Short Walks

Short Walks Group April walk around Dukes Wood

Our April walk started from the Oil Museum in Dukes Wood, where Twenty Seven members proceeded through the wood to join the Robin Hood Way for a four mile walk, braving the windy conditions to admire beautiful countryside and views along the way.
After the walk we all assembled in the rather small confines of the Oil Museum for a somewhat dynamic presentation by the museum Curator Kevin Topham, who amid a disarray of museum exhibits (we’ve got one somewhere) proceeded to tell our rather unruly group the history of the Nottingham Oil Fields, from the American oil workers during the war helping with the war effort to the dash for gas in the early seventies. One of the most interesting facts being that the oil field and later North sea oil exploration employed many local people from the Mansfield area.
The Dukes Wood nature trail is home to many bird species and is also the habitat of the rare Vetch Nissola a flower only found in one other location in the UK.
Twenty of us then drove the village of Farnsfield for a superb lunch at the Plough Inn before returning home after a super day out.
This month’s walk was truly a combined effort with many thanks to:-
Barbara and Derek Hawksworth for sorting the menu
Diane and Paul Healey for walking the route in advance and sorting the lunch orders.
We still need volunteers to help with future walks if you feel you can help please come forward. Also please let me know if you are interested in doing walks a little further away. Your suggestions are most welcome.