Ancestry trip to FOD

If you were planning an "Ancestry Trip" to England/Wales and a big part of it was to the Forest of Dean area.... how would you go about it?

We live in the US and are hoping to make that trip next year, so we have a while to plan. I have several questions on how best to manage it. I am a planner (down to a fault). Would you....

Hire someone to take you around, hire someone to plot out your trip, or go it on your own and hope for the best? What time of year would you go for the best weather or any other reason (maybe to avoid crowds, etc.)? We had driven in other countries but have always been on the same 'side' of the road as us. This would be different. And... since we would be there about 10 days to 2 weeks, would it be best to stay in one place as a base and venture from there... or go the B & B route and stay as you go?

My husband had a great grandfather who immigrated from the Monmouth/Brecon area in 1888 and a great grandmother who immigrated from the FOD area in 1884 with her parents. They married in up state New York in 1891. Fortunately, they were both from areas that are close and not across country.

Looking for suggestions from those who are familiar with the area, have made the trip themselves or know someone else who has. We live in Ohio Amish Country and could give ideas all day long about what to do in this area... but are obviously clueless in a whole different part of the world! Your thoughts & suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!
Charlotte

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For what its worth ...

I'd base myself in a self cater cottage or farmhouse in the Monmouth / Ross on Wye area with a hire car and travel to the Forest 10 mins / 30 mins or so, and the Brecon Beacons 45 mins / 1hr or so....

Plenty to see, and plenty of help here

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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Hi Slowhands and forum members...

I've the same question really. I'll be in the UK in a week, spending a little time on the continent (15th to 25th May) and expect to be in the FOD 28th to 31st May.

I will travel around the Mitcheldean, Littledean area and go through the graveyards looking for Hyde, Smith, Goode graves as well as seeking out some of the addresses I have from the census's. I want to try Cardiff as well because of the Cooper connection to Rachel Goode. Any advice would be welcome (esp B&B's).

Thanks all. Feel free to PM me...

Lawrence Finn

PS I do owe more than a couple of you a beer or two and would be happy to pay that debt :-)

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Thanks all. Feel free to PM me...

Lawrence Finn

give these a look..

http://www.flanesfordpriory.co.uk/

http://www.thefarmersboyinn.co.uk/

http://www.thebelfryhotel.co.uk/

White Horse Inn‎
Church Road
Soudley
Cinderford, Gloucestershire GL14 2UA
00 44 1594 825968

(other establishments exist !!)

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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thanks greatly...

Now I just need to locate the Parish_Chapel: Mitcheldean and the independent chapel and ...

:-)

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Before you come, do make full use of this wonderful website. Using the Parish Records on this site together with www.freebmd.org.uk plus census data on Ancestry.com, you will probably be able to discover a lot about your ancestors including where they lived and where they were buried. This might help you plan what you do and where you go.

Don't worry about driving on the left; it feels normal if you drive a right hand drive car (I know because my in-laws were from Michigan). But where you will need help is with navigating the higgledy-piggledy British roads; they are nothing like the grid system that you are used to. I suggest you get an Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 map of the Forest; this will show all the details of the roads and also contain lots of other useful information - likely the location of pubs!

Spring is a good time to visit; Spring blossom makes the countryside very pretty. But, whatever time you do come, make sure you bring good rain wear; our weather is very unpredictable!

I'm sure you'll have a great time and learn a lot.

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Thank you!

That does make sense re: the location of the steering wheel. You mention the roadways and, I guess, that was my big concern. I made a trip to Ireland about ten years ago, but it was a bus tour. From that, I really appreciated having the driver!! I would gues as well, that being able to take our time and not feel 'rushed' would make a big difference, too.

Can you tell me where to get the map you mentioned? It would be great to have details and plot where we want to go.

I have done quite a bit of research on my husband's family tree & mine for about ten years. The Forest of Dean Family History site has been a wonderful tool!!

Most of my family immigrated more than 300 years ago... but now that I think about it, it would be nice to see if I could throw a bit of them into the mix!

Thanks so much again!!
Charlotte

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Forest of Dean Tourist Information Official Site

www.visitforestofdean.co.uk

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Forest of Dean & Wye Valley Tour Guides

http://ftg.org.uk/

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Switching sides of the road really isn't too difficult. You acclimate quickly. The times to be most careful of it is generally in the morning, when you are first pulling out into the roadway. That's where most folks, apparently, run into difficulty. Being mindful of that will help you avoid that mistake. Most rental cars used to have standard transmissions. I don't know if that's still the case. If you need an automatic, be sure to tell the car hire location in advance that you need one.

If I were going to plan a trip, I would try doing what Slowhands suggested, and loosely plan out a number of routes, almost like flower petals, with your cottage at the center. Leave plenty of extra time for unexpected attractions. In addition to family related locations, there are many, many wonderful things to see in the area, especially if you like legends. (Or, if, like me, you took a few too many courses in medieval Welsh literature . . .)

Purchase an adapter before you leave so you can charge things like your camera and phone. Your phone may work, be sure to check with your carrier. My husband was able to rent a chip for his for a month, which enabled him to use his phone in the UK without any difficulties.

If you decide to make a trip into London, I would suggest going by train, unless you're the adventurous sort.

Above all, have an awesome time.

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Great information. We both can drive a manual shift vehicle, "but" there again... I am guessing gas, clutch & brake are opposite as well, as the gears??? I could see me getting a bit confused there. I am be over worrying about some things. Do you know if they come with GPS?? We have a Garmom, but I believe it costs quite a bit to add the UK onto it.

Forgot about the cell phone. I would have to check into that.

I took a bit of time yesterday and plotted out a spreadsheet with the family names, individual names, time period, parishes, places they were christened, married & buried, and married names. Someone sent me a good map of the FOD area and I pulled up another for the area just to the E & N

The east & North being: Peterchurch, Dorstone, Clodock/Longtown & in Here - Llantillo Crossenesy & Oldcastle in Mon - Llanbedr & Llangenney in Brec 'maybe Penrhos. That I need to work to verify. My FOD area is pretty localized.. or not too far apart: Little Dean, Ruardean, Ware, Ross on Wye & Longney. There is only one place each.. in Wilt & Staff, so I doubt that we'd travel there.

There may be a few here or there that I haven't mentioned. Along the way, it would be nice to see some castles & Tinern Abbey... enjoy the landscape and just place relax and take in the scenery. From this, it would see the Monmouth area is where we need to look to stay.... Does that make sense?

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Actually, the shift works the same way in both places, with the clutch to the left of the brake and the gas to the right. The shift itself works in a similar fashion, although like in the US the pattern may be slightly different for each car manufacturer. (For example, on older VWs reverse was up and right rather than down.)

The switch is much easier than you think. Just keep your body to the middle of the road, which is going to be second nature anywhere.

It's not just that distances tend to take longer in the UK in general. If I had to do it again, I would have made more and longer stops when something struck my fancy. I don't think it ever ocurred to me that there would come a time when I wasn't travelling back and forth on a regular basis. There are things I really miss about living in the UK that didn't seem to matter as much at the time.

I don't know if it is still this way in the Forest, but I have never encountered kinder people anywhere. Maybe because folks still remembered my immediate family and were asking for news of this one or that one, I heard "welcome home" a lot. I think now, a generation later, I would feel more like a stranger than I did then. (I think I had tea with every elderly woman in the village.)

Some of my happiest discoveries came from allowing myself to get lost. (Gee, I wonder where this goes?) I wish I knew where it were, I was going from Blakeney to Cardiff, and came around a curve and saw the Severn below and some very pretty houses coming up the hill. I would have stopped to take a picture, but a lorry had broken down and the traffic was restricted. I tried making the journey again on goggle to see if I could find it -- but haven't met with any success -- yet. I'm wondering now if that particular drive might have taken me past the Wye, or even the sea. Or maybe I had been to Gloucester and started from there . . .

I guess my point is that I would recommend a certain amount of wandering off the beaten path.

Some cell phones have GPS functions, so you should see if yours does. My garmin does both the US and the UK but last week it tried to send me down a discontinued (dirt) road in mud season. If you have a smart phone, even if it doesn't have GPS you can access goggle maps, which could be helpful.

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I had some American visitors who came to stay with me who found driving not as big a challenge as they had thought, once they were used to the winding roads and the time it takes to drive relatively short distances. They found our roundabouts (circles) a bit of a challenge but got used to them quickly along with the speed at which we can drive on motorways. It is possible to hire both automatic and shift stick vehicles in the UK. Be prepared though for the cost of petrol (gas) as it is far more expensive than in the USA.

I have been to the Forest of Dean visiting places relevant to my family history without the need to plan it much in advance as it's quite compact and so beautiful that even if you take a wrong turning it can result in a pleasant experience. However, though I live a long way away from it I am used to this country so there could be things you would find unusual that I might not have noticed!

I booked one hotel in advance through finding it on the Internet and another just when I arrived. Have you thought of hiring a camper van and camping? If you like the seaside then if you go over the border into South Wales there are some lovely spots to visit and Cardiff is an interesting city as is Swansea and the surrounding area. If you like castles there are plenty in the area, e.g. Chepstow as well as many further into Wales. Monmouth is full of historical interest too.
You could drive south to Somerset (Bristol and Bath are also very interesting and Oxford's not too far away either) and beyond Bristol there are also some seaside resorts in Somerset.

I have found that June (around midsummer time) is often the best for weather, July tends to rain though it usually warm, and August and early September are also good times but by mid-September the nights start drawing in giving less daylight to explore. It's been lovely this week and you would probably have liked the spring flowers, my American visitors were amazed at the number of daffodils we have. September and October would be a good time if you wish to see the autumnal colours of all the trees in the Forest of Dean. When I last visited the Forest of Dean I was able to see the Severn Bore, which is an interesting natual phenomenon too (see www.severnbore.co.uk). The Forest of Dean is a relatively quiet and tranquil part of Britain and a lovely place if you like wildlife. (But beware of the wild boar! - Not much of a threat but present!)

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We were talking with some friends... who may go with us :-) ... last evening. We were wondering or tossing about, whether we may stay one week in a cottage & do the "Flower Pedal" day trips from there - and then take a second week and do it 'as we go' a day or two, here or there, staying in B & B's, farm B & B's, etc.... Just a bit of a casual thing, letting whatever strikes us decide what we'll do and where we'll go from there.

Would it be difficult to find a place to stay that way???

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Depending on the time of year, it might be a bit iffy. When I did most of my unplanned travel, I was young enough to stay at hostels, and they can generally find someplace for you to lay your head down for the night, regardless of how full they might be. Vacancies at pubs and B&Bs were a bit harder to find, especially if you're there during high season. (Hence my reliance on the aforementioned hostels.)

One thing that you could do is plan a cottage for a week or so, and then another "home base" B&B for a night or two, and then another one a bit further on, etc. That said, I was generally lucky finding someplace to stay when I was travelling without a timetable. At one point I got it into my head that I wanted to travel the entire Scottish coastline, and I did it without any reservations or plans. I drove and hiked and explored, and when I was too tired to move any further, searched for someplace to lay my head. (My favorite spot was the Betty Hill Hotel . . .) I once started walking Hadrian's Wall, but a number of people were attacked there that summer (a very unusual occurance I was told)) so discretion being the better part of valour, I didn't finish.

You can probably get a wonderful map through AAA . . . although they might need to order it for you. I have one that I've dragged back and forth a few times, where I highlighted travel routes I had taken (mostly the Scottish ones, rather than the ones "at home" which I saw often enough I took them completely for granted) and places I wanted to re-explore.

One other option (I tried this in Scotland, too) is to sign up for a one day coach tour. You get to see a bit of everything, and that gave me some idea of where I wanted to go exploring on my own, and what I could just as happily give a miss.

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Not a problem at all, there are all sorts of cottage hire places, contact The British Tourist Board for a list. I have had a couple of holidays through English Country Cottages and the standards were high. However, they came at a price and were comparatively expensive! Caravans are a good compromise too.

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If you want to savour local atmosphere for less than an hour, park at the bottom end of the High Street (A48) at Newnham (going towards Gloucester, it's on your right)and look over the bank of the Severn which adjoins. Imagine King Henry II launching a failed invasion of Ireland from here in the year 1171 - yes, it's really true - and then walk up the back street, turn right to go uphill, and turn right again to walk back down the main road to where you parked. Have a peep in the gift shop, but just notice the buildings and occasional information. This is quintessential England.

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That sounds wonderful! Those are the things that make a visit/experience.... truly special!!

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My mother was born in Moseley Green, very near to The Speech House Hotel, as we call it 'in the centre of the Forest of Dean' near to Cinderford. You would find the Hotel itself of significant historical interest and you would certainly obtain the 'feel'of the surrounding forest. I wouldn't hesitate to stay here myself if I was visiting from a far away distance. I think it would make an ideal base for exploring the Forest and surrounding areas. Please contact their website.

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Hi - we recently stayed at the Penny Royal Cottage which is self-catering but also only 1 minute walk from The Saracens Head at Symonds Yat. The cottage is beautiful and perfectly located for trips around Ross on Wye and the Forest of Dean. The people in the pub and who also own the cottage (and who also own the Penny Royal Hotel) are incredibly helpful and will be able to answer most of your questions or at least "know someone who can". Good luck with your visit, the forest is a beautiful place at every time of the year.

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Hi Charlotte,
re driving on the "right" side (compared to the US that is), I take my RHD car over to Europe regularly and as has been said earlier, generally it's much easier than you might think. However you must concentrate, yes the stats prove that accidents occur most when driver's not fully alert, such as first thing in the morning after an overnight stop. It's so easy to swing out onto the wrong side if there's no other traffic about. In that respect I suspect it's easier if you have a hire car, just as with the US we drive so the driver is sat in the middle of the road next to oncoming traffic and the frontpassengers on the roadside.
Don't forget the Forest is essentially a very small area when driving, so as long as you have a good OS map you'll never be far from where you want to be. Although the forested woodlands cover many hundreds of acres, and you can certainly get lost in them if walking or cycling, you cannot enter them by car as the forestry roads/tracks have gated access. The "main" public roads need some care though as they are often very windy & narrow especially compared to the States. My dear dad taught me to drive, he spent his life driving buses locally. He told me to always stay close to the roadside verge especially if it's a narrow road as you don't know what's coming around the next oncoming corner or how fast/wide they'll be. That said in some areas, particularly if it's hot summers day, you will often find sheep sitting right on the roadside, but don't worry they're used to traffic and let you pass them with a few inches to spare and don't generally "spook". A good (?!) example is the steep winding hill upwards past Cannop towards Coleford if driving from Speech House. Similarly at night or very early morning you may see deer etc in the roads. It's also fair to say the locals drive a lot faster than tourists tend to expect, as they know all the bends etc plus aren't looking at the scenery.

Given the relatively small size of the area I wouldn't recommend B&Bing on an adhoc unplanned basis, as you can spend a lot of time looking, finding and "booking-in" and so missingout on the tourism part of your day. Contact the Tourist Offices in advance to plan and even book. Nowadays the area is very much a tourism one, so if you visit in prime holiday time eg August Bank Holiday it will be very busy everywhere. I would recommend visiting just before or after the British summer school holidays which run from mid July to the end of August. These holidays often attract rain as well as tourist crowds, whereas the early September weeks particularly can be much better and far less traffic/crowds too. If it were me I'd probably use somewhere like the Speech House as a base for the Forest holiday, then maybe Ross On Wye if you're considering covering the Wye Valley area to the west of the Forest "proper". This naturally leads you "up" into Herefordshire and the Brecon Beacons, or "down" into nearby Monmouth and South Wales etc. Ross is an attractive town on the River and has a fair few Hotels etc. If you look at the early (1920s onwards) motoring Tourist Guides Ross was considered "the" place to stop, the Wye Valley was moreorless where "tourism" was invented in the 1800s. By the 50s or so the Littledean Guest House (recently renovated I believe) was handy for the Eastern side of the Forest, although to be honest the nearby town of Cinderford (which I love as my hometown) isn't exactly picturesque... .

This earlier post may hopefully help you wrt possible places to visit etc, the Heritage Museum being the obvious choice.

http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=33227

I do hope some of this is usefull. Its good to see you're doing the right thing by planning it in advance.

Have a great trip !

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