Coleford is a small market town in the Forest of Dean. It is situated approximately four miles to the east of the Welsh border on the English side, and is close to the Wye Valley, a popular walking and canoeing area.

Coleford takes its name from one of the two rivers that merge in its centre and was, as its name suggests, a fording point for the river.

Coleford is also one of the oldest towns in the Forest of Dean, largely developed before, and not deeply affected by, coal mining, which became the Forest's staple industry during the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries.

Coleford's architecture is mainly Georgian in appearance, although many of the façades are in fact covering much older buildings. Notable buildings include The Angel pub, with its large arched entrance, hinting at its coaching inn days and the clock tower in the centre of the town. The clock tower was originally attached to an octagonal church, built in 1821, but when, in 1882, this church was considered to be too small for the town's population, the main building was demolished, leaving only the tower. A new, much larger church (St John's) was built on a hillside overlooking the town. Another delightful building, the old market hall, stood next to the clock tower until the 1960s.

Coleford is an excellent location in the heart of the Forest, popular with walkers and cyclists.

One old building that has survived is the former goods shed for the old railway line to Monmouth, which is now the Coleford GWR Museum, a museum of the history of the local rail network.