This circular walk uses well-marked paths and track across the Forest of Dean where you will discover a beautiful lake and an old colliery site on your way!
Calculated time: 2h45[?] 
Distance : 5.33mi
Vertical gain : 312ft
Vertical drop : 299ft
Highest point : 676ft
Lowest point : 410ft 
Difficulty : Easy
Back to starting point : Yes
Walking
Location : West Dean (Gloucestershire)
Starting point : N 51.783205° / W 2.541125° 
Park your car at the free car park next to New Fancy View Point.
(D/A) Head to the first parking area on the left until you join a signpost. Follow "Cycleway" on the right for 200 metres. Turn left when you join Family Cycle Route.
(1) After 350 metres, leave the cycle route and bear right at the fork following the yellow arrow. Ignore a grassy track on your left but continue straight ahead for 400 metres.
(2) At the next junction, turn left following the large path with purple and pink arrows before you bear right at the fork (still following these two arrows). Cross Blackpool Brook (barriers) and continue this main large path for almost half a mile before you turn right (pink and purple arrows).
(3) After a few metres, you reach stones. Ignore the path with a purple arrow in front of you but turn left following the pink one. Then, at the T-junction, bear left ignoring arrows.
(4) Go straight ahead for 500 metres before you cross over a cycle trail (notice three posts on the left). After 50 metres, turn immediately right to the footpath with a yellow arrow. Follow this very quiet path (I saw a deer!) for half a mile. Then, continue straight ahead past the barrier.
(5) At the next fork, bear left (leave the yellow sign), then continue straight ahead ignoring a path on your right until you reach another junction. At this junction, ignore the grassy way in front of you but turn left until you join a pretty large crossroads.
(6) Bear sharply right, continue straight ahead at the next junction before you turn left at the second one. Go straight for 600 metres.
(7) Cross over Spruce Ride, walk along Speech House Lake in front of you and take the narrow path on the left before you reach the end of the lake. Walk along Blackpool Brook until you join a perpendicular and well-marked path.
(8) Turn right, leave the first path on the left but take the second one still on your left at the junction after you crossed the brook (wooden barriers). Continue straight for half a mile. Then, your track follows a parallel track before you turn right and ascend a smaller path for 500 metres. At the top, turn sharply left to the grassy path before you reach the road.
(9) Go slightly down until you see a fallen tree. Bear immediately right to the narrow path. Continue straight this path (can be pretty muddy after wet conditions!) for 400 metres until you reach the remains of a colliery built in 1827 (stone walls) and "New Fancy Colliery Screens" sign. Go past the sign and you finally reach the first junction signpost. Turn right and you are back to the car park.(D/A)
Waypoints :
D/A : mi 0 - alt. 518ft - Free car park next to New Fancy View Point
1 : mi 0.41 - alt. 459ft - Yellow arrow
2 : mi 0.65 - alt. 410ft - Purple and pink arrows
3 : mi 1.15 - alt. 482ft - Stones
4 : mi 1.83 - alt. 551ft - Cycle trail
5 : mi 2.49 - alt. 607ft - Fork
6 : mi 2.91 - alt. 620ft - Sharp right turn
7 : mi 3.77 - alt. 518ft - Speech House Lake
8 : mi 4.05 - alt. 495ft - Barriers
9 : mi 4.92 - alt. 535ft - Fallen tree
D/A : mi 5.33 - alt. 518ft - Free car park next to New Fancy View Point
Visorando and this author cannot be held responsible in the case of accidents or problems occuring on this walk.
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