to Forestry Commission home page
to England home page

New Fancy


(Average user rating5 unrated 5/5)

About New Fancy

Formerly the site of the New Fancy coal mine. The old spoil heap now provides spectacular views across the Forest. It is an ideal place to watch birds of prey soaring above the woodland. There is easy access to the cycleways from here.

How to get there:

New Fancy is in Forest Of Dean. Parkend is the nearest town or village.

From the B4226 Coleford to Cinderford road, turn South onto the minor road at the Speech House. New Fancy is two miles along the road to the west side just before a T junction.

OS Grid Reference: SO 628095
For details of public transport visit http://www.transportdirect.info

Other places to go in Forest Of Dean

What's on in Forest Of Dean

March

April

May

View all events
The Roll of Honour Sculpture at New Fancy

Facilities:

Parking

Activities

WalkingPicnic
Cycling a cycle trail link leads down to the main family cycle trail
Arts The 'Roll of Honour' sculpture, visible from the car park, was installed in 2005
View Point the viewpoint is particularly good for watching Goshawks and other birds of prey
Other Activities Site barrier locked at 7.30pm

Contact:

Recreation Ranger
01594 833057
e-mail: dean@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

User Comments

Name: Helen Williamson, Wolverhampton. (5 Stars)
30/Sep/2009
No facilities, except a car park, but a beautiful viewpoint, and the perfect spot for a picnic. Great walking locally, but easy to get confussed in the woods (voice of experience!). Afraid I couldn't make head nor tail of the Geomap either, but it is a stunning piece of art, as is the other piece there, and both are well worth a visit.
Name: Anonymous
31/Jul/2009
I'd been waiting over a year for the opportunity to get down to the Forest and see the Geomap at New Fancy...... oh my god what a muddle.
As a piece of art it's fine, and the children there seemed to be having a great time playing 'hunt the number', but as a practical record of the geology/mining history of the area it fails on every level.
On one hand it's overloaded with information, yet on the other, it lacks the means to relate what's shown with the actual geographical areas of the Forest. In fact, it's very hard even to relate what's shown on the information boards with what's shown on Geomap - and I know a little about the geology of the area (enough to spot that the Gritstone found along Blakeney Straits is missing).
I don't know where the funding for this came from, but there's clearly been a lot of time and effort expended in its design and installation. What a pity it failed to reach its true potential.
Name: Shefield (5 Stars)
30/Jun/2009
Nice viewpoint near Parkend. One of the best places in England to see Goshawks. Large car park (free) and some nice sculpture to look at, but no toilets.

Been here, done this? What did you think?

Tell us what you think of this place.

Email addresses will not be shown
 

What's of interest

A Geomap was installed in 2008, marking out the underlying geology of the Forest of Dean and the mines and quarries located within the area. The project was commissioned by the Forest of Dean Local History Society.

Useful sites