We had slices of several varieties to sample the different flavors and textures.  We drank cider fresh from the press.  The King of the Pippins variety, shown above, was the base of the juicing operation.

The walled orchard and kitchen garden also hosted a story teller who told a variation on the story about how the apple got it’s star.  We enjoyed checking out all the scarecrows amongst the vegetables.

The gourds and pumpkins were particularly colorful.  These gourds were trellised over the pathway.

There were some incredible flowers still blooming.  Apparently, the walls were built around the garden to protect the plants from wind by providing a sheltered micro-climate.  I’d always assumed that they were deer protection, but maybe that’s just my New England background?  At any rate, it was very warm and sunny while we visited and the flowers seemed to be thriving.

The kids were inspired by the light and color and took quite a few pictures of the blooms.

We had a picnic lunch, ran into some friends, and played some silly games.

It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

We had a nice walk through the estate, hiding in the ferns,

and finally ending up back at the incredible tree that is so suited for climbing.

Woolsthorpe Manor was Newton’s early childhood home and many of the drawings that he etched into the plaster walls have been preserved. Newton returned here when Cambridge University closed due to the plague, performing many of his most famous experiments in the bedroom upstairs, most notably his work on light and optics. The house is furnished with 17th century decor to give a sense of what life must have been like during that time. Some of the instruments similar to those he used in his optical experiments are displayed in the room where he developed his theories of colour and light.

Woolsthorpe Manor is also where Newton claimed inspiration for the theory of gravitation while observing an apple fall from a tree. This apple tree, or a descendant, still grows in the orchard in front of the manor house.

There is also a very nice hands-on science centre in an old barn which presents many of the ideas that Newton developed while living here. I forgot my camera; these pictures were taken on my mobile phone. I figured out how to connect via bluetooth to download the pictures from the phone. Overall, it was an enjoyable, inspiring afternoon.

Sage had a great time exploring this amazing old tree!

I’ve yet to see what I would consider a “true forest” in England, and it turns out that Sherwood is no exception. I’ve always thought a forest to be “a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth”, but this is only one definition of a forest. It turns out that there is a secondary meaning as well.

From the Nottinghamshire County Council website:

‘Forest’ was a legal term, and meant an area subject to special Royal laws designed to protect the valuable resources of timber and game (‘Vert and Venison’) within its boundaries. These laws were strictly and severely imposed by agisters, foresters, verderers (wardens) and rangers, who were all were employed by the Crown.

Medieval Sherwood was not – as many imagine – a continuous swathe of dense virgin forest. It comprised birch and oak woodland, interspersed with large areas of open sandy heath and rough grassland. Sherwood also contained three Royal deer parks.

Medieval woodland was by no means wild. It was a productive resource, carefully managed. Landowners got the most value from their woodland by using techniques such as ‘coppicing’ and ‘pollarding’ to produce poles and laths for building. ‘Underwood’ (twigs, brushwood etc) was collected and sold for domestic fuel, and the woodland supported several industries, such as charcoal burning and the stripping of oak bark to use in tanning leather. The autumn crop of acorns produced in oak woodland was used to feed pigs. Cattle, sheep and deer grazed ‘wood pasture’.

This explanation makes the landscape much more understandable to me.

In Sherwood Forest, there is a large oak tree known as the Major Oak. Legend has it that this tree was the place Robin and his merry band feasted wealthy travellers before fleecing them of their lucre. It is a beautiful tree, its limbs spreading far into the clearing around it. The girth of its trunk is incredible. It is a majestic tree!

It is highly unlikely, though, that Robin’s crew took shelter under it’s boughs. Although it is at least 800 years old, perhaps over a thousand, it would have only been a sapling when Robin roamed the forest. Molly suggested that the metal supports that have been installed to prop up the old branches were unbecoming and that such a magnificent tree should be allowed to die with some dignity. Apparently, there are over 1000 trees in the Sherwood Forest that are over 500 years old. I suppose one of these trees might replace the Major Oak in the public imagination sometime in the future.

I suppose there are some that might question if Robin really existed, but I like to believe that he did. In fact, here is a modern reincarnation: River Hood.

She’s been taking target practice very seriously!

Here is Maid Marian playing one of our favorite games: Settlers of Catan.

We spent quite a while balancing on the fallen chestnut logs here. I’ve always wondered what the forests would have looked like before the chestnut blight eliminated them from the eastern deciduous forests. Apparently, the American Chestnut was even bigger than the European Chestnut. The stand of trees at Calke are amazing; but I can imagine a whole forest of trees must have been even more majestic.

A bit further along, we found this old oak tree with branches that almost touch the ground. It is perfect for scrambling up!

There is a spot where the main trunk splits into several large branches which is perfect for sitting. We ate our snack comfortably ensconced amongst the branches.

River is quite a climber. She asked me to film her as she ascended one side of the tree, crossed through the middle, and descended on another branch on the other side.

Sage managed to get around pretty well too.

I love the light and the changing leaf colors under this beech tree.

This tree is known as the “Old Man of Calke” and is thought to be between 1000 and 1200 years old. There is a hollow space in the middle of the trunk, just big enough for a couple of kids.

River told me she wants to come here everyday!