Dean, Forest of

Dean, Forest of, ancient royal forest (c.30,000 acres/12,141 hectares), Gloucestershire, W England, between the Severn estuary and the gorges of the Wye River. It was the first (1938) of the National Forest Parks of Great Britain. In the forest are ruins of Roman roads and mines. The forest's economic value lies in its collieries, stone quarries, and timber.

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