8-467: Lying close to the village of Soudley in the Forest of Dean , west Gloucestershire , Soudley Ponds ( grid reference SO662112 ), also known as Sutton Ponds, comprise four linked man-made ponds lined in succession through the narrow Sutton Valley, and surrounded by stands of tall Douglas Fir . It is a 7.04-hectare (17.4-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1984. The site
16-501: A result, the centre is regularly frequented by schools from the local area and Wales. A number of small guest houses and holiday-let properties exist in the village, catering for people wishing to enjoy the local countryside or use the village as a base when visiting the Forest of Dean. Soudley Brook runs through the village, and is used to host the annual Soudley Duck Race ; where residents and visitors gather to sponsor ducks and race them
24-629: Is a popular destination for tourists visiting the Forest of Dean, largely due to the local scenery and its proximity to several tourist attractions. Nearby attractions include the Dean Heritage Centre , Soudley Ponds , Blaize Bailey viewpoint and the Blue Rock Trail. Activities at the Dean Heritage Centre include chain-saw wood carving and courses on manual wood turning. There are also many educational resources available on site and, as
32-642: Is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS). The ponds were formerly believed to have been dug in the 18th century to provide water to the furnaces in the Soudley Valley and at the nearby Camp Mill . In fact these would have been fed from the Soudley Brook, and from the Tilting Mill Pool, now in the grounds of the Dean Heritage Centre . It has also been erroneously claimed that they were dug long before this as fish ponds by
40-610: The anglers of the Soudley Fishing Consortium. All of the land within Soudley Ponds SSSI is owned by the Forestry Commission . [REDACTED] Media related to Soudley Ponds at Wikimedia Commons Soudley Soudley , including Upper Soudley , is a village to the west of Cinderford , in the civil parish of Ruspidge and Soudley , in the Forest of Dean district, Gloucestershire , England. Soudley
48-526: The length of the village. The day is accompanied by a small fair that takes place in the village hall. The village has a public house called the White Horse. It has two skittles teams and regularly hosts events such as quiz nights and snail races. The village also has a football club that competes in the North Gloucestershire Division 1. This Gloucestershire location article is
56-577: The monks of the nearby Flaxley Abbey . However, Atkinson’s map of 1847 shows only a stream running through the valley where the ponds now lie, and it is nowadays assumed that were created as fish ponds after the land’s 1836 purchase by mine-owner William Crawshay . In 1899 the ponds, along with the rest of the Abbotswood Estate, were sold by Robert Crawshay , William’s son, to the Crown, from which point they were leased for fishing to private individuals. It
64-534: Was only in 1906 that the ponds became as they are today, following the work of Arthur Morgan, who had that year acquired the lease of the ponds, and after whom the lowest of the ponds is still locally known as Morgan’s Pool. Now in the care of Forestry England , and declared an SSSI by Natural England , the ponds are one of the Forest of Dean’s most delightful spots, particularly in Spring and in Autumn, and are still used by
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