RSPB Sherwood Forest and Budby South Forest — Attraction in Newark and Sherwood

£4 carpark, in field with a funfair by it which had old robin hood statues randomly in it. Had to cross the road and walk down another road to get to the visitors centre. Expensive shop and quite small expensive cafe (£5 for bacon roll). The grass banks had signs on 'not safe' and then the new wooden playground was fenced off completely. Went into the wood, saw the major oak but no signage to aid direction from there. Passed a couple of oak trees with signs on 'do not climb'. Managed to get back, passing the old visitors centre, falling to bits and fenced off. Sat on one of two benches on the grass in front of visitors centre. This was my experience. I have always believed oaks to be sacred and what a special place this forest is. This should be a highly treasured and protected place where visitors are encouraged to appreciate the unique experience of walking through a sacred ancient forest, not just a place to walk the dog. Somewhere where you can meditate, feel connected with nature, be revitalised by the trees energies. Signage of the different trails within the wood(circular and stating length) , even a map showing what age the trees are that you pass etc. Strict guidelines encouraged (no throwing rubbish, no climbing, no picking leaves,breaking branches, no shouting due to it being a sacred forest). This has the potential to educate the future generation, teaching them the importance of trees, especially ancient trees and why they should be respected and preserved. Maybe there should be a 'quiet place', in the deepest part of the ancient woodland that is a place to meditate, sit, relax, take in the atmosphere, get away from it all. I see that the visitors centre is heavily swamped with Robin Hood info/toys/gifts/pictures etc which is understandable but shouldn't the oak trees be celebrated too? They are incredibly special. Please let me know if I missed anything whilst I was there or if any of my comments above...

A stunning moderate walk to relive the magical history of Sherwood and recall legends of old. To feel the humble awe & power standing in view of the presence of the ancient thousand year old Major Oak tree is an indescribable majestic privilege.

The forest itself has such a beautiful peaceful beauty, even if you are not lucky enough to visit away from the usual hustle of busy times, the blanket of serene energy is well worth the visit.

Unfortunately, I did find the slight incline (4/500 yards) challenging pushing a wheelchair over such bumpy ground, and we certainly wouldn't have made it to the main attraction without the helpful assistance of a strong volunteer. This was contrary to what I had read in numerous guides and remembered from previous walks from the old car park (now closed), which is definitely a much flatter pathway and half the distance to reach the Major Oak, so not particularly easy for anyone with mobility issues.

Personally, I feel the old carpark should be considered to reopen to offer disabled users a more convenient shorter & safer route, as this pathway also had less embedded logs, which can also hinder the route especially for wheelchairs. ♿

Nethertheless a really wonderfully calming experience for families and four legged friends to enjoy and appreciate the wonder of so many ancient trees and nature’s...

Really like Sherwood Forest and the work the RSPB are doing there but it is becoming dangerous going there on Sunday mornings. They now seem to have allowed an off road mountain biking event to take over the forest. I wouldn’t have a problem if this were on the wider paths but the organisers send them down narrow paths where pedestrians have to walk single file normally. However this doesn’t deter the cyclists who try to come speeding down and refuse to slow down or give way to pedestrians. If they slowed down and navigated past carefully it wouldn’t be an issue but they feel they can force people out of the way despite there being no where to go. We got caught several times by handle bars on a 200 meter stretch of path, one of which would have knocked me over if my husband hadn’t caught me. The cyclists never apologise or stop. I saw one woman have to grab her young child out of the way when a group of them came careering down single file. Had she not done that I hate to think of the injury that would have been caused. So much for the highway code. And let’s not consider the erosion to the paths. I haven’t been back for a few weeks given my last experience and am considering cancelling my membership as i can only visit...