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Sherwood Forest
Years of mythology and legend
about an English outlaw who robbed from the bad to give
to the good have twisted the story of the man known as Robin
Hood into a fairy tale. Recent adaptations by Hollywood
films and television series have set the legend in stone
and the bow and arrow wielding figure in green leggings
with his band of merry men has become commonplace in our
ideas of Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest and Nottingham.
The story was originally passed down from
generation to generation by word of mouth over many hundreds
of years, but the first noted reference to someone that
could have been him was around 1377 in ‘Piers Plowman’.
From that time on there were references in the main body
of many tales in the 15th century.
Sherwood Forest, the heart of Nottinghamshire
and the official hunting grounds of the King and his officers
and subject to Forest Law, still retains true its medieval
feel, the lush green undergrowth sheltered by tall native
trees.
This
is the perfect location to practice a bit of Archery, the
sport of kings and also to visit the Major Oak, said to
be one of the oldest trees in England. Indeed, it may have
even been around in the days of Robin Hood, as a mere sapling
maybe but it is said that the outlaw used to hide out in
the trunk of a mighty oak much like the one that stands
there today, perhaps it was a relative! |
