Forest of Dean areas but the focus has been to capitalise on the scenery and to create jobs from tourist attractions and the leisure sector. Significant numbers of residents work outside the area, commuting to Gloucester, Cheltenham, Bristol, Newport and Cardiff. For hundreds of years, mining in the Forest of Dean Coalfield has been regulated through a system of freemining. This, and other forms of self-governance, coupled with the Forest's geographic isolation between the rivers Severn and Wye, has given rise to a strong sense of cultural identity in those from the area, who are collectively known as 'Foresters'. The ancient rights were
Forest of Dean Miners' Association left-wing motions. Forest of Dean Miners' Association The Forest of Dean Miners' Association was a trade union for coal miners in the Forest of Dean area of England. The union was founded in 1870, based in Cinderford in Gloucestershire. It initially prioritised calling for waste ground to be sold cheaply to miners so they could set up their own works, and for workers to be represented on the local Board of Guardians. A strike in 1871 at Parkend Colliery was successful in raising wages and led to the appointment of a checkweighman. The association became part of the Amalgamated Association