Nottingham

Slept in to 8.45am then ate cereal we carried from London and away by 10.30am. Walked to Nottingham Castle about 2.5 kilometres away. Joined the 11.30am historical walking tour hosted by an accomplished period actor. We learnt that during the life of the original castle it was overthrown once by King Richard who then went on to reclaim his crown from his brother John. This Castle was destroying by the people of Nottingham who were loyal to the King rather than allow Cromwell to have the use of the Fort. Later a Ducal Palace was erected which in turn was destroyed by a mob angry because the owner had helped prevent the introduction of voting for the people. We then toured the underground passageway leading downhill to the Nottingham city centre. The passage was cut through soft conglomerate sandstone with windows that may have been defensive arrow slots on the original Castle. Lunch in England’s oldest inn 1189AD. Walked back to the granny flat in 29 degree heat, and then drove to the Sherwood Forest Visitor’s Centre, Walked all three of the marked trails bringing the day walking distance to over 16.5 kilometres. The Major Oak is believed to be over 1000 years old and there were many other old oaks that were regenerating. The area was full of grey squirrels. I photographed a reddish squirrel on a fence just before we left. Dinner in a pub in nearby town. Then back to Nottingham for wine with Val before returning to the granny flat.Read more