Today we went to Sherwood Forest, home of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men! First of all we walked around an exhibition, rather in the fashion of the Christmas grottos that used to be so popular in England (and still are to some extent, apparently). A forest isn't what most people think - it's not just lots of trees, but rather trees and wide open spaces where people used to have cottages belonging to the local lord of the manor. Sherwood has some lovely, winding tracks and the main attraction is the Major Oak, where Robin is reputed to have hidden from the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. Apparently there still is a Sheriff of Nottingham and, when American tourists come to the area, they're not interested in seeing the Lord Mayor or any other dignitaries, they only want to see the Sheriff! We didn't see any Errol Flynns or Richard Greens (nor Kevin Costnes, for that matter) - all Robin Hoods in their time, but it was easy to imagine the outlaws and Maid Marian hiding in the trees.
We followed our visit with lunch at nearby Rufford Hall and then had a walk down to the lake. A gorgeous little boy ran up to us and told us "this is my grandad, he's my best grandad" - how cute! His name was Nathan, aged 2, and he was incredibly gregarious (worryingly so, really). The heavens opened and we all took shelter in a small coffee shop, with Nathan entertaining us whilst we were there.
We leave tomorrow for Yorkshire, and Sam goes home to Leamington.
