Dean Green Team

Wildlife Conservation Group in the

Forest of Dean

Gloucestershire

10 March 2026

Pan Tod, Ruardean Hill

We visited Pan Tod to remove large gorse and young trees so that it would open out the view.

Pan Tod is the highest point in the Forest of Dean and stands at 951 feet (290 metres) with stunning views to the north and east. There is a beacon on the top, a viewpoint which a crouched figure of a miner with a topograph sitting on his back and a memorial to remember freeminers who died in mining accidents in the Forest of Dean.

The beacon was built in 2002 and is lit to commemorate important occasions. This was followed by the statue of a crouching miner installed in 2008 and the memorial to miners killed in accidents which was added in 2017. Together they represent a striking feature on the hill.

This dial shows the direction and distance to nearby features

The origin of the name, Pan Tod, is unclear. There were many small mines close to Ruardean and the beacon is only one mile from the site of Northern United Colliery.