Hill33 by David Cotterrell. This impressive sculpture is made of HESCO Bastion Concertainer units as used by the Army to build shelters and large-scale defence structures in Afghanistan. David's design is inspired by his memory of seeing Mayan temples hidden within the rainforests in Central and South America.

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