‘Where can I go on holiday with a toddler?” It’s a question often posed and rarely well-answered (in fact, the most common answer seems to be 'don’t'). And yet the hard-sought middle ground of something that will make both small children and their parents happy is closer than you think.
As the UK sets in for a bumper acorn crop and a season of spectacular autumnal leaves, my little family (husband and nearly-two-year-old) headed across the Severn plain towards the rolling hills of the Forest of Dean and a cottage on the edge of its imposing, ancient woods.
Where to stay
Forest Barn Holidays (part of the Premier Cottages collection), is located on the outskirts of the village of Gloucestershire’s Littledean, eight miles from the Welsh border, a small hamlet of 17th-century cottages all carefully converted into self-catering stays that’s increasingly gaining popularity as a wedding venue.
Owner Lynda is quick on the scene; arriving in a golf cart to usher us into Meadow Byre, a charming, two-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage that comes with the all-important hot tub under the eaves (as does every property on site).
Inside, there's a welcome basket that showcases the best of local produce, including apple juice, eggs laid from the on-site hens and a bottle of Lynda’s own sparkling wine; a delicious-tasting passion project made in collaboration with Gloucestershire vineyard Three Choirs, using grapes grown on site.
It's cosy from the off. There's a plethora of thick towels, dressing gowns and slippers on each bed, plus a wood burner to heat up those longer nights. On our September visit, however, the terrace is a perfect suntrap, and we soak up the rays to the soundtrack of birdsong (the robins and siskins are loud and proud), and gently rushing trees, while our son busies himself with arranging his toy car collection.
Lynda is rightfully proud of their eco-friendly focus: there’s EV charging on site, while hot water comes from a biomass boiler which uses woodchip from the forest and guests are encouraged to recycle (any bread leftovers end up feeding the on-site flock of chickens).
What facilities are there?
In short, everything a toddler family could wish for? Has your child fallen in a puddle? Head to the on-site laundry room, which has washers and dryers. Do they need to burn off excess energy? There's a field complete with an old tractor and play set that our son couldn’t stop sliding down. Fancy communing with nature? Join Lynda for the daily chicken feed. In summer, she loves leading bug hunts: the glow worms of June and July dusks are a particular hit. If it’s raining, there’s a playroom for the under fives, complete with a Brio train set (a huge hit)
For adults? There’s the post-bedtime promise of a glass of Lynda’s own sparkling wine by a warm fire, or under the stars in your hot tub. Those more energetically minded can test out the adult games room, which has table tennis and pool tables among many other activities. Guests can also book in a therapist for in-cottage spa treatments, order in home-cooked food like lasagnes and book in a family picnic on the farm’s viewing platform, perched in the forest.
For a real treat, Lynda organised a visit from White Birch Manor to whip up a barbecue (they’re among local suppliers, such as Louise Pritchard, who does flowers and venue styling, who come together to make weddings on-site a day to remember).
We sat down to an absolute feast cooked up by chef Symon and served by Ruth: mojito cooked lamb, maple glazed belly of pork, harissa and cumin chicken and most memorably, a hickory smoked brisket we’ve still been dreaming about. To call it a barbecue barely does it justice.
For essentials, local town Cinderford has a well-stocked Tesco a six-minute drive away for fridge-stocking. We also enjoyed fish and chips from Littledean (a three-minute drive), and an early evening visit for pizza and playing in the barn at Bespoke Brewery’s Littledean Tap House.
Of course, you’re right on the edge of the Forest itself, with spectacular views across the valley below, where the ‘dragon’s breath’ mist creeps off the valley floor to rise above the fir trees like the buzzards circling above. Various walks are suggested in the welcome pack and are customisable: we turned a two hour hike into a forty minute loop, passing a tapestry of trees along the way, from looming oaks to weeping birches.
What is there to do off-site?
Everything we visited was within a 20-minute drive.
There’s Symond’s Yat, a spectacular viewpoint that gives you incredible views over the Wye river and maybe even the glimpse of a peregrine: the bird spotters were out in force during our trip. A well-stocked coffee shop that sold wild boar focaccia and white hot chocolates was another hit.
The atmospheric area of Soudley Ponds is just three minutes drive from the cottage. And from the ponds, you can drive to the Forest of Dean Heritage centre, where we adults enjoyed learning more about the mining and forestry history of the local area. maybe more importantly for Mr Toddler, however, there’s a Gruffalo trail to explore (you can pay just for the trail, if you like) and an adventure playground to finish on.
Located at Forestry England’s Beechenhurst site (which has a fantastic adventure playground, cafe and cycling too), a visit to the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail (free, you only have to pay for parking) was probably wishful thinking from two adults who would have relished the opportunity to have spotted all 18 sculptures on the 7.7 km trail. We took the 3km option instead (fair warning, it’s not flat!) before relaxing at the playground with a cone of local ice cream.
Perrygrove Steam Railway is a dream come true for every toddler: a little chuffing steam train that skirts a site with a playground, wolf walks and an indoor area with lots of toy train tracks to play with. Mr Toddler was devastated to leave.
Another recommendation we didn’t make was a walk around Puzzlewood, a temperate rainforest that’s been used as a filming location for Star Wars, the force awakens.
With amazing mazes to conquer, cycle trails to explore and heritage sites yet to visit, it only means one thing - we’ll have to come back.
For more information visit premiercottages.co.uk
