SOUTH WEST
■Distance: 5 miles/8km ■Time: 2½ hours ■Grade: Moderate
The Pludds is a sweet little village in the Forest of Dean whose unusual name comes from the Middle English word for pool or puddle. Starting at Windrill Point, with beautiful views over the River Wye, this walk takes you along woodland footpaths, quiet lanes, and peaceful forestry tracks. The feral wild boar can be spotted deep in the forest. In the late 1990s, 15 escaped from a farm in Ross-on-Wye – in 2004 more were illegally dumped. The boar had not been present in the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean as a wild animal for over 700 years. They have no natura predators and a high fertility rate, so numbers have been rapidly increasing in the Forest of Dean.
At Point 3 you’ll spot a Eurasian Beaver enclosure at Greathough Brook.
They were hunted to extinction by the beginning of the 16th century for their meat, fur and scent glands, but were re-introduced in 2018.
The beavers are enclosed in six hectares of woodland by a specially designed fence that prevents them escaping into the wider Forest of Dean (the fence is boar-proof to prevent boar accessing the beaver habitat).
1 Start
From Windrill Point, take the footpath that runs to the L of the parking area. Walk up the tree-lined footpath, though a garden until you reach a lane. Turn L onto Highbeech Road and follow it round to the L.
ROUTE
Start/parking Free parking at Windrill Point, Eddy’s Lane, The Pludds, grid ref SO613168, postcode GL17 9TT Is it for me?
A blend of woodland footpaths, country lanes and forestry tracks – one long climb at Point 4 Stiles 7
PLANNING
Nearest town Cinderford Refreshments Royal Spring Inn, Lydbrook 01594 860492 Public toilets None Public transport Infrequent bus 711 from The Pludds to Cinderford (Stagecoach West, 0345 241 8000) Maps OS Explorer OL14; Landranger 162
