From Robin Hood to Stately Homes in Nottingham, Nottingham, England (B)

I can’t visit England without going to Nottingham, something about being born there and having family there… so we dragged along the in-laws to soak up more of England’s history.

And of course, you can’t visit Nottingham and not go to Sherwood Forest. Ade’s dad was very excited about visiting the Forest – keen to keep an eye out for any signs of Robin Hood or, more likely, arrow heads.

We didn’t see any of either (unless you count the 30 or so five-year-olds dressed as Robin Hood, Maid Marion and the Merry Men) but the Major Oak was far more impressive than I had remembered. It was much bigger than I thought! The trunk is the equivalent of four trees – and there is some conjecture as to whether or not the tree is in fact multiple tree trunks intertwined to look like a single trunk.

Last time we were in Nottingham I had really wanted to see Wollaton Hall. I had grown up hearing stories about picnics at Wollaton Hall and watching cinefilm (long before digital and videos we had cinefilm) of myself as a baby in the park. The first time we had visited England was battling Foot and Mouth disease so many of the parks, including Wollaton Hall, were closed to tourists. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).