The Gift Shop
Our Gift shop is situated at the front of our site below The Heritage Coffee Shop. The gift shop is also where visitors purchase tickets to The Museum and Gruffalo Trail. We sell a wide variety of products in our Gift Shop including local produce such as honey, art, souvenirs for The Dean Heritage Centre and Forest of Dean, handmade jewelry, books on local history and events, home décor, and gifts. We also have souvenirs for our younger visitors including cuddly toys of local wildlife, kid’s jewelry, children’s books, toys, and of course lots of Gruffalo-themed gifts too!
We at The Dean Heritage Centre want to be a reflection of the local area and have a great love for the Forest of Dean and therefore want to mirror that sentiment in our Gift Shop. Most of the items in our Shop are made and crafted by local people and businesses and/or made sustainably. So, whether you are a part of the community of the Forest of Dean wanting to support local crafters and businesses or you are a tourist visiting the area and want a souvenir to remind you of your trip to the Forest, we have you covered.
For any enquiries contact Matthew, Shop Manager, Matthew@deanheritagecentre.com or call 01594 822170.
Subscribe to The DHC Journal to get a sneak peek on products and the inside scoop!
This Month's Gift Shop Highlights
Our Charcoal - Dean Heritage Charcoal
A sustainable product: All our charcoal is made using locally grown hardwood trees. These trees readily re-grow, from the stump when cut down, producing many small stems, which can be cut again and again almost indefinately. This type of management is called coppicing, a tradtional form of woodland management, which is alo beneficial to wildlife. The wood for our charcoal is obtained as a result of sustainable managment of woodlands in the Forest of Dean.
Traditional Method: The Dean Heritage Centre is one of the only places in the country to make charcoal using the tradtional turf and earth kiln method. This is very different to the method used by most charcoal burners today, which involves portable steel kilns. We demonstrate this ancient method of charcoal production twice a year during the late May Bank Holiday and August Bank Holiday weekends.
Environmental details: Through buying this charcoal you are helping to encourage the sustainable management of local woodlands. In turn this reduces the amount of charcoal that is imported, much of which is a product of forest destruction or tropical rainforest clearance. You are also heping to reduce the amount of pollution created through transporting charcoal thousands of miles.
Easy to light: Firelighters or lighting fuel are not required. Just roll up a small amount of charcoal in newspaper and light. Once lit add more charcoal as required. Ready to cook in 15 to 20 minutes.