While we were staying at Sherwood Forest we also had the time to explore the picturesque village of Edwinstowe, Robin Hood’s Village. It’s a lovely place to visit whether you want to shop, have a bite to eat or complete the Edwinstowe Village Trail.
Visiting Edwinstowe
Edwinstowe is an historic village in the heart of Sherwood Forest. It takes its name from the holy shrine or resting place – ‘’stowe’’ of King Edwin, the Saxon king of Northumbria who was slain in 633AD. He was buried in Sherwood Forest so that his enemies could not lay hands on his body and a small wooden chapel was later erected. The Church of St Mary’s was rebuilt in stone in 1175.
Ewinstowe is in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Parking is available for £4 daily at Major Oak Sherwood Forest Parking (this price includes entry into Sherwood Forest Nature Reserve and Visitor Centre) and there is a free car park on Mansfield Road.
Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve and Visitor Centre
The main attraction in Edwinstowe is the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve and Visitor Centre. Read more about our visit there here:
Sherwood Forest Arts and Crafts Centre
On the road leading to the visitor centre, in the converted coach house and stables of Edwinstowe Hall, is Sherwood Forest Arts and Craft Centre. This centre is home to a variety of unusual crafts including textiles, fossils and gemstones, paintings, coppersmith, candles, fabric crafts, paper crafts, hand crafted chocolate, handmade soap and jewellery. We also spotted a plastic free shop. It’s a lovely place to buy unique gifts and souvenirs.
Isn’t that gate beautiful?
Sherwood Forest Fun Park
Across the road from here is Sherwood Forest Fun Park, a traditional; family fair perfect for young children. Read more about Sherwood Forest Fun Park here:
The “Village Centre” of Edwinstowe
From here you come to Church Road and the High Street of Edwinstowe.
St Mary’s Church
We came to St Mary’s Church. According to legend, this is where Robin Hood married Maid Marian.
They are said to have been married under the arch of the doorway. The original church was built in 633 AD and the present church build began in 1175 AD.
Can you spot the squirrel?
As it was Sunday, there was a service on during the time of our visit so we were unable to take a look inside the church.
The churchyard contains many figures and signs related to the Robin Hood story,
Geocaching in Edwinstowe
Close to the church there is a Geocache. it took us a while to find it but we got there in the end.
Places to Stay and Eat in Edwinstowe
We spotted lots of places to eat and drink in the village. Next to the church is The Village Kitchen Cafe.
There are lots of points of interest all around the village.
We passed Launay’s Restaurant and Bar.
The Forest Lodge Hotel, Restaurant and Bar.
The Royal Oak– a dog friendly pub.
“The Cottages” Sherwood Forest sleep 12- 14 people and look such a pretty place to stay. I’d love to stay there on a family break.
There is another cafe up the road from the cottages.
Edwinstowe has lots of independent shops, two that stood out to me were “Made with Love” (how fabulous is this pink bike) and Away with the Fairies witches shop. There is also a Robin hood themed gift shop called Robin’s Den which is ran by the same family who run the fair.
Statue of Robin Hood and Maid Marian
The girls and I were captivated by the statue of Robin Hood proposing to Maid Marian. We stopped and looked at it each time we passed. It was sculpted by Neale Andrew a Northampton born British sculptor. It was unveiled on 23rd July 1998.
The girls couldn’t resist adding our Robin Hood cap for a photo!
We also saw Edwinstowe Village Hall and the “Scout” scarecrows on display.
Back up to the fair and we found another Geocache while “having a rest”.
We came across this commemorative stone:
“In commemoration of the establishment of Sherwood Country Park and the part played by CC Miriam Beardsley in stimulating public opinion these trees were planted by the Edwinstowe Parish Council 1969.“
We also used our Geocache app and found one more Geocache out of town. We did get some funny looks as we were “hunting” for our find by the sign.
We found it but we should have bought tweezers to get the log roll out. There is also a Geocache to find close to The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest.
I love these crocheted wreaths!
Edwinstowe also has a Co-Op, The Market Garden and Edwinstowe Post Office and News which are handy to get essentials. We popped there to get food to cook back at the Youth Hostel. All the staff in the shops were so friendly- lots of them asked if we’d been into Sherwood Forest when they spotted Izzy’s cap.
It’s a lovely village. Perfect for those who like to shop and enjoy refreshments.
Have you visited Edwinstowe?
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Looks amazing – one for next summer
Thanks for sharing, always loved the legend of Robin Hood