Puzzlewood
Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire is an ancient woodland of genuinely unique character, a landscape so strange and otherworldly in appearance that it has served as a filming location for some of the biggest productions in contemporary film and television. The twisted roots, tangled branches, deep mossy gullies and criss-crossing paths of the wood create an atmosphere simultaneously beautiful and slightly disorienting that has inspired writers, filmmakers and visitors for centuries. The geological origins of Puzzlewood's distinctive appearance lie in a combination of iron ore mining activity that took place from the Roman period until relatively recently, and the natural geological feature known as scowles. Scowles are irregular cavities and gullies formed in the limestone bedrock through the dissolving action of acidic water along fault lines, a process of chemical weathering that has produced the deep channels, rocky outcrops and irregular terrain that characterises the woodland. Over these natural landforms the miners excavated further in their search for iron ore deposited in the limestone, creating a landscape of human and natural excavation now covered by centuries of moss, tree root and vegetation. The result is a woodland where the ordinary rules of orientation are subtly suspended. Paths that appear to head in one direction curve unexpectedly, rises and falls occur where none might be expected on flat-looking ground, and the dense canopy creates pools of deep shade in which the scale and direction of the landscape are difficult to read. This quality made Puzzlewood the perfect location for the otherworldly forest scenes in Doctor Who, Merlin, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jack the Giant Slayer, among other productions. The privately managed woodland is open to visitors and the approximately one-mile circuit through the core of the site can be walked at a comfortable pace in around an hour, though most visitors linger considerably longer. The path leads through the most spectacular sections of the scowles, past ancient trees and over the remains of Roman iron workings. The woodland is particularly atmospheric in autumn when the leaf colour and lower light conditions intensify the sense of ancient enchantment. The Forest of Dean surrounding Puzzlewood is itself an exceptional area for walking and cycling, with over 100 miles of cycle trails and extensive footpaths through the ancient royal forest.