The Forest of Dean is one of the most ancient and beautiful woodland areas in the country, with a fascinating history. The Sculpture Trail is a fantastic way of exploring the area as well as to gain an understanding of its industrial past.Previously an area of mine-workings, the forest has been transformed by sculptures made by international artists, including David Nash, Cornelia Parker, Ian Hamilton-Finlay and Neville Gabie. The artworks provide a unique encounter with site-specific sculpture in a wonderful forest environment. The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust also host temporary events on the Trail, alongside commissioning new sculptures and working with communities.

21 years ago a vision by Martin Orrom sparked off the process - read it here

The Trust and the Forestry Commission continue to work together to maintain and develop the Sculpture Trail.

NEWS

Sculpture Trail to feature on Countryfile BBC1 Sunday 11th May at 11am - Annie Cattrell will be talking about her new work and explaining the thoughts behind it.

Annie Cattrell awarded joint winner of Bombay Sapphire Glass Prize in Milan 18th April 2008

New Sculpture to be launched on the Trail on Saturday 19th July 2008:

Artist Annie Cattrell has been commissioned to create a new permanent artwork for the Sculpture Trail. This new work is to commemorate the untimely death of our founder, Jeremy Rees and also to celebrate 21 years of the Trails existence.

Annie recently had work in a group show at the V&A in London in which Annies work demonstrated her commitment to exploring complex details of structures and light. Annies new sculpture for the Trail will provide another interpretation of the forest, responding to the geological history and the material nature of the landscape.

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Navigating the Sculpture Trail….

Traditional walking maps are sold by the Forestry Commission and are available for only £1 at the Beechenhurst Lodge Cafe and other tourist information points in the Forest. We are also interested in other ways of discovering the trail. Two new approaches are now available to online users- we have MP3 narrative walks, developed by artist Duncan Speakman with local children and we have a link here to a Geocaching route. (Please note this site is outside the responsibility of the Sculpture Trust). Geocaching uses satellite navigation systems to locate a cache and this particular walk uses clues near sculptures on the trail to harvest the co-ordinates.

FREE DOWNLOAD!

Audio-works on mp3 players that take you on a walk with a difference - listening to journeys written by local young people in response to their visits to the Sculpture Trail. Not documentation but audio-theatre - a fascinating experience. These soundwalks were commissioned by Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust and created by pupils of Heywood School and Forest View school working with audio artist Duncan Speakman.

link to download MP3 files, simply transfer to your MP3 player, ipod or mobile phone before you leave home. The walk lasts around 40mins and begins at Beechenhurst Lodge.

Read our Annual Report 2006