People had told us not to waste our time with Nottingham and that there was very little of the Sherwood forest remaining. Well, Jake's family just so happened to be lace makers from Nottingham, so it was the perfect excuse to ignore all advice and head to Nottingham and explore. We were able to go to the home where Jake's Great Grandma lived and take some pictures of their family.
I love children's expressions. This one screams "hey.....wait for MEEEE!"
A very fancy Robin Hood shrub *snicker*
This is at Nottingham Castle, which originally burned down and is now some Georgian style looking building. The kids posed by the great Robin.....and Jake.....and the Blue One who is ever presently on the run.
This group of young lads were so pleased with our creativity that they asked us to take a picture of them doing the same pose, of which I had to document :)
Robin Hood is such a chick magnet, even the little girls are drawn to him.
That's right, NO kissing until COLLEGE!
The boys were more interested in climbing all over Robin whilst the girls were interested in giving him a cuddle.
Talbot clan
McBride clan
Heading back to our hotel we passed the oldest inn in England "Trip to Jerusalem Inn."
And of course, who could pass up the opportunity to take a picture of a mannequin made of mirrors? I mean come on, is it every day you see such a sight? Um no.
Vogue
Peace
We decided to head to the "Crime and Punishment" museum in Nottingham. I know that it sounds horrible, but it was a really fascinating museum about the criminal system and prison here in Nottingham back in the day and how it evolved and was eventually shut down in the Victorian era due to it's inhumane conditions. This is the cage where they put a body after it was hanged (hung?) and covered in tar. The story is that a soldier shot the body that had been in the cage for months and that when he did it broke through the tar causing the gases and odours to leak out of it and waft it's putrescence through the neighbouring village ticking off the locals. The officer who shot the rotting body was punished for his act of stupidity.
This is the snivelling Sheriff of Nottingham.
Maid Marian testifying against Robin Hood.
Our very "interesting" Robin Hood.
The gallows. Actual gallows that were used.
These were carvings down in the prison cells on the walls and pillars. I found it interesting that the figures that were carved looked like women :) The prison was dank, small, gross, and included an oubliette. How cool is that?
The girls exploring and the Blue One running.....always running.
The museum was my highlight in Nottingham. I loved the history and the live actors that created a great atmosphere in the museum that took you back to inner workings of crime and bribery in the middle ages on up.
