Folks,

Dux:

The ancient "Gallows Oak" figured prominently in many of the Robin Hood sagas as the legendary location where Robin and his merry men often met. In the Warner Bros. Errol Flynn film (set in 1191)it is mentioned by name ("Meet Robin in Sherwood at Gallows Oak.")and in that film Robin and the boys meet with the townsfolk of Nottingham under it's magnificent branches. Of course the actual tree in the film is that California Oak "The Hooker Oak" which I mentioned in my previous post. It is difficult to believe that such an ancient tree could still be standing. I hoped perhaps there was at least a crumbling stump?

Here is an interesting report from a California native who visited Sherwood in hopes of finding traces of the Robin Hood of legend:

"Odd. There are people in Nottingham, England, who don’t seem to have heard of Sherwood Forest. The clerks at the hotel stare as if no one has ever asked how to get there. They call a number and say a cab will cost £30 each way. Wow. I at first thought Sherwood would be a big theme park, with the region focused around it, like Orlando. I have since learned it is a nature preserve, with a short Robin Hood Festival each summer.

After supper at Pizza Hut, we stumble onto the outer wall of Nottingham Castle. It looks exactly right. There’s a great statue of Robin. We follow the wall, a massive structure, down a hill, and around a corner we find Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, “the oldest inn in England,” says the sign. It dates to the first Crusade. It’s built into the wall of the castle and there have been no unnecessary renovations. When we finally go through the gates, there’s no castle there. It came down long ago, though there’s a nineteenth-century manorial pile in its place, which we have no interest in entering.

Next morning we catch the bus. It’s called the Sherwood Arrow, makes a million stops, circles lazily, and finally arrives in the forest. There are food stands and a kiosk selling Robinalia where the vendors call us “sire.” I resist buying a plastic crossbow and foam arrows, which I say to Gideon we can find anywhere. We get a Lincoln-green cap, a collar, a sword, and a dagger (beech wood from the forest, they say). Then we start down a path with a sign that says, “To The Major Oak.” We assume it’s what we know as Gallows Oak, from the Flynn flick, where Robin rallied the peasantry to join him against Prince John and for good King Richard. (Another complexity: is Robin a rebel against authority or a loyal royalist?) And this is where the magic begins.

It’s a thick old English forest; the sunlight struggles through in patches. We pass minstrels and other tourists, but the forest dominates. Many trees seem ancient and could pass as “Major.” They fold off the path into a tangle only Robin or his men could find the way through.

The Major Oak is about a thirty-minute walk in. It’s massive and anthropomorphic, like the gnarled trees in The Wizard of Oz and The Lord of the Rings. It’s protected by a fence; its branches are buttressed, propped, and trussed, like an old cathedral. There are some stands and kiosks. We buy a beech-wood bow and arrows to go with the rest of our gear."

Hmmmm. Robin is making a few pounds for someone it seems. Smacks a tad of old Walt Disney to me. Since they do not actually claim the "Major Oak" is the "Gallows Oak" I think that is significant....it probably isn't.

Here is another bit of trivia regarding the Erroll Flynn epic. The character of Much was played by Herbert Munchin, born 1891, St. Helens , Lancashire. This fellow had 50 films to his credit including "Mutiny on the Bounty", "Under two Flags", A Charlie Chan flick, the title of which escapes me and "David Copperfield". He died in an automobile accident in 1939.

It is indeed high time that you ticked off something special. As for me, I have yet to see my first Easy-Nesting Nympho Bird or Bare-Breasted Tail-Twitcher of the season. Ahhh but it is early yet and I have plenty of time.


Originally Registered January,2001 Member Number 3044

"Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed" - Edmond Gwenn, "The Trouble With Harry"

CELEBRATING EIGHTEEN YEARS and over 20 MILLION VIEWS on SNAFU's HWH thread- April 2019