Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve
Edwinstowe
Mansfield
Nottinghamshire, England
NG21 9HN
Where to find us
Map of Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve
(opens in a new window).
Contact us
General enquiries: tel: 0844 9 80 80 80 (8am - 8pm Mon-Fri; 8am - 12 noon Sat)
or tel: 01623 823202 (10am - 5pm Monday to Friday)
Park rangers and office tel: 01623 823202
Forest Table restaurant tel: 01623 823202 ext 32
Fax: 01623 823202
email: enquiries@nottscc.gov.uk
Admission to the park is FREE. A small seasonal car parking charge applies at certain times of year.
Photo-Pete Jenkins
What to see and do
Once a royal hunting forest, this is the legendary home of the outlaw Robin Hood, today part of a National Nature Reserve because of its national ecological importance. Within the 450 acre site there are 900 veteran oak trees, including the famous Major Oak. This ancient oak, one of Britain's most famous trees, is located just a ten minute walk from the Visitor Centre. Come and visit one of the world's most famous woods!
Each year we welcome around 400,000 visitors to Sherwood Forest. Admission to the Visitor Centre and park is free, with just a small seasonal charge for car parking.
- Robin Hood's Sherwood Exhibition
- Forest Table Restaurant
- Information office (seasonal)
- Waymarked trails
- Two shops
- The famous Major Oak
- Robin Hood Festival
Browse around the Visitor Centre shops or relax after a stroll in the Forest Table Restaurant. Take a walk to the mighty Major Oak, pick up one of our fun family nature trails, or just stand and admire the weird and wonderful shapes of the ancient oak trees, twisted by age and weathered into living sculptures.
Photo: Forest Table Restaurant
The ecology and biodiversity of Sherwood Forest is fascinating. The natural decay of fallen timber means the woodland teems with insect life, fungi, birds and bats. In partnership with the Sherwood Forest Trust website: www.sherwoodforest.org.uk, we currently have a woodland grazing project at Sherwood, with Hebridean sheep and English Longhorn cattle helping ensure that open areas of medieval heathland do not revert to scrub.
We're moving!
In a couple of year's time the Sherwood Forest Visitor Center is moving. Find out about our plans to relocate the centre to a new and more environmentally sustainable building just outside the National Nature Reserve boundary
Get involved
We welcome volunteers prepared to help out with the work of the park, for example, by helping as a marshall at seasonal events, or lending a hand with litter picking. Please contact the Rangers for more details: tel: 01623 823202 or email: enquiries@nottscc.gov.uk
Four Legged Friends
Dogs are welcome but must be under control and kept on a lead in the Visitor Centre area.
Sherwood is special
The 450 acre country park is part of the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve, designated in 2002 by Natural England, the Government agency responsible for safeguarding our natural environment.
To fnd out more about what a National Nature Reserve is, visit their website: www.naturalengland.org.uk 
The site is managed by Nottinghamshire County Council and maintained by our country park rangers, working to a woodland management plan drawn up as a partnership between Natural England and ourselves.
Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve contains some of the oldest trees in Europe, veteran oaks five centuries old and the world-famous Major Oak, still producing acorns after standing at the heart of the forest for an estimated 800 years!
