An official report “in pursuance of the King's Commission, dated the 12th November, 1531” noted “at Clipstone….310 red deer, of which 70 [are] deer of antler”. Andy and I saw 6 yesterday – including “2 of antler”, but only because I had lost the trail that we were meant to be on, after a combination of too much chatting and a vandalised signpost.
Still,
it’s nice to know that the red deer have survived the centuries, in spite of
all the other changes that have gone on in this corner of the ancient - and once
much more extensive - Sherwood Forest. Hunting red deer here goes back much
further than that, however. King John had a hunting lodge at Clipstone, now
just a stone ruin in a farmer’s field.
Though
the Sherwood area is today largely made up of stands of fir trees planted for
timber, it has more recently been given over to recreational activities,
including the provision of cycling trails. Nevertheless, it’s great that you
can still come across both fallow and red deer here “in the wild”. Adjoining the
current Clipstone Forest is land formerly used for mining with a labyrinth of
associated railway lines, many of which now also provide cycle tracks.
Our 18-mile round trip took in 4 former pit sites, at Blidworth, Rufford, Clipstone and Bilsthorpe, as well as their attendant railway spurs. Behind Andy is the old goods shed and station site at Farnsfield, the wide spaces evidence of the double track passing loop, two platforms [behind the trees in this shot], sidings and the goods yard. The view towards Mansfield from the platform is also shown in the 1960s photo.
No comments:
Post a Comment