Speech House via The New Fancy View

This ten mile circular walk from Parkend took in many of the main places and aspects of the Forest of Dean. Leaving Parkend via the church, the route led past one of apparently several Charles II Oaks and on to the "New Fancy View". Spruce Ride and the Speech House Hotel were next on the agenda. Then there was a curious sculpture in the forest. Then came the track bed of the old Parkend to Cinderford railway, which led past the Cannop Ponds. The final part of the walk went past the Bixlade Tramway and onto part of the Gloucester Way. From here it was a short stretch using the track bed of a small section of the Parkend to Coleford railway to get back into Parkend itself. A nice walk with a mixed bag of weather.

Speech House Lake - captured in one of its rainier moments.

This is what you will see here. So I wish you happy browsing!

• Day Four: Parkend - Speech House Circular
• Outward via Parkend Church
• Onward via Charles II's Oak and "The New Fancy View"
• Speech House
• Cannop Ponds
• Walk Features
• Please Read Me! Thankyou!

Outward via Parkend Church

The way to Parkend Church formed the first part of this walk. The church lies on higher ground in a forest clearing. It is dedicated to Saint Paul and was completed in 1822 to serve the local - in those days - industrial community. A major local industry was the Parkend Iron Works situated in down-town Parkend and demolished between 1890 and 1908.

The church lies in a forest clearing ...




... and is described as having both an octagonal and cruciform shape.




Looking back to the entrance ...




... reveals the Royal Coat of Arms, by this time looking similar to its modern version.




I leave for the forest via the churchyard.

Onward via Charles II Oak and The New Fancy View

From Parkend the path led - as you may well expect - through the forest, forest and more forest. Past one of - apparently quite a few - oaks commemorating Charles II (he of the "Glorious Revolution"), I went, until I reached the site of the "New Fancy" quarry. From the top of one of its mounds, there is the appropriately named "New Fancy View", from which there is indeed an all-round view of the forest. Then it's along the track bed of one of the numerous railways which criss-crossed the Forest. And so, via Spruce Ride, the walk led to the Speech House Hotel.

And so it's off into the Forest, ...




... with its many gravelly access tracks. Good for walking.




Here's one of several Charles II oaks in the area. It looks as if everyone rejoiced in the "Glorious Revolution" when it was "Goodbye Cromwell and his brand of imposed Puritanism".




New Fancy Colliery operated between 1827 and 1944. The 11 foot high "Roll of Honour" Sculpture was unveiled in 2005. Its three supports represent some of the products obtained from the Forest, namely stone, iron, and coal. The stainless steel discs represent the tokens carried by miners to see who was below ground in the event of accidents.




From the top of the site of the old New Fancy View colliery there is an all-round view of the Forest of Dean, a view which even the imminent rainy weather cannot mar.




From here there is a descent on to ...




... the track bed of one of the old railway lines ...




... which crossed the Spruce Ride. The Speech House is not too far away.

Speech House

By the time I reached the Speech House Hotel, the weather was becoming most inclement, so it was the opportunity for a warming bowl of soup and an Earl Grey Tea at the said hotel. The fare was not overpriced considering the up-market status of the hotel. The weather then brightened up, so I joined the path from the Obelisk opposite the hotel. I had intended to visit all of the Sculpture Trail, but one look at one of the sculptures on offer made me continue into the forest without looking for more sculptures.

The Spruce Ride cuts across a swathe of the Forest ...




... and passes the Speech House Lake ...




... before the Speech House Hotel is reached.
It's raining a fair old bit!




This sign greets visitors to the Speech House




The Speech House at one time hosted the "Court of the Speech", (authorised by a national Act of Parliament in 1668), this "Court" being a sort of parliament for the Verderers and Free Miners of the Forest. It assumed its present role as a hotel in late Victorian times.




The sign on the building could do with a bit of sprucing up!




Embedded in the wall of the Speech House is this crown.
It may signify the royal connection with the Forest of Dean.




Inside the hotel, this Royal Standard, watching over me as I have my bowl of soup and sip my cup of Earl Grey, certainly emphasises the royal connection. This version of the Standard is probably made of new-age material, but it looks splendid, whatever the material.




The obelisk opposite the Speech House Hotel marks the traditional centre of the Forest of Dean. The obelisk is made of local "pennant sandstone" and is believed to date from the 18th Century.




However, near the obelisk there are some marked trails ...




... which lead past the Speech House ...




... and into the Forest.




My route skirts around the Sculpture Trail, which I had intended to visit.




However, one look at this sculpture (What on earth is it meant to convey?) suggested that I would not be missing much if I gave the sculpture trail a miss.




There is a good number of paths criss-crossing the Forest, and I take the path leading to the track bed of the Parkend-Cinderford railway line.

Cannop Ponds and Return to Parkend

So I came to where we joined the railway on 30th April, when we came from Symond's Yat. My walk then led to the Bixlade Tramway, and so onto the Gloucester Way. This part was most of the section we took on our walks on 29th and 30th April, to Bixlade and Symond's Yat respectively, but in reverse. And so I wended my way back to Parkend and an evening meal at the Fountain Inn.

I have reached the track bed of the Parkend-Cinderford railway line. The track bed may once again carry the railway from Parkend to Cinderford and become a veritable tourist attraction as well as giving Cinderford a commuter connection with Gloucester.




In the future there may be a station here again.




The Cannop Ponds flank ...




... the track bed of the Parkend-Cinderford line.




Stones and other material mined and quarried in the Forest
were once loaded onto the railway at Cannop Wharf.




These geese seem blissfully unaware of this snippet of industrial history ...




... and indeed this goose looks distinctly grumpy despite ...




... the pleasant sylvan surroundings.




I divert via the Bixlade Tramway (seen here) on to the part of the Gloucester Way which we took on our walks on April 29 and 30 from Parkend.




Here are two views ...




... of the track bed of the former railway to Coleford.




This looks like a small section of rail used for one of the horse-drawn tramways in the Forest.
The rail is eking out the last days of its existence as a humble fence post.




The track bed of the Coleford branch ...




... leads towards the site of the old Parkend West Station.
My evening repast in Parkend is not far away!