Plans for a new sculpture trail in the Forest of Dean have been given the go-ahead.

Visitors to Beechenhurst near Coleford will be treated to eight new pieces of artwork which will be installed in time for the school holidays this summer.

The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail attracts more than 300,000 people every year.

And trustees hope that new temporary sculptures will bring even more visitors as the UK starts to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new route is a shorter, more accessible, fun and family-orientated trail called Forest to Forest – and it will be in place until October.

The new sculptures have been designed by different artists and include arms hugging trees, a poem cut into a steel cylinder surrounding a tree and a wicker bench shelter.

There will also be native wildflower paintings hanging from the trees, dozens of bright red bugs made from garden hand trowels crawling up tree trunks and lightweight modules suspended from the canopy.

The new trail will also have an undulating canopy made of 1,600 recycled plastic bottles filled with coloured water and several giant colourful totem poles.

None of the installations will be fenced off and there will be no description or signage so visitors will be expected to make their own judgement of what the sculptures represent.

These installations will feature alongside the Forest’s existing Sculpture Trail, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.

A Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail spokesperson said: “We hope they will provide inspiration and reflection for visitors and allow them to reconnect with nature after the hardship of the pandemic.

“‘Forest to Forest’ is a new temporary trail that will run alongside the existing Sculpture Trail at Forestry England’s Beechenhurst site from mid-July until October 2021. It features eight artists from the UK and overseas, with the sculptures designed to celebrate forest wildlife, flora and fauna.

“With more people finding benefit from getting out into nature during Covid-19, it has been created as a shorter, more accessible, fun and family friendly trail and provides an alternative offer for the large number of visitors we expect to see over the summer months.

“‘Soil unsoiled’ is a newly commissioned sculpture that will create a point of reflection and contemplation on the Sculpture Trail.

“It has been designed by local Forest of Dean resident, artist Khady Gueye, and nature writer Zakiya McKenzie, to reflect the racial inequalities that people within our society have experienced, including Khady herself.

“We will be sharing further detail about the trail in the coming weeks, including guidance on visiting the site safely and recommended quieter periods to visit.”