All walks › Monmouthshire and the Lower Wye
Monmouthshire and the Lower WyeWentwood Forest
The largest ancient woodland in Wales, on a ridge between the Usk and the Wye, with a Bronze Age standing stone and views over the Severn.
- Distance
- 4.3 mi / 7 km
- Time
- 2 hr 20
- Ascent
- 180 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
Forest tracks and paths loop from the car park through the woodland, taking in the Curley Oak and the viewpoints over the estuary. Waymarked but the forest is large.
Worth knowing
- The Curley Oak is around six hundred years old and one of the oldest trees in Wales.
- Much of the ancient woodland was replaced with conifers and is now being restored to broadleaf.
- The Foresters’ Oaks car park is the easiest start; the forest is big enough to get turned round in.
What you’ll see
Ancient oaks among the plantation, the Gray Hill standing stones nearby, and the Severn estuary from the ridge.
Background
Wentwood was a royal hunting forest with its own courts and laws, recorded from the thirteenth century and probably far older.