If you have to go the England (Harry Potter!), then you have to make the most of it. Cole’s game at Lakenheath was a stone’s throw from Nottingham. The Nottingham! The Robin Hood Nottingham. Of course we were going.
Now the really funny part is, the day before, for Cole’s game, I’d asked my long-time friend & Designer Lou (LouCee Creations) to drive up for Cole’s game. Of course she did! And Lou & her husband Pete will now forever & always be not only some of my favorite people on the planet, but some of our dearest friends. Sometimes people are just your people. But that’s not the funny part. After the game Pete helped us find a wonderful pub nearby, with amazing, affordable, delicious food (and bier) and we talked for hours.
Turns out, they don’t live far from Nottingham & had some fantabulous recommendations for us. The one we jumped on was the chance to go to Sherwood Forest…and the Major Oak, the European 2015 tree of the year. We had to see this tree.
Our car rental company had been a nightmare (stay away from Interrent) and we hadn’t paid the extra fee for a GPS. I had a smart phone after all. I plugged in the Major Oak early Sunday morning, and off we drove, only driving on the wrong side once wondering why all the “idiots” kept honking at us. I hate being the idiot. We drove straight up to the Major Oak, a beautiful pub in the middle of Nottingham, before realizing…. wrong Major Oak.
I again plugged in Major Oak on my smart phone, and off we drove… straight to the next Major Oak pub. By then we had to pee, so we all piled out of our tiny Fiat 500s and Dave asked for directions. I absolutely love a man who can ask for directions. Thankfully the owner of the pub was Greek & Dave had on his Mythos Beer (Greek, natch) t-shirt. He steered us another 30 minutes thataway & off we went. Again.
This time straight to Sherwood Forest. Sherwood Forest! I think all of us, Dave included, got a little dizzy in delight, amazement and happiness. Walking in the steps of Robin Hood, in Sherwood Forest, in Nottingham county, is like walking into a dream. And we found the real Major Oak!
A little last word… this is Robin Hood & Little John fighting on the bridge. Robin Hood!
Ohhhhhhh i thrived on the Robin Hood stories when i was a kid! None of the movies lived up to the drama of the book. It is one place i would love to see. Thanks for the great story and fabulous pictures. i love your travelogues… they make me drool… your photos are better than those in books. Thanks for sharing sandi
[…] very, very best part of going to England (Sherwood Forest,Harry Potter!) was finally meeting Lou (LouCee […]
[…] football game, meeting up with old friends and new friends (Lou!). The third day we toured Nottingham, Warhammer World and more pub time with Lou! It is no wonder that by the fourth day all of us were […]