We spent a brilliant weekend in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire in November 2021. This is the place of myth and legends, walking the same paths as the famed Robin Hood. These forests go on for miles, and it is easy to get lost within these old ancient woodlands.
We stayed at Sherwood pines camp site with our caravan. We paid £20 per night for a 2 night stay. If you are campers or caravaners, you will be really impressed by the facilities here which are so clean and warm.
There is a carpark here at Sherwood pines if you were visiting for the day, and wanting to go walking or push-biking. Postcode: NG21 9JL
https://www.campingintheforest.co.uk/england/sherwood-forest/sherwood-pines-campsite
Day 1
We walked from Sherwood pines campsite (you could just park here, even if you weren’t staying in the campsite), to Rufford Abbey (postcode: NG22 9DF). The entrance to the parkland is free! Which is a real winner, when combined with a low cost walk to the abbey itself from the forest.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/rufford-abbey
As I always do (much to my poor husbands dismay as walks are usually far longer than I tell him) I planned a walk through OS maps. The walk starts at Sherwood pines campsite, as has so much to see on the way. Through Kings Clipstone (which has the remains of the palace of King John), onto the Robin Hood way (through Sherwood Forest Country Park and past the infamous Major Oak), through the village of Edwinstowe and into Rufford Country Park. On the way, by chance, we saw Archway house which was really interesting. This was built as a lodge on a bridleway created by the Duke of Portland intending to have a private passageway between his home, Welbeck Abbey, and the city of Nottingham. Apparently the centre Oak tree could be seen between this archway around 50 years ago. The Duke of Portland offered stone to the government at the time (1840), to rebuild the houses of parliament, in return for permission for his bridleway, unfortunately this was refused, which meant that the bridleway was far shorter than intended.
We also saw an engraved stone and tall cross which marked the site of a royal chapel which has now been lost. This was visited by King John in 1201- this is not marked on the OS map, but you will find it along the walk. This is real evidence if how much history and interest is in the British Isles, which is completely free to see. If you have children, this would be a great history lesson regarding King John, and the beginning of the magna carta. And is a great talking point regarding King John and Robin Hood (prior to seeing the upcoming ‘Great Oak’).
The Great Oak.
This is a must see if you are in the area, especially if you are familiar with the tales of Robin Hood. This is featured along my OS walk. The tree is now propped up, as it is around 1000 years old and weighs an estimated 23 tonnes!
Ah…the beauty of trees! Especially in Autumn. Sherwood Forest is such a magical place. It is unusual to see hardly anyone (as we were there in Autumn), and feel like you are lost within a forest.
We stopped at Rose Cottage just next to Rufford Abbey for lunch. This was a lovely rustic British pub. Dogs are welcome, which Samson was very happy about.
We had a sharing starter and a main course each, with a glass of wine and a pint of cider which came to £36 which we were very happy with.
We then went into Rufford Abbey, which were hosting the ‘spectacle of light’ at the time, the abbey was lit up, and they had extra stalls and food on. This is hosted every year, we didn’t pay for admission (in November 2021), we walked in and enjoyed the lights. There were places we couldn’t go without paying extra (a lit up woodland walk) but we were a bit limited for time at this point as we had a reasonable walk back to the caravan site. Rufford Abbey is great, especially as the park is free of charge to enter. I would certainly recommend this as a good day out. I just wish we had more time to spend here exploring.
Our first day was great, we only spent £36, and this was optional as we could have taken a packed lunch. A brilliant walk, however it was around 4 and a half hours (easy terrain, no hills at all) so not suited to young children unless they are in pushchairs or if you don’t fancy that long a walk. I would highly suggest if you do like walking, to download the ordnance survey (OS) app and take a look at my walk I planned as it’s a lovely circular.
https://explore.osmaps.com/route/10583450/Sherwood-circular-including-Major-Oak
Day 2
We decided to venture North on our second day and we travelled to the border of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and visited Bolsover Castle. I have driven past this a lot, but had never been. As you can see below this is a great place to visit, which is full of history.
The castle changed hands many times, and fell into disrepair, if you visit you will see parts are very well kept and other parts, like many old British castles and manor houses, had the roof removed which has led to almost complete ruin. The views from up here are amazing, you can walk all around the walkway and see over the rolling Derbyshire countryside.
This was a great day out, however it is English Heritage, and although they are a charity and use money from admission tickets to renovate and preserve these heritage sites, it is an expensive day out for a lot of families. Admission was over £30 for both me and Gaz. I looked recently (as of September 2022) and admission price for a family was £33.50 if you booked in advance of around 7 days. A way of reducing cost of a year for these types of places, which are rich in history for children and often have a lot to do is to pay for an annual membership. Which if you really make it work for you, can save you a fortune and you would probably find lots of new places to visit. An annual family membership (including 2 adults and 12 children was £115 per year)- again as of September 2022.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/bolsover-castle/
We went to lunch at ‘The Pump’- Bolsover. @thepumpbolsover, we had a roast dinner here on the Sunday which was lovely. Dogs were also welcome which was great.
We then went to Clumber Park which was a really lovely place to visit. On reflection, I wish we had a full day here as there looked to be some fantastic walks here, and with a picnic I think we could have easily spent a whole day here. This is a national trust establishment, we paid for parking (£3) and walked into the park. As of September 2022 admission prices for a whole family was £12.50 which I think is very reasonable given you could defiantly spend a day here.
Overall, we really enjoyed our 2 day trip to Sherwood Forest. There is so much to do here, and we will defiantly be back again to experience more of it! If you are a family, or you have limited money, or are simply watching the pennies then there is so much to do here for free or on a very limited budget so I would highly recommend it, especially for a weekend break or day trip.
Until next time….
Rach 🙂
The British Escape 