Overview

Part three of our tour of the Forest of Dean. Beechenhurst (with cafe and toilets) SAT NAV. GL16 7 EL An ideal place for families to visit, with a Go Ape climbing adventure park, but you will need a head for heights to experience this exciting climb. Younger children have a Gruffalo spotters trail to walk through, with smaller safer climbs, and a sculptures trail walk through woodland, (but not suitable for wheelchair users as it’s along narrow grassland paths) However, there are wider, compacted ground walks that a chair user could use, but with a few ups and downs you have to manage on your trip around the site. A Cafe that can help you refuel, (but not the best food provided) stick to drinks or crisps ect would be what we suggest, typical back street cafe, but toilets are available, but simple down to earth facilities, the photos will show you why. Parking charges have to be paid, £2.00 paid by cash only machines. Wooden play aquipment for young children, such as the Giant nest swing, ride the pit pony, a train climbing wooden toy, a slide, just enough to keep kids going. Sitting in old former site of Speech house colliery converted into leasure area, with walks through woodland, and a few things to see or do. Forestry has happened here, cutting down some trees to give more light and space for regrowth, and they have planted some 2500 new trees, with more to be planted over the winter period of 2022, with trees such as Wych elm, Hornbeam, Rowan, Cherry, Hawthorn, Yew and Holly, trees that are vital to help bring back the endangered Hawfinch, who are seed eating birds, and these trees will provide what they need. 1800 conifers, such as Scots pine, Douglas fir, Japanese cedar, coast Redwood have also been planted, so as to continue the cycling programme of planting and harvesting, to help provide the wood needed to maintain employment in the industry. Taking a look at our photos for you, we arrived following a short beautiful woodland drive at Beechenhurst, (photo 1) an area now devoted to help everyone enjoy this woodland adventure site. Driving all the way round past the wooden huts, you will arrive at a few disabled parking spots (photo 2) but it’s quite a slope to get down to facilities. (photo 3). The first thing you find is the children’s climbing frames (photo 4) with plenty of things to keep children very happy, it’s also fenced in for safety (photo 5). A few yards away is the cafe (photo 6) very basic food on offer, and our inside view of cafe (photo 7) shows it clean but very basic, and at this moment, due to COVID, your ordered food will be brought to you (photo 8). Outside the cafe, is the toilet block (photo 9) bit there are no disabled toilets, just public men’s and ladies (photo10) and the cubicle is very small, very basic, no pull cords or grab handles (photo 11). Then we went outside to walk along a path (photo 12) and you walk round the back to the Go Ape adventure park (photo 13). Wooden steps will take you up to the rope walkway high in the trees (photo14) with a huge variety of climbing apparatus (photo 15). Most of these are quite high, (photo 16) so you will need a head for heights. We returned then to the car, to drive through the woodland (photo 17) to exit Beechenhurst (photo 18). Or final thoughts If you have children it’s brilliant, so much for them to do, but for the disabled person, all of this is unsuitable, but you can enjoy it around the cafe area, set in beautiful surroundings, or your carer could take you along some of the woodland paths.

Transport & Parking

As you enter the area, stick to the drive to the left, and follow it all the way round on right hand bends, which will take you behind the long building and round to the disabled parking area in front of cafe and toilets. It’s a downhill ride now to arrive at cafe, harder when you come back uphill later on.

Access

A number of bays are available, but not very close to cafe or toilets, and your carer will have to hold you back as you go downhill to start with, I just put my brakes on and gently turned the wheels, but coming back was hard work coming up the hill, at least I got warm again with the effort. Entering cafe was not to difficult, but should have used the far doorway beyond the front of cafe as it was easier to get to seats to drink the Luke warm coffee. Entry into toilet facilities was not much better, and had to get out of chair to use toilets, and only did so as a bit urgent, the look and smell put my wife off completely so she didn’t bother.

Toilets

Not a lot to say, it was there if you are urgent.

Staff

A friendly enough and helpful young lady took our orders, and brought food to table, I think they called it food, but very poorly cooked and cheap items, disappointing.

Photos