Royal visit to the Forest of Dean on April 24 2014

The Forest of Dean will be the focus of royal attention next month when The Earl and Countess of Wessex spend a day touring the district.

The Forest of Dean will be the focus of royal attention next month when The Earl and Countess of Wessex spend a day touring the district.

The couple will begin their tour on April 24 at Vantage Point Business Village in Mitcheldean, where they will be greeted by village schoolchildren and some of the 2,000 staff who work on the site.

The Earl will unveil a plaque at the official opening of the Forest Enterprise Hub – the first centre for young entrepreneurs in the county to be based on an industrial estate. It is a joint project co-ordinated by Vantage Point and the University of Gloucestershire. HRH will also visit a pudding maker, Forest students from Gloucestershire College and the only British roadsweeper manufacturer in the country - among other businesses.

Meanwhile, The Countess will be helping to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the Orchard Trust at Lydbrook, where she will meet the team led by Gareth Jones, who provide a vital range of services for people with learning disabilities.

The royal couple will then be reunited underground at Ray Wright’s famous Clearwell Caves, where they will see evidence of mining carried out beneath the Dean for more than 4,000 years - as well as meet today’s village schoolchildren.

During the afternoon, the royal spotlight will focus on the heart of the Forest at the Speech House, where owners Peter and Gill Hands will introduce The Earl and Countess to the guardians of the Dean’s ancient traditions - the Verderers, Freeminers, Commoners and Forestry Commission.

This will be followed by the planting of two trees – which has echoes of half a century earlier when The Queen and The Duke Edinburgh performed the same ceremony. The couple’s last duty at the Speech House will be to unveil a refurbished obelisk – which marks the very centre of the statutory Forest.

The final leg of the tour brings the Royal pair to Newent, where The Earl will cut a ribbon to mark the refurbishment of St Mary’s Church tower. Rector Simon Mason will be throwing open the church doors for The Earl and Countess to meet organisers of community groups inside – including the Lord’s Larder and Chill-Out Zone for young people.

The day will end with a special reception at the Three Choirs Vineyard, at nearby Dymock, for the great and the good of the Dean, where the Royal pair will toast their taster of life in the Forest.

Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire Dame Janet Trotter, who will be hosting the visit, said: “This is the first major royal tour of the Forest of Dean for many years and is a great boost to this very special area of the county. The visit will celebrate the traditions of the Forest, its wonderful sense of community and its current economic vibrancy.”