Thursday, June 23, 2011

5 things to do in County Nottinghamshire, England

This forest is 165 square miles, and it surrounds the village Edwinstowe. In legends Sherwood Forest was the secret home to Robin Hood and his band of merry men, but today you can find plenty of walking, biking and horseback riding paths. A portion of the park is a reserve.

Originally built in 1189, this pub claims to be the oldest public drinking place in all of England. Is it true? Who knows? Other pubs make the same claim. All that being said, the building that is the pub today is only about three hundred years old. One thing that makes this pub so unique is its caves. That's right, caves. The pub itself extends into a sandstone wall. Drinking rooms in the back are actually within the caves.

Besides being a priory from 1170 to to 1539, Newstead Abbey is also known as the boyhood home to the poet, Lord Byron. In fact, Byron's favorite dog, Boatswain, is buried on the grounds, a giant marker on the spot engraved with one of Byron's best-known works, "Epitaph to a Dog."


This castle commands a presence over the whole town of Nottingham, resting atop cliffs 130 feet high to the southwest and looking down upon the town. But don't expect a castle from the Middle Ages. Instead there is a mansion, now turned into a museum, that has stood on the site between 1674 and 1679. However, records show a castle stood on the site as far back as 1067, and possibly even earlier. Parts of the castle from before 1674 can still be seen as a garden wall for the mansion.

For some reallyold history, you need to check out Creswell Crags, a series of cliffs with caves that house etchings and engravings in the walls that are believed to be as old as 12,800 years old, maybe older. Also, plenty of flint tools and worked bones have been found at the site and are on display at a museum there. You can find the crags east of Derbyshire, before one would get to Nottingham. You can take a tour of the caves or enjoy a walk around the area.

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