Visitor information
Opening hours
Beechenhurst is open every day except Christmas Day. The site opens at 8am every day and the closing times are as follows:
- November to February – 5pm
- March – 6:30pm
- April – 8pm
- May to August – 9pm
- September – 7:30pm
- October – 6:30pm
Overnight parking is not permitted. The access barrier to the car park is locked at night when the site is closed.
Beechenhurst doesn't have designated quiet times, but it is usually less busy on weekdays (outside of school holidays), earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon. If visiting at the weekend or on a bank holiday, the forest is usually less busy before 10am and after 4pm.
Information Point
Our information point is open during peak times (usually 11am to 3pm in the summer and school holidays). The information point is run mainly by dedicated volunteers, so opening times may vary.
Beechenhurst Cafe
Beechenhurst Cafe is open daily (opening times vary).
How to find us
Please note that our postcode may direct your satnav to the nearby Speech House Hotel. If that happens, you can follow brown signs from there to find us.
What3Words location: ///impressed.abruptly.deed
Sat Nav Postcode:
GL16 7ELBy Car
Follow tourist signs for the Forest of Dean. Take the B4226 Coleford to Cinderford road. Beechenhurst is located between the B4234 crossroads (Parkend/Lydbrook) and the Speech House Hotel.
By Public Transport
- We welcome car-free visitors and those arriving by public transport or bike. Plan your journey at Good Journey, or see all public travel and active travel routes for the Forest of Dean District in the Forest of Dean Travel Guide.
- The Robin Bus is your local, friendly bookable bus service. From Gloucestershire County Council, this bus service improves connections between rural areas which often have infrequent or no fixed routes available. Beechenhurst is part of the Forest of Dean South area. For more information, check out the website. Available 7am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday.
- From Coleford, Stagecoach buses stop a short walk away from the entrance to Beechenhurst. Visit Stagecoach's website to plan your journey.
OS Grid Ref
51.806067402752, -2.5609087944031
Parking and prices
You can pay for your parking at one of our parking machines with debit/credit card or Google Pay/Apple Pay. Equally, you can skip the queues and pay for your parking through the RingGo app.
Save with a membership
Forestry England members park for free at Beechenhurst.
Support our work in the Forest of Dean with a Forest of Dean membership, or choose a national membership and support the nation's forests. Both memberships cover the whole household.
Parking Charges
| Early bird - exit before 10.30am | £2.50 |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 hour | £3.50 |
| Up to 2 hours | £5.00 |
| Up to 3 hours | £6.00 |
| Up to 4 hours | £7.00 |
| All day | £9.00 |
| Minibuses | |
|---|---|
| Up to 2 hours | £11.00 |
| Up to 4 hours | £13.00 |
| All day | £15.00 |
| Coaches | |
|---|---|
| Up to 2 hours | £20.00 |
| Up to 4 hours | £22.00 |
| All day | £24.00 |
Additional information
There is no charge for car-free visitors and those arriving by public transport or bike.
Members: This site has barrierless ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition). You do not need to display your membership car disc here, your number plate will be recognised. Please visit Manage My Membership if you need to update your vehicle registrations. Only one vehicle is permitted per visit. Free parking for Forestry England national members and Forest of Dean members only.
Facilities and access
There are no general litter bins at Beechenhurst, so please bring a bag to take your litter home. There are dog waste bins for bagged dog waste only. Beechenhurst Cafe provide bins for cafe customers only.
Our toilets comprise a women's toilet with 8 cubicles (including one with a baby changing table), a men's toilet with 4 cubicles plus urinals, a gender-neutral accessible toilet with a baby changing table and a gender-neutral Changing Places facility. These are all located in and around the main building. The Changing Places facility is opened with a radar key, which is available from the cafe or the information point.
Public WiFi and signal
Beechenhurst Cafe offers free wifi for customers. There is no Forestry England public wifi available.
Phone signal in the Forest of Dean can be patchy and is generally non-existent within the deeper woodland. We recommended that you download any trail maps before heading out on one of our trails.
Payments on site
Our car parking machines and information point accept card and contactless payments only. Beechenhurst Cafe accepts cash, card and contactless payments.
Accessibility and mobility
For more information about Beechenhurst to help you plan your visit, take a look at our accessibility information page. If you have any questions, please contact our ranger team by emailing fodrangers@forestryengland.uk
Visit our mobility hire page for information about our all-terrain mobility scooter.
Pre-visit access information
Visit our access information page from the link below.
- Accessible toilet
- All-terrain mobility scooter hire
- BBQ
- Baby changing facilities
- Cafe
- Changing places
- Dogs allowed
- Easy access trail
- Inclusive play areas
- Information point
- Picnic area
- Play Area
- Ranger's Office
- Toilets
Contact details
