Park life

Mark Sutcliffe ventures into Robin Hood country on a relaxed walk from the gates of Clumber Park Club Campsite

Clumber Park is a peaceful refuge away from the towns and cities of the East Midlands and a popular stopover point for tourers owing to its convenient location near the A1.

But there’s much more to explore in the area than an overnight stop allows, with some 3,800 acres of mature woodland hewn from the ancient and mighty Sherwood Forest. Clumber was once the site of an imposing stately home due to being the family seat of the Dukes of Newcastle. This was demolished in 1938 after devastating fires in 1879 and 1912, but the legacy of the Dukes’ 300-year tenure is still visible: a two-mile avenue of lime trees, an estate lake, the stables and walled garden, the cathedral-like Chapel of St Mary the Virgin and the pretty model village of Hardwick.

Our route starts at Clumber Park Club Campsite, which is open all year, and explores all these treasures in a relaxed 10km ramble through the woods, around the lake and along a section of the long-distance Robin Hood Way.

Download this route and others to your smartphone or GPS device from the Club’s Outdooractive page at: out.ac/IPp3bt

Directions

1. Leave the Club campsite via the main gate and head left along the access road and go straight across a crossroads. Continue past the automatic gate and through Hardwick Wood to reach Hardwick Village.

2. 2.2km – Continue past a war memorial and straight through the village. Turn right at a junction past barns and a pub (The Park Inn) and then head slightly left, following blue arrows onto the lakeside path. Continue over the outflow and follow a lakeside path for a mile and a half.

3. 4.8km – Near the head of the lake cross the Ornamental Bridge and fork right, heading towards the visitor centre. Continue over a crossroads and head towards the spire of the chapel, turning left at a junction and then left again. You can stop for refreshments at the visitor centre before resuming your walk.

4. 5.5km – Follow the verge alongside the road on Robin Hood Way and continue past a cricket field with a beautiful thatched pavilion and bus shelter. Go through a gate and over a crossroads.

5. 6.4km – Head slightly right after the crossroads onto a bridleway through the woods on Robin Hood Way footpath and continue through parkland to reach the next lane. Turn right along the lane and after 300m take a track on the right into woodland.

6. 8.4km – Continue for 600m through gates to meet a lane and turn left to walk along the avenue of lime trees to reach the entrance to the Club campsite after another 500m.

About the route

• Start/finish: Clumber Park Club Campsite, Lime Tree Avenue, Worksop, Nottinghamshire S80 3AE.
• Distance: 10.3km/6.3 miles.
• Time: 2hrs 30mins.
• Level: Suitable for occasional walkers with a reasonable level of fitness.
• Terrain: Woodland paths and tracks, quiet lanes and short stretches of slightly busier road.
• Landscape: Woodland, parkland and lakeside paths.
• Refreshments: The Park Inn (open Fri-Sun), Hardwick Village; Turning Yard cafe, Lake Brew and Central Bark, all in Clumber Park.

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The Caravan and Motorhome Club make no warranties concerning the accuracy or completeness of the routes published, which to the best of our knowledge were correct at the time of publication. Your use of the routes is at your own risk and we accept no responsibility for the suitability or safety of any routes published. Routes may be out of date or affected by changes to the physical environment and, to the extent permitted by law, we accept no responsibility for personal injury or property damage caused by your use of the routes.