Forest of Dean in the Twenty-First Century

With the end of the mining era some decades past, the Forest has had to adapt and find other ways to endure in the modern period. The area remains, as it has been for at least a thousand years, a royal forest. Many abandoned mines have been razed, with remnants of its past to be seen in former industrial towns. The area is now reknown for its natural landscapes. Indeed, one of its largest industries today is tourism.

Native born residents can still claim gales and become freeminers; they can also raise sheep in certain protected areas, as the law permits. But a growing number of residents are commuting to work in larger industrial cities that surround the protected forest.

For all of you Harry Potter fanatics, the Forest has been the focus of several scenes in the early movies.

Aerial view of the Forest of Dean looking towards Ross-on-Wye.

Natural landscape of the Forest near Hereford.

Links of interest:

http://www.youtube.com/user/DeansForestFlix

http://www.tenwat.freeserve.co.uk/beernews.htm

http://vimeo.com/22740672

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Forest_of_Dean

http://www.visitforestofdean.co.uk/

English Bicknor

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Aqg&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&revid=424812198&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&q=english+bicknor+england&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x4871b08fd864d933:0x95eec15ae7072dff,English+Bicknor,+Gloucestershire,+UK&gl=us&ei=qjyUT8umFuiE2QWZ44ivDA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCAQ8gEwAA

http://www.englishbicknor.org.uk/

http://www.fweb.org.uk/towns/21-English_Bicknor

http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/Wales_Border_Towns/english_bicknor_3309.htm

http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=10383

Ruardean

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=yrg&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&q=ruardean+england&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x4871b03a6d4e3fc1:0x28cbaedf1528f881,Ruardean,+Gloucestershire,+UK&gl=us&ei=LT2UT6-PFaWe2AWfptyCBQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCAQ8gEwAA

http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=11150&st=RUARDEAN

http://www.odovo.co.uk/uk/eng/ruardean/

http://www.look4photographers.com/photographers/unitedkingdom/england/gloucestershire/ruardean

http://www.go4awalk.com/uk-mountains-and-hills/walks-up-ruardean-hill.php

http://www.hotels.uk.com/uk/Gloucestershire/Ruardean-hotels.htm