5 Ways to Escape the Everyday at Home in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley

A hub for creative types and full of unique characterful businesses, the Dean Wye has lots of great crafty, wellbeing and entertainment experiences to be enjoyed at home. From mosaic making kits to virtual yoga classes, foodie hampers to online lessons and plenty of locations used in films and tv programmes to enjoy watching on screen, don’t make do with the everyday in this colourful, eclectic and magical area.

Here are just a few ways you can escape the everyday at home in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley:

1. Get Crafty and Learn a New Skill

Trying a new activity and bringing some creativity and fun into your life is an ideal way to spend lockdown at home. You can enjoy a fun crafty experience with an at home mosaic making or pottery painting kit from two great Dean Wye businesses. You will create something unique and personal which you can keep for yourself or give as a gift. 

Mosaic Making Kits: Rachel Shilston is an inspiring artist with a workshop in the Forest of Dean. She specialises in mosaic and has created a range of craft sets ideal for beginners to enjoy at home. From rainbows to unicorns, hearts to coasters and Christmassy kits including a trio of baubles, a snowman or angel, a gingerbread house, Christmas trees and even ‘cheat’ kits for kids. Her fabulous mosaic wreath featured on Kirstie's Handmade Christmas and her in house workshops include learning how to make larger pieces such as this. She also provides video tutorials on her Facebook page for lots of other great at home creative ideas, including mosaic animals using everyday items.

Pottery Painting Kits: Unleash your inner Picasso with a takeaway pottery painting kit from Hot Pot Pottery. An opportunity to paint a beautiful pottery piece from their wide range at home and have it glazed and fired for you. Choose a mug or a bowl, a heart shaped box or a money box. Or choose something from their Christmas range such as a tree hanger, bauble or reindeer. Unfortunately these cannot be posted so you need to be local in order to pick a kit up and drop it back to them for firing.

You could also become a tree explorer, learn about British bluebells, play Tree Trumps or enjoy the new family activity packs all available free from Forestry England. Great for getting youngsters interested in nature and learning about flora and fauna while having fun and you might learn a thing or two too!

2. Virtual Experiences for at Home Wellbeing and Entertainment

While group events may not be able to take place at the moment, the beauty of the internet means that you can still enjoy a great virtual experience, wellbeing activity or fun entertainment in the comfort of your home. We have yoga classes, pub quizzes, magic shows, comedy and more which can be enjoyed without having to step outside.

Yoga: A forest retreat might not be possible, but virtually it can be, with instructor-led yoga classes from Forest Retreats along the Wye Valley. Calm your mind and energise your body with a flow yoga session or maybe you’d like to increase your skills by booking a private Zoom session for one-on-one tuition. Owner Hayley also created this 25 minute beginner’s yoga video for us. Breathe, stretch, take some time for yourself and give it a try even if you've never done yoga before or you're out of practice.

Entertainment: For all the family, you will find streamed entertainment courtesy of the Savoy Theatre in Monmouth. From comedy gigs and talks to musicals and live theatre, there is something for everyone.

Parties: Have a Virtual Party with all the trimmings from Hillside Brewery. Purchase a drinks package of beer or local gin and tonic with branded glassware direct to the door and your evening's entertainment sorted. Their virtual pub quizzes have been going down a treat as well, with home deliveries of beer making it feel all the more authentic.

Art History: Learn about the great artists of the 19th century or take an introductory class on art history online. Chepstow and Abergavenny Museums’ popular art appreciation courses for 2021 have gone online! Find out more here.

3. Savour Forest Flavours and Delicious Deliveries

Many of our restaurants, pubs and cafes have adapted their offering since lockdown began to provide a wide range of food and drink takeaways and deliveries. From boxed afternoon teas to cooked meals, hampers to fresh produce, there’s no reason you can’t still enjoy a treat and sample some our wonderful local produce from home.

Dean Wye Delicacies to Your Door: Wherever you are in the country you can get a hamper delivered to you bursting with local produce from Dean Wye Hampers with a wide range available you don't have to miss out on our great local produce this lockdown. 

Shop Local: Forest Deli in the heart of the Forest of Dean have a huge range of produce including cheese, bread, chocolate, condiments, beer, wine, cider and spirits plus a range of hampers ideal for sampling the best of the Dean Wye in the comfort of your own home and they deliver locally. You'll also find home deliveries now available from our other farm shops and delis, breweries and gin distilleries, perfect for supporting local and enjoying our wonderful food and drink.

Learn to Cook: Harts Barn Cookery School’s recipes and tutorials are useful for some at home learning from easy flatbreads to Christmas Cake. They also provide a monthly takeaway supper club with recent themes including Japanese, Sri Lankan and Mexican.

4. Get Lost in Another World

Setjetters delight, this is an area where many huge productions have been filmed. Download our Film & TV Trail to explore the locations that provided the backdrop to scenes in everything from Star Wars to Doctor Who, Harry Potter to Merlin.

At the heart of the forest, Puzzlewood will take your breath away with its magical mossy woodland. Watch one of their lovely videos and you can imagine yourself as a stormtrooper or wizard, fairy or giant slayer.

You'll find recent BBC hit His Dark Materials available on iPlayer now perfect for immersing yourself in a magical realm while stuck at home. Or delve into the Secret Garden on Sky which features Puzzlewood as the garden Mary tumbles into. The entire series of Merlin is also available on iPlayer which showcases a huge variety of Dean Wye locations.

Or maybe gaming is more your thing? Assassin's Creed Valhalla features Puzzlewood as one of the epic locations brought to life in the game. The graphics are truly impressive with many English locations used. See a fun video comparing the game to real life here. You can also do some virtual tourism with this great article comparing the real life locations to the game including Puzzlewood and Clearwell Caves here.

5. Shop a Huge Range of Local Produce, Arts and Crafts

From award-winning gin to luxury chocolates, glorious mead, cheese boards and sweets to hampers bursting with goodies. Our unique creators and independent producers have moved online to sell everything from food and drink to local paintings and sculpture, clothing, gift sets and jewellery. 

Take a look at our online gift guide and we're sure you'll find something for everyone and maybe even a little something for yourself too.

Also take a look at all the other ways in which you can support local businesses during lockdown while taking part in virtual events, online classes and enjoying takeaways and deliveries.

We even have a Wildlife Word Search in our Visitor Guide as well as plenty of great content to enjoy reading.