Forest of Dean Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Cali - Verified booking

  Just back home after a wonderful stay at The Carriage.

  The apartment is just as the photos show, a real home from home. The gardens are beautiful and we spent time in our favourite spot at the white table with our late afternoon drink after a busy day exploring the area. We arrived on the Sunday afternoon just as summer was beginning to show its face and it stayed with us until we left on the Friday. We visited Puzzlewood which was just lovely; quite humid when in there but just beautiful with little sculptures dotted around. Understood why it was called Puzzelwood as if you're not careful you can end up going round, and round, and round in circles LOL! We also visited Bath and did the TootBus trip which is so worthwhile and a fantastic way to see this beautiful city. Recommend purchasing tickets online as for us they proved slightly cheaper. Next we took a trip on the Steam Railway in Lydney (where we were staying and in fact could see the train passing by the bottom of the garden on Sunday when we arrived). A real throw back to the good old days that those of a certain age will remember!! Finally we went to Clearwell Caves which was incredible and so well presented. Definitely worth a visit. A Tesco was close by so we could get provisions for suppers at the apartment and we visited The Globe at Alvington which was great for our last night. We met Elaine the owner who was just lovely, but sadly we didn't get to meet Doug. Nothing is too much trouble and honestly we would thoroughly recommend this wonderful slice of peacefulness next to the Forest of Dean; just stunning.

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• Sarah - Verified booking

  Wonderful apartment.

  It was clean, beautifully decorated and furnished, with all the facilities you could need. The owner had thoughtfully provided a pint of milk and some, naughty but nice, chocolate biscuits, caramel wafers and (my favourite, how did they know) milk chocolate teacakes. These were very much appreciated, thank you! The quirky garden is delightful and my dog loved having a sniff and mooch around the different areas, the ponds were very tempting though! The views from the apartment are stunning, we could see the steam, and hear, the trains going past the at the bottom of the hill. The stairs leading to the apartment are very steep but the work-out meant the biscuits were well-earned! Might be a nice idea to provide a dog water bowl in the kitchen as there is a mat there anyway, and maybe one less human treat and a dog biccy instead? I'd recommend checking out the steam train timetable and make a day of it. We stopped off at Parkend and enjoyed lunch at the cafe. We didn't have time, but were told The Fountain Inn is a great dog friendly pub, There are plenty of take-aways and supermarkets in Lydney, if you want to stay in. We took a short car journey to Clearwell, we couldn't visit the caves as we had a dog and they seemed to be closed on a Monday, but the village is lovely and we had a delicious afternoon tea at Tudor Farmhouse, a bit pricey but worth it! Note that the castle is a wedding venue so visitors aren't able to go in, but there are some lovely walks around the village.

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• Philip - Verified booking

  We stayed at the Happy Cow Cottage for a week in October with our dog and had a wonderful time.

  The cottage is very cosy and full of character with living room/dining area, kitchen, twin bedroom and bathroom downstairs and double bedroom with en-suite upstairs. In the living room there’s a bookcase filled with books, DVD’s and games along with pamphlets showing local attractions and walks. The TV has a built in DVD player. The kitchen has a new cooker and well equipped with everything we needed (including tea bags, salt and pepper, washing up liquid, foil and cling film!) The owners have even supplied shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, hand wash and a hairdryer. The fairy lights and welcome basket are a lovely touch. The cottage is in a prime location very close to loads of wonderful walks. The cottage is set on a single-track part of the road, so you will need to be aware of traffic in both directions when exiting by foot and by car. There is a bit of traffic noise, but it didn’t bother us in the slightest and we didn’t need to use the ear plugs which were kindly supplied! After a days walking we wanted to spread out a bit in the evening to relax, however in our opinion the 2 seater sofa was not big enough and the 2 chairs were not particularly comfortable. This was the only snag for us. We would definitely recommend staying here and also giving Goodrich Castle a visit. Phil.

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• Jacqueline - Verified booking

  The fact that I didn’t score top marks for each of the categories didn’t detract from our enjoyment.

  The location of this cottage is amazing if you like peace and quiet . If you want a ‘quick pop to the shop ‘ maybe not as good although there are plenty of supermarkets about 20 minutes away ( by car). Being in the forest at this time of year was a joy . Lots of opportunities to park and walk for hour. The garden is on a couple of levels with some interesting nooks and crannies . It felt completely secure for our dog to investigate. Surrounding towns / villages are very dog friendly and we were made welcome everywhere. (Try Alex Gooch in Monmouth). The cottage itself had all that we needed but for me the sofas were a bit tired and didn’t offer my dodgy back enough support . I realise that is something personal to me and maybe other guests would be fine. At home we rarely get the opportunity to watch television so it was a bonus to have a television that worked as described in the holiday listing . Very often, listings say ‘smart tv’ but channels are very restricted . However this was not the case at Anvil Cottage.

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• James - Verified booking

  We had an absolutly amazing holiday just spent this month in the cottage, with partner and family for Easter.

  The cottage is everything described and better, it is the perfect location to explore Symonds Yat, Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean. We loved the welcome pack of advice on local walks, pubs, attractions etc., Severn cider, bara brith and the 2 dogs loved the toy. Its hard to find a dog friendly cottage in such a great location, thank you for that. The cottage itself is one of the most beautiful places we have stayed and we will definitly book the place again with a group of 4 when coming to visit again. About the noise from the road? We do not understand what all the fuss is about. It really is not a problem, it is no busier than any countryside road, to be expected near Symonds Yat Rock. In the late evening and through the night there is hardly a car that passes. All honesty why would you be inside the cottage during the day when it is more busier? There is the beautiful Forest of Dean to explore on your door step!

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