Sherwood Forest because of its close association with the legend of Robin Hood is certainly the most famous tract of woodland in the world. To this day it is visited by over 660,000 people per year. Is said to take its name from “Shire Wood” meaning wood of the shire of Nottingham A Brief History One of the most fascinating aspects of this unique area is its natural history. Records show that there has been an unbroken cover of woodland here since the end of the last Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago. At the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 the Shire Wood covered approximately 25% of the county measuring close to 640 square km.

As a royal hunting preserve, its heaths and thickets provided an ideal venue for the aristocratic sports of hunting and falconry. Many English kings came here to enjoy the pleasures of the chase - notably "Bad" Prince John of the Robin Hood stories, James I and his son Charles I. King Richard III was hunting in Sherwood when he received the fateful news that Henry Tudor had landed, and rode south to meet his death at the Battle of Bosworth.

After the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century much of the area fell into the hands of the sub-aristocracy. Henry VIII sold the monastic lands for bargain basement prices, such was his need for ready cash which meant that the real beneficiary of the Dissolution was not the king, but the new class of gentry who bought the lands.

After the fall of Charles I, royal power over Sherwood declined, and huge swathes of former royal forest passed into the hands of private landowners. By Queen Victoria's day, much of north Nottinghamshire was owned by aristocratic landlords. Their estates were known collectively as The Dukeries - for at one time, the Dukes of Portland, Newcastle, Leeds, Norfolk and Kingston all had splendid country seats here. As the legendary home of Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest began to attract travelers, sightseers and day trippers early in the 1800s. The Major Oak in particular was a curiosity that drew many tourists, whilst early travel writers such as the American Washington Irving engaged their readers with stories of the great tree and the beauty of the forest.

When one hears a story about the famous forest there is much that is thought about, the many stories and legends that we keep alive today.