Monday 21 October 2013

Walking in the Forest

Hello Lovelies, 
the mild weather we are enjoying here at the moment encouraged us to go on another family day trip on Saturday. 
This time we headed for Sherwood Forest.......


It's somewhere I have not been to since the boys were toddlers and Hubby hadn't visited since a school trip back in the 70's

We enjoyed the pleasant twenty minute walk along wide paths with lots of information boards.......


which leads you to the star  attraction..........The Major Oak

This huge tree is estimated  to be between 800 and 1000 years old !!  As you can see it's ancient  branches are supported by metal props to help it survive.

I was rather hoping it would have some Autumn colour in it's leaves, but it was lovely to see it still looking so healthy despite it's amazing age.......a living thing still thriving after all those years, WOW.

Other parts of the forest showed more signs of the season, with the ferns beginning to turn brown.......



And loads of Fungi everywhere. I was thrilled to see these quintessential toadstools......


The low afternoon sunshine illuminated these ferns beautifully..........


As well as the famous major oak there were many other aged oak trees, with gnarled bark and contorted branches.........


You could get much closer to these wonderful trees. I loved looking up at the canopy of leaves ......

My favourite tree is an Oak I regularly drive past. I enjoy seeing it changing throughout the seasons. It's certainly beautiful and  a reassuring constant in the landscape.

On the way back we stopped off at the visitor centre and were surprised to see a wedding party gathered for photographs under the tree on the left.....

The lady in the shop told us that this spot is now a popular civil wedding venue and it did add a rather lovely atmosphere.

Of course most people visit Sherwood Forest because of it's famous resident and the visitor centre had an interesting  free exhibition about the history of the area........


And a certain Robin Hood.........



It added extra interest for the boys who are not generally impressed with the idea of going for a walk these days.


The weekend often flies by,  suddenly it's Sunday evening and we realise that we never got out as a family to enjoy our time away from work and school, so it was lovely to spend a couple of hours enjoying each others company somewhere different. 




It may seem strange but I also loved the car journey, we choose the scenic route through pretty countryside and I felt happy when my  boys  often pointed out a view or a feature that they noticed as we traveled  along.
 I sat in the back, between eldest and youngest. Middle son , who doesn't travel so well, sat in the front.
 There were no gadgets to distract us, well only the car radio which we sang along to occasionally .
It was a simple pleasure that added so much to the day for me.

Jacquie x

17 comments:


  1. Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to walk with you in Sherwood forest!!!

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  2. Sounds and looks as though you had a lovely day of simple pleasures. Thank you for sharing it with us! Hope you have a great week. xx

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  3. What a perfect day. The woods are so beautiful, especially in autumn. And that oak tree is stunning, they are my favourite too. Your photos are really wonderful, you've really done the setting justice. A lovely post Jacquie.

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  4. I've always driven through and past this but never stopped. We will have to do this one day! I love the car journeys at the moment especially looking at the colour changing landscape. Have a great week xx

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  5. Looks like a good day out. It's been so wet a dismal here, I hibernated, other than the "far too early" trip to the airport yesterday!
    It's still gloomy here - but not at all cold. I'd rather be crafting than sitting in the office where I should be working! x

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  6. Lovely post, I love Oak tree as well, they have a special energy and would say even some kind of magic feeling :)

    Have a wonderful week!

    Lluisa x

    http://spinningyarn74.blogspot.co.uk

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  7. Oh how wonderful to leave technology behind and walk in the woods together....perfect day! That oak tree.....wow! I would have stood in awe for ages, looking at it in wonder. Thanks for sharing. Your photos are beautiful, especially the fern in the sunlight. :) xxx

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  8. What a great day out..the woods are full of colour and fungi at the moment...saw one of those red fungi this week they are amazing..

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  9. Gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing. Looks like a wonderful time.

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  10. There really is a Sherwood Forest! It's nice to know that, like the ancient oak in your pictures some things endure.

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  11. It 's very lucky to live in a place so beautiful!

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  12. Those ancient trees must have some stories to tell Jacqui! I love your toadstools you found, there is a lot of fungi around at the moment x Thanks for sharing x Penny

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  13. Sounds like a perfect day Jacquie and I agree with Penny - those trees will have seen a thing or two! Ever since Lord of the Rings we have called big gnarled trees like that 'Ents' - you really can imagine them having their own characters (or is that just me?!) Love the shot of the toadstools x Jane

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  14. Lovely Jacqui what wonderful photographs - I haven't been to Sherwood Forest since the 1980s and your post brought happy memories flooding back - thank you so much - it has been a grey day for me and reading your lovely account cheered me up no end. Thank you so much - sending a special big hug to you Jacqui
    Dorothy
    :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  15. This sounds like the ideal family day out. Glad you had such a lovely time. I've never been to Sherwood Forest, but I think I must make the effort now I've seen your photos!

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  16. the ferns are so beautiful! and the oak tree! you can see why there are tales of people living in the trunks of oak trees! a lovely day out, Heather x

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  17. What a beautiful place! That tree is amazing! So lovely to see those mushrooms ^_^ Proper fairyland ones ^_^
    XOX

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