Puzzlewood, Forest of Dean, July 2024
Puzzlewood is an ancient woodland with a difference: beneath the trees lies a maze of moss-covered rock outcrops and deep, winding passages known as scowles, the collapsed remains of ancient iron-ore workings and cave systems. The result is a genuinely disorientating landscape of stone corridors, exposed roots and boulders wrapped in ferns, all lit by dappled green light filtering through the canopy. It's easy to see why the wood has been used as a filming location for Merlin, Doctor Who and Star Wars, and is often cited as an inspiration for Tolkien's Middle-earth.
A July 2024 visit followed the waymarked boardwalk trail deep into the rock corridors, taking in the narrow stone passages the wood is best known for alongside quieter details along the way: a cluster of wild mushrooms, tangled roots gripping the rock, close-up textures of moss and lichen, and a few of the small carved figures dotted among the boulders.
