Visitor information
Opening hours
Mallards Pike 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.
Mallards Pike 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.
Mallards Pike Cafe
Mallards Pike Cafe's opening hours vary depending on the time of year.
How to find us
What3Words location: ///reflect.eternally.shaped
Sat Nav Postcode:
GL15 4HDBy Car
You will find Mallards Pike half way along the road between Parkend and Blakeney.
By Public Transport
- We welcome car-free visitors and those arriving by public transport or bike. 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. Mallards Pike is part of the Forest of Dean South area. For more information, check out the website. Available 7:00am to 7:00pm, Monday to Saturday.
OS Grid Ref
51.780938722642, -2.5289297828033
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 Mallards Pike.
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 2 hours | £4.00 |
| Up to 4 hours | £6.00 |
| All day | £8.00 |
| 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 Mallards Pike, so please bring a bag to take your litter home. There are dog waste bins for bagged dog waste only. Mallards Pike Cafe provide bins for cafe customers only.
Our toilet block comprises five gender-neutral toilets (including one with a baby changing table), four women's toilets and a gender-neutral accessible toilet with a baby changing table. The toilet block is located next to the ticket machines, between the car park and cafe.
Public WiFi and signal
There is Forestry England public wifi available around the car park, toilet and cafe. Mallards Pike Cafe offers free wifi for customers.
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 accept card and contactless payments only. Mallards Pike Cafe accepts cash, card and contactless payments.
Accessibility and mobility
For more information about Mallards Pike to help you plan your visit, take a look at our access 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 hiring an all-terrain mobility scooter.
Pre-visit access information
Visit our access information page from the link below.
- Accessible toilet
- Assistance dogs welcome
- Baby changing facilities
- Cafe
- Dogs allowed
- Easy access trail
- Picnic area
- Public Wifi available
- Toilets
Contact details
