Letters From London: The Mysteries of the Puzzlewood

A couple of weekends ago, my flatmate Kat and I took a spontaneous adventure into the wilds of the English countryside. Our destination was a magical, secret forest known as Puzzlewood, a grove known for being the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, as well as a filming location for TV shows Doctor Who, Merlin, Jack the Giant Killer, and Atlantis.

My ever steadfast travelling companion.

But the thing about magical forests is that they're almost impossible to find. Kat and I had a movie-worthy adventure trying to find the forest, let alone exploring it.

I would file Puzzlewood under the category of "England's Best Kept Secrets" for sure. Most of the tourists, believe it or not, were actually from the UK! Because the visitors to Puzzlewood that day were rather local, we could enjoy a day in peace away from the bustling crowds of London.

Unfortunately, the travel to get there was a hassle. Puzzlewood is one of those places that visitors are supposed to drive to. As Kat and I can't legally drive in the UK, that presented us with a bit of a problem. As it was, we had to ask for directions at least seven times. In the end, though, we took two trains, a bus, and used our God-given feet to get us there.

Everything began, as most day trips do, with an early morning. At the crack of dawn, Kat and I dragged ourselves out of bed and slouched into the bathrooms. To catch our early train to the tiny town of Lydney, England, we had to leave the flat at 7:30.

Shivering, we set out into the early morning. We caught the circle line train to Paddington station (yes, like the bear), where we barely had time to get my BritRail pass stamped before we boarded the train. After failing to sneak into first class, Kat and I settled down in standard for the long trip, with a train change, to Lydney, an in-the-middle-of-nowhere town close to the Welsh border.

As it turns out, Lydney is, not only in the boonies, but the station is nowhere near the town centre. Kat and I accidentally joined a marathon running at the time as we struck out for what we thought was the way there. With the help of many, many, nice people, we eventually found the bus stop to catch our bus for the even tinier town of Milkwall.

Meet the local 'shrooms!

Because it was a Sunday, there was one bus. On a cycle, Going through all these teeny villages. We caught the bus and made it to Milkwall, but at once we got there, we saw a wall, but no milk. I was rather put out.

Puzzlewood was nowhere in sight. We went down the hill to a local bed-and-breakfast outside of town. The lovely owners smiled. We had overshot our destination by 200 meters. Kat and I began walking in the direction we were pointed in. There, in the middle of rolling farmland, we saw it. A small pocket of lush green surrounded by fences filled with highland cattle and rams.

After stopping by the farmhouse, which served as the headquarters for the area, for lunch, we began our journey. And what an adventure it was. To describe Puzzlewood accurately, I would have to say it was a forest from a fantasy storybook. I could imagine the fairies flitting around the trees, and elves hiding in the foliage, watching us closely to see if we were a threat. But how could we be, when we were already in love?

Puzzlewood was quiet, because there weren't huge crowds. We met other visitors on the winding paths a few times, but otherwise, we had the woods to ourselves. The only other thing going on was a production of A Midsummer' Night's Dream that we accidentally stumbled upon.

The first time, the actors thought we were part of the group that paid extra to view the show, so they herded us in with the rest of the group, telling us to be, "as quiet as ninjas."

Inside the little sitting area we were guided into, the story began. The characters were dressed in modern costume, but spoke Shakespeare's original lines from the play. My highlight (or was it a lowlight?) when the character Frances Flute cries out that he can't play a woman because he has a beard coming. At this point, the actor vaulted himself onto the picnic table behind me, grabbed my wrist, and shoved my hand into his rough facial hair, forcing my hand to stroke his beard. He did this for a while, until one of the other actors snapped at him to release me, which he did immediately.

Kat and I broke away from the group as soon as we could. One, because we didn't pay to see the show, and we felt bad for even watching even the tiniest snippet, and two, because we wanted to discover the mysteries of Puzzlewood on our own.

Entrance to the maze.

Besides the forest, visitors had the option to stay in on-site cabins, pet some cute animals, play in a willow forest, and a very clever indoor maze, where the goal was not to escape, but to find nine pictures of farm animals in it's multi-level confusion. Kat and I were climbing and ducking, slinking around corners and squeezing through tiny gaps as we searched our way to success.

It was glorious. Puzzlewood is a hidden jewel in the crown of the UK, and I highly recommend a visit. Even if it is a hassle getting there and back.

Just don't go on a Sunday.