Our last full day in the van was going to be a simple day, a quick visit to Sherwood Forest because our camp for the night was nearby at the Robin Hood Retreat. Again, because of the long weekend finding a place for our last night in the van was a challenge and I initially called this place and it was booked out. They were kind enough to call me back and say they had a cancellation so had room for us if we still wanted to stay, which of course we accepted.
Sherwood Forest was meant to be a stroll in the woods to stretch our legs and break up the drive but as it turned out, we stumbled upon The Gathering of the North being held in the forest. What a find!
Tip #19 sometimes a quiet day turns into a much bigger day unexpectedly – just go with it YOLO
This was a medieval gathering with little stalls and exhibitions dotted throughout the forest as well as main jousting arena. Our day just got a whole lot more interesting. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and locals were out and about but it didn’t have the same overwhelming feeling as York because the stalls and activities were spread out and not everyone was walking the trails.
We hung around to watch the jousting at 12.30pm which was a great show. The riders, horses and page peeps will all very skilled in their performance and we were very lucky to get to watch such a show and all for price of parking which was £15 per van.
From here we had booked a table at the Black Bull for Sunday Roast with all the trimmings. It was a later lunch than originally planned as we stayed at the gathering longer. Parking no issue here, Jason parked right out front! The roast was just yummo and I did get an extra Yorkshire pudding because I knew it would be a long while before I got another!
After lunch it was a short drive to our camp site for the unexciting task of pulling out the suitcases, packing and cleaning out Big Bertha for hand over tomorrow. We reluctantly (some more than others, me) got our chores done and then set up a picnic in the shade to finish the last of our drinks and nibbles. It was a warm day and the sun was beating down (made it 26 deg) so the shade our vans provided on the grass was perfect way to round off our motorhome journey.
My Happy Travels 