Laymoor Quag

Tree lined path at Laymoor Quag

Laymoor Quag (c) Nathan Millar

Laymoor Quag

Laymoor Quag (c) Nathan Millar

Part of what once was a large wet heathland covering Cinderford, Laymoor Quag bursts with plant and insect life in the spring and a great place to look out for dragonflies in the summer months.

Location

Half a mile north west of Bilson Green
Cinderford
The nearest postcode is GL14 3ER

OS Map Reference

SO644144
What3Words: decorator.drizzly.dull
A static map of Laymoor Quag

Know before you go

Size
4 hectares
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Entry fee

Free
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Parking information

Please park at Ruspidge Halt car park, or street parking off Forest Vale Road, please check out the parking information at the bottom of this page for more information 

Grazing animals

Cattle

Walking trails

The reserve is crossed by various paths, with some following old rail lines, and a straight, tree-lined route along an embankment

Access

The track from the car park is a flat wide partially surfaced track

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

Open access throughout the year

Best time to visit

June to September

About the reserve

Due to coal-mining and afforestation in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Laymoor Quag is the last remaining relic of Cinderford’s wet heathland which once covered a large area.

Its marsh and ponds support a variety of wildflowers, including heather, gorse, heath bedstraw, lousewort, tormentil and sneezewort. Marsh marigold, cuckooflower, meadowsweet and ragged robin grow within the grass. At the eastern edge of the nature reserve there is a spring-fed pond surrounded by yellow iris, skullcaps and various bog mosses.

This is a great place for watching dragonflies hunting smaller insects and for spotting birds, mammals and reptiles, including adders. Great-crested newts have also been recorded here.

Parking and more detailed directions

Laymoor Quag is situated just outside the town of Cinderford, to the west of the Forest Vale Industrial Estate. The reserve lies within the large ‘open access’ area of Forestry Commission land in the Forest of Dean so there is free access to the reserve.

From the north-east (i.e. from Gloucester or Cheltenham), Cinderford is reached via either the A40 and A4136 or via the A48; and from the southwest via the A48 from the Severn Bridge crossings.

Whilst there is street parking close to reserve in the vicinity of Forest Vale Road, from which there is footpath access, it is recommended that people visiting the reserve by car park at Ruspidge Halt (nearest postcode is GL14 3ER), which is free of charge. From here it is exactly one mile (1.7km) on a well-graded footpath to the reserve.

Ruspidge Halt car park is located just off the B4226 ‘Speech House Road’ on the right as you come out of Cinderford (on the left if coming from the Coleford direction).
OS reference: SO649126
What3Words: harnessed.officers.charm

The footpath makes for a pleasant walk, on flat ground, passing ponds, woodland and open grassland areas. Head northwards from the car park with the rugby pitch on your left and continue until you reach a large vehicle sales compound on your left with a snack bar. Here the footpath crosses a dirt track. Pass the green metal Forestry Commission barrier and beneath an elevated pipe into an area of open grassland with Bilson Green sewage treatment works on your left. Continue north along the obvious footpath and you will reach the reserve on your left.
The walk from Ruspidge Halt car park to the reserve is just under 2km.