Puzzlewood is a magical woodland attraction in the heart of the forest of Dean. In this Puzzlewood, Forest of Dean review I’ll tell you all about it, share photos so you can see how magical it is and share my tips for visiting. It’s a great place for enjoying Family walks.
AD-press tickets. We were given tickets in exchange for coverage. All thought, photos and words are my own.
If you’re visiting the Forest of Dean, you need to add Puzzlewood to your list of things to do in the Forest of Dean. It’s a really magical attraction that has been used as a filming location for Dr Who, Star wars and more. I’ll tell you more about filming at Puzzlewood further down this post. You can find full details about Puzzlewood on their website here or read on for my review from when I visited with my family in June 2021.
Puzzlewood, Gloucestershire is a great UK family days out.
Where is Puzzlewood?
Puzzlewood is less than a mile south of Coleford in the Forest of Dean. Follow the brown tourist signs from Coleford or for Satnav use the GL16 8QB postcode.
Puzzlewood, Forest of Dean review
As you drive past or arrive at Puzzlewood you would be mistaken for thinking this a small and very ordinary attraction but how wrong you’d be.
The attraction starts with a small play area with a willow maze and a music area too, cafe, gift shop, toilets, indoor maze (currently closed) and a small children’s farm with pygmy goats, Shetland ponies and a few other animals.
The animals were a very nice surprise for us. We were unaware of this part of the attraction and were here for the woodlands. My girls loved seeing all the animals before we entered the woods though.
Once you follow the path around the corner from the farm, you find yourself straight into a really unique woodland. Nothing like any woods we visited before. We’ve visited lots of woodlands, as we love woodland walks. In fact, we visited Mallard’s pike Lake (which is just 10 minutes away in the forest of Dean) right before Puzzlewood.
The woodlands have been used as a set for many things like star wars, Dr who, Tree Fu Tom, The secret garden and many more. It’s not hard to see why this location is so popular for these fantasy style productions. It does feel very otherworldy in there.
There is a clearly marked one-way system through the woods. It’s been designed to ensure you see everything. There are 2 places where you have to make the choice to take the low or the high route but most of the time there is only one option.
The ancient woods are filled with strange rock formations, cave-like pathways and twisted, magical looking ancient trees. The woodland is all naturally formed over millions of years. How amazing is that to think that the area was used for iron ore extraction from the Iron age through to the Romans. A maze of 1 mile of paths was set out in the 1800s by a farmer for his family and friends. In the early 1900s, the attraction was opened to the public. Puzzlewood has added a few bits like bridges and benches but the majority of what makes Puzzlewood so magical is the natural landscape.
The woods are also home to lots of nature. We visited late May and several areas were a carpet of wild garlic which really added to the magical woodland feel.
My kids did enjoy the scavenger hunt style leaflet we were given on entry. There are 20 photos of things you can spot in the woodlands like benches, bridges and less obvious things like trees that if you look closely enough, look like animals. We didn’t manage to tick everything off the list but some were a little harder to spot.
How big is Puzzlewood?
There are 1.5 miles of paths within Puzzlewood.
Wondering how long to spend at Puzzlewood?
We spent a little over an hour walking through the woods and a little more than 30 minutes looking at the animals and playing in the willow maze.
Is Puzzlewood dog-friendly?
No dogs are allowed in Puzzlewood. Assisted dogs are permitted as long as they are wearing the correct identification.
Top tips for visiting Puzzlewood, Forest of Dean
- Tickets need to be booked online currently in set time slots. Book your tickets here.
- There’s an app you can download and use during your walk but this is iPhone only and we don’t have one so I’ve not tried this.
- You will be given a leaflet on arrival which is a scavenger hunt of things to spot in the woods. My kids enjoyed this.
- Wear sensible shoes suitable for walking in the woodland. There are slippery parts and on our visit some very muddy parts too.
- Don’t attempt to take a pushchair, in fact, they won’t let you take it into the woods.
- Don’t miss the willow maze tucked away at the end of this are the musical instruments that my kids loved.
- Check their social media before your visit if the weather is bad. For your safety, the attraction does close in particularly bad weather and I can see why.
Where to visit nearby
Just under an hour away is the fantastic Slimbridge Wetland centre which is a fantastic family day out. Find out more here Slimbridge wetland centre review
Pin for later:
kindly is it adequate for old people or it s more for younger generation?
Definitely as long as you are able bodied enough to manage the rugged terrain. It’s such a unique woodland for all ages to appriate