The Sherwood Hideaway

Dogfriendly Magazine Review

Read our comprehensive review of this listing printed in our bi-monthly magazine.

Sherwood Hideaway
By Louise Furby

When you think of Nottingham, you usually think of Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest. And it’s the Sherwood Hideaway on the Thorsby estate, deep within Sherwood Forest, where we spent a long, relaxing – and sometimes rainy – weekend in May. The cabins are situated on the outskirts of Nottingham, in an area where long woodland walks and stunning scenery surrounds you. It’s well sign-posted and if there was one word to describe it, tranquil fits the bill perfectly. We arrived early evening on Friday – we were thrilled to see that the cabins were well spaced out, so complete privacy and every plot is surrounded by plenty of grass, great for a Mini Schnauzer who can be very particular about where she chooses to toilet! 

The car parking space near to the cabin made it easy to unload and settle in quickly.

The lodge is pretty spacious with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a well-equipped kitchen and a lounge area with two sofas for relaxing in front of the log burner. Outside on the decking area, nestled in the corner for maximum privacy is a hot tub, with a table and chairs opposite. Laika, our Miniature Schnauzer, was thrilled – there were open woods to the back of the cabin to squirrel-watch and plenty of long grass to sniff and explore all around the plot. On arrival, we found a dog towel and biscuits in the entrance area as a little four-legged welcome treat and not to leave mum and dad out of the surprise gifts, we found a bottle of prosecco and some chocolates – perfect for hot tub relaxation later!

FRIDAY NIGHT DELIGHT

We quickly unpacked, making the most of the second bedroom to store suitcases to keep our bedroom clutter-free and then we set about finding somewhere to eat, which proved to be a challenge. You see we’d booked our lovely dog-cabin the weekend before indoor eating lockdown restrictions were lifted in pubs and restaurants. It meant that while we could find plenty of places to eat with our pooch, sadly they were all outside dining only, and with a grey and angry sky looming, that just wasn’t a risk we could take. So, hubby set about researching the area for food collection – it was getting late, and without booking anywhere, pickings were a bit slim so we settled on good old fish and chips from The Dolphin Fish Bar in nearby Ollerton, a 10 minute drive away.

Laika stood guard at the dining room window to await dad’s return. Even though the fish bar was nearby, 40 minutes later we were still patiently waiting for Kevin to arrive with the goods! It turns out that The Dolphin Fish Bar is very popular and as we tucked into our fish and chips, it became immediately obvious why. Wow! They are probably the best fish and chips we have ever tasted.

Absolutely delicious – I could barely part with the smallest mouthful of the fish for Laika to scoff up as a treat.

With dinner well and truly polished off, after a short relax it was hot tub time. We decided the decking was just a little too wide to trust that Laika wouldn’t get her head stuck through – those pesky squirrels were taunting her – so we opted to leave her in the cabin snoozing in her bed.

We poured the prosecco, squeezed into our swimwear and stepped into the warm water. The temperature was a balmy 37° and we settled in for a long, relaxing soak. Bubbles running (that’s alcoholic as well as jacuzzi bubbles, of course) with soft ambient lighting set the perfect mood for us to sit back and listen to the wind in the trees and the sounds of the woods – complete bliss. There are robes and slippers provided for use with the hot tub, but you do need to bring your own towels. It’s maintained daily too, between 10am and 2pm.

THORSBY PARK

The next day we awoke hopeful that the rain might have died off a bit, and after checking multiple weather apps we decided to brave the 7 kilometre round walk to nearby Thorsby Park and hall. The hall is a Grade I listed 19th-century country house and there is a stunning hotel and spa on the grounds too, along with a few boutique shops, a café and toilets.

You can walk to Thorsby Hall from Sherwood Hideaway – it’s clearly signposted from the carpark and there are multiple routes to choose. We followed the route through the trees and alongside some fields. The walk winds through the Thorsby estate, so it’s recommended that dogs remain on a lead. There are cattle and sheep along the route and, of course, plenty more squirrels.

We grabbed some breakfast, dressed for every imaginable weather condition, clipped on Laika’s extendable lead and began our walk, with fingers crossed that rain would stay away, which it did. Mostly! The walk was a joy – flat, well signposted with some dog litter bins along the way, and we didn’t meet a single person. Laika was in total heaven with endless smells to investigate. We came across a couple of stiles along the way, with a nifty little opening for her to trot through and as we got closer St Johns Church rose into view. A beautiful looking church that sits on the Thorsby estate, St Johns Church Perlethorpe is a church of Sherwood Forest and sits in stunning woodland on the outskirts of the park grounds. 

A little further and you reach the gardens and grounds of Thorsby Hall, stretching ahead the hall sitting majestically overlooking its 30-acre grounds, it’s really beautiful – even on a damp Saturday in May. It was fairly quiet, apart from the toot of children’s miniature train in the distance. We ambled over to the courtyard to order a hot drink and a snack, and after a quick stop off to mooch through the windows of the courtyard boutiques, we watched the sky darken and decided to head back. The walk to and from Thorsby is via a permissive route, only for Sherwood Hideaway guests, so it’s very secluded.

We returned to the lodge, grateful for the complimentary doggie towel, as Laika was wet through and a completely different shade of Schnauzer. Once washed and dried, she collapsed in her bed and we took the opportunity to hop in the hot tub again!

SHERWOOD FOREST

On Sunday the sun came out! We popped on our sunnies and headed to Sherwood Forest – we couldn’t stay so near to these iconic woods without a visit to see the world-famous Major Oak.

Ten minutes down the road by car, we arrived at the visitor centre and began our stroll around the forest. What’s really great about visiting Sherwood Forest is that you can choose to walk the grounds via the pathways – great for prams, pushchairs, bikes and wheelchairs – or you can go off-path and take your own route through the woods, which is what we decided to do.

Laika went off-lead and we trekked through trees and clearings, where luscious green grass stretched ahead, a perfect opportunity to throw a ball which pleased Laika no end. The weather was just beautiful, the bright sunshine brought the forest to life. We strolled around for an hour or two before re-joining a pathway taking us towards the Major Oak. Once there, we took a quick photo while Laika rested then made our way back to the car.

If you fancy a rest, there is an ice-cream van parked up and a number of picnic tables and chairs near the Major Oak. The visitor centre is open but operating a one-way system due to Covid. There’s a children’s play area and on the edge of the car park is a miniature fair, with a few rides for smaller kids.

Parking at Sherwood Forest is charged at £4 a day – but prepare to queue to pay for your parking – it’s a popular attraction. Laika was exhausted! We hot-footed it back to the cabin beating a thunderstorm by about 5 minutes and after another hot tub relax (it’d be rude not to!) we put our feet up before heading out to dinner at the Rose Cottage on the A614 near Rufford Abbey.

As the weather turned good, we settled for an outside table and ordered from a Sunday lunch menu. The food was lovely, though there weren’t too many spots to let Laika mooch as the beer garden was closed off sadly. The pub has a large carpark, but it does get busy, so it’s recommended to book.

And certainly, dog friendly, with plenty of dog bowls outside to quench a thirst.

ALL MONDAYS SHOULD START LIKE THIS

Monday morning started early as you need to vacate the cabin by 10am but we made certain we had enough time for one more hot tub dip with our morning coffee! Sherwood Hideaway offers peace and tranquillity. It’s somewhere to relax and unwind, near to a wealth of places to walk and visit with your four-legged friend.

Sherwood Hideaway, review by Louise Furby and appears in DogFriendly magazine issue 66.  For more information on the DogFriendly magazine visit https://www.dogfriendly.co.uk/magazine