My Favourite Spots in Nottinghamshire by Andrew Whitelee

This week we are sharing Andrew Whitelee’s favourite places in Nottinghamshire. If you would like to share your ‘favourites’ with us, email us at social@experiencenottinghamshire.com or use the comment section below. You may feature on our blog and our various social media platforms. Andrew Whitelee is chief tour guide for Verdant Wildlife, a new organisation that specialises in tours of north Nottinghamshire, with emphasis on discovering local wildlife. We had a go ourselves and highly recommend it! You can find out more here >> http://news.experiencenottinghamshire.com/have-a-go-at-wildlife-watching-in-north-notts/

"Bevercotes Pit Woods

There was a time when Nottinghamshire was full of working coal mines, but those days are long gone. However, from such dark clouds, silver linings have appeared. Originally restored by Nottinghamshire County Council and the Forestry Commission under the “Greening the Coalfields” programme, former colliery tip sites have undergone major transformations. When they closed they were places of sadness and despair, now they are community places for recreation and wildlife, each with surfaced tracks and way marked circular paths meaning that they are safe and accessible for all. Bevercotes is teeming with wildlife such as buzzards and owls, finches, waterfowl, butterflies, dragonflies, foxes, muntjac and fallow deer and even badgers. And considering this is reclaimed industrial land, the array of wild flowers in spring and summer is breathtaking.

Ye Olde Bell Hotel, Barnby Moor

Historic building, friendly staff, great food and it even has its own ghost! And the afternoon teas are amazing!

Robin Hoods Cave near Walesby Forest

In my job I get to see lots of nooks and crannies of Nottinghamshire, quiet places off the beaten track away from the tourist hotspots. North Nottinghamshire is synonymous with Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest and the Major Oak, but for me, Robin Hood’s Cave near Walesby Forest is what Robin Hood is all about. It’s marked on the OS map but there’s no signs, no plaque, nothing to let you know he was there – a perfect hiding place. The footpath that runs nearby gives great views across the River Maun, arable farmland and the Dukeries towards Sherwood Forest, Thoresby and Clumber Park. And if anyone tells you Robin Hood wasn’t real they are wrong!

Eaton and Gamston Woods

I grew up nearby and these woods were a place where I used to go to watch wildlife when I was a kid. Eaton and Gamston woods are mixed ancient woodland (they are mentioned in the Domesday Book) and have fantastic woodland flora such as primroses, orchids, bluebells, wood anemone and herb paris, not to mention many woodland birds and butterflies. They are owned and managed by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and in my opinion are some of the best woodlands in the county."