Forest of Dean Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Ashley - Verified booking

  We were looking for a cottage with good walks around for over the New Year.

  Needed to be relatively quietly located as we have one dog (of our 2) that hates the fireworks that usually accompany the New Year coming in. This fitted the bill and was reduced in price too for the 3 nights we wanted. Friendly owner who lives in main house next door. We had use of her adjoining fields too which were great for a quick exercise of the dogs straight from the cottage. The cottage was as advertised and well kitted out. PROS - Good to have hard flooring across the ground floor (plus mats & rugs) that allowed easy movement of the dogs without having to worry about marks etc. The entrance "hall" was great with a mat and then stone floor that helped allow our dogs to be dried down after the many wet walks we had. There was a hose outside the main house too for getting mud off easily. Beds were comfortable but beware low headroom, especially in the upstairs bedroom and downstairs toilet. Having the heating on allowing a warm cottage to come back to was really appreciated. Great library of walks and places to go. CONS - The shower head attachment in the first floor bathroom was broken. When flushing the ground floor toilet, there is a sound akin to a warning klaxon - beware night use! OTHER THINGS TO NOTE - Broadband/WiFi in the cottage was sporadic, probably due to location and BT's poor local infrastructure. No mobile signal inside cottage (some outside though depending on your provider) Welsh Newton is a hamlet with no local shops. Best to go to Monmouth (15 mins drive away for that). If you walk locally (and have dogs), none of the stiles have dog gates - get ready to manhandle your hounds over the stiles. Overall, a good time was had by all (including our labrador & labradoodle).

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• Claire - Verified booking

  Had a very lovely and much needed break away at Dovetail.

  The cottage itself was really nice - it was very much appreciated to arrive somewhere where even the basics such as tea bags, washing up liquid and some condiments were available along with a bottle of wine and chocolate biscuits! Nice outdoor space with beautiful views (fabulous for star gazing on a clear night). Heads up if you have young children as the gates are open straight on to a busy A road (I'm sure you could close the gates!). Glorious weather definitely helped a stay away in the middle of a pandemic when we weren't sure what would or wouldn't be open. The Forest of Dean was only about 20 minutes drive away, Gloucester the same. We also visited Westbury Court Gardens (National Trust) less than 10 minutes drive away which was nice and had a short river walk from there (Westbury-On-Severn itself has nothing apart from a pub and church!). We went up well equipped with meals ready to heat so can't comment on local pubs, restaurants or take aways. There were big supermarkets all short drives away. WiFi would have been useful. Would normally scoff at such a suggestion when on a holiday, but being self employed did need to do a level of work whilst away so my data took a hammering! As already mentioned, do be mindful if you have young children who could easily escape out of the gates if left open. The driveway can be easily missed too and you are turning in to it off a fast main road so do be careful of tailgating drivers behind. We used the bus shelter opposite as a point of reference! Thank you for a grand stay in a lovely, homely cottage. Perfect for the three of us.

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• Julian - Verified booking

  This is a lovely little place which is comfortable and clean.

  The view from the back is very picturesque and it is good having the rear patio with doors opening onto it - it gets the afternoon sun as well. We could let our dog out that way for a wander. There were dog bowls in the cottage. There was a bottle of wine in the fridge when we arrived, a nice touch. The kitchen area is very serviceable as is the shower/toilet, there's always plenty of hot water. The location is really between Minsterworth and Westbury-on-Severn. It takes about thirty five minutes to walk to Westbury. There is a first class pub with quality menu (The Lyon Inn) in Westbury- go there. The nearest pub, some fifteen minutes easy walk, is The Severn Bore which is like a local in character and basic pub grub can be had there. Both places are dog friendly and with good beer gardens. We'd recommend that anyone staying at The Dovetail brings some food supplies as there are no shops around at convenient distance although there is a premier with a limited choice attached to a nearby Esso petrol station as well as a pricey specialist food outlet just opposite the petrol station. There are no shops in Westbury. If anyone thinking of staying here has a need for internet access - there isn't wi-fi, okay for the likes of me but not for some. We had a cracking stay at Dovetail, the four nights went too quickly. It was good value and is a good base for walkers and anyone wishing to visit the Forest of Dean. I'd recommend it.

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• Heather - Verified booking

  We had a nice stay here recently.

  The property was spacious enough for us (two adults, one child and two dogs). It was well equipped by the owner and had some thoughtful additions. Like the listing mentions, the property is on a main 50mph road which meant the traffic was noisy well into the night. It didn’t matter to us but some might find it too much. Despite being a dog friendly property, I would not say that the outside area is secure. Smaller dogs could easily get under the main gate onto the busy road. Fortunately I’d taken a long-like lead for one of ours. A couple of things would have improved our stay - *the lawn had not been cut for a while. It was quite long so not suitable for our child to play on. Some dog faeces was also found in the grass so we picked it up when we arrived * the ventilator fan in the bathroom began banging loudly after being on a few mins. *the double fire doors were hard to open without reasonable force We had plenty to do in the area and would recommend the following: *the cafe at Birdwood Garden Centre * The Forest Of Dean walks * the view from Symonds Yat * Gloucester Cathedral (although the town centre was run down, the cathedral was beautiful) * Monmouth * Gloucester Quays for lunch Thank you for sharing your property with us

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• Laura - Verified booking

  We have loved our stay at Dovetail.

  It is really peaceful and relaxing. The cottage is provided with everything you could need and quite spacious. It was lovely to wake up to the cows every morning and watch the sunrise. Nice touches of tea, coffee, sugar, wine and a few other bits readily available, thank you! We all had showers every evening after exploring and it did the trick, but it’s not very powerful. Things are a bit mismatched and dated, this did not matter to us, but it would to some. The gate, with the sleepers, is fantastic to keep the dog safe, she loved having space to explore and we could relax knowing she was safe. The road is a 50mph road and extremely busy through the day, however it did not once disturb our sleep or become noticeable when relaxing, it’s constant background noise. The views and immediate surroundings are beautiful. Unfortunately my car broke down while there, but we were saved by the bus stop 1min walk away on either side of the road, this was an excellent service on time both ways, £2 each for any distance journey. Gloucester town is a lovely place to explore with a magnificent cathedral, lots of history and shops. A family of 3 generations and a dog have had a very nice break, we were sad to leave. Thank you

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