Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is home to the most famous nature reserve in the world, Sherwood Forest. This area of woodland is most well known for being the home of fabled outlaw Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Over the years Sherwood has featured in a large amount of films, television shows, video games and works of literature.

However, this 450-acre country park also deserves recognition for its own natural beauty. In the year 2002, English Nature designated Sherwood as a National Nature Reserve. There is a large amount of woodland which is the habitat for several native species.

In fact, parrot crossbills have been seen feeding from the pine seeds since 2014. Very rarely are these creatures spotted in this county during the winter months. Scientists believe that the birds travel from as far as Russia and Scandinavia. They are attracted to Sherwood due to its relatively warmer climate.

Once visitors are finished in Sherwood they will often travel to the nearby Beckingham Marshes Project. This boasts a great new trail that overlooks the local wetlands. When it was completed this project became one of the biggest restorations of a water habitat. In the future this land will be transformed back to the grassy ground it once was. In the meantime tourists can watch as the landscape slowly changes and the natural wildlife adapts to it. Sherwood Forest and the Beckingham Marshes Project are two of the most visually stunning areas to visit when you find yourself in the county of Nottinghamshire.