Forest of Dean

The Forest of Dean is a large cultural region which is also covered by 110,000 acres of mixed woodland. The Forest lies between the rivers Wye and Severn in the western part of Gloucestershire and on the borders of Wales and Herefordshire.
 * The Forest of Dean is formed of a raised basin of palaeozoic rocks folded in the Variscan Orogeny, similar to the South Wales coalfield to the west. Underlain by great thicknesses of the Old Red Sandstone, the basin is filled with Carboniferous limestones, sandstones and coal measures, all of which have contributed to the industrial history of the region. Its highest point is Ruardean Hill.


 * The origins of the name remains an area of debate. The prevalence of Welsh place names in the area, suggests a possible corruption of din. However, similar or identical elements from Old English exist throughout England. Gerald of Wales, writing in the 12th century, refers to the area as Danubia which may translate as "land of Danes" following the Viking settlements in that era. It is possible that an original name Dene developed from this.