The remains of Kings John’s Palace, which is quintessentially the royal heart of the ancient Sherwood, lies within the village of Kings Clipstone. Together with Stonehenge and Fountains Abbey, the palace was in the very first group of buildings to be ‘listed’ but the palace remains one of the country’s lost treasures.

The forest, 30 miles long and 8 miles wide, stretched from Nottingham to Worksop.  Modern day Sherwood is much smaller but Kings Clipstone is still the central hub in this very important recreational area.  Sherwood Forest Visitors Centre and Birklands lie immediately to the north, Vicar Water Country Park to the south, Sherwood Pines and Rufford to the east and the  Maun valley trails (ancient Clipstone Park) to the west. Kings Clipstone sits between and isolates the northern and southern sections of the modern Sherwood.  

The area, covering 50 square kilometres, is already fairly well served by all weather footpaths, cycle and equestrian routes but the narrowness of the B6030 through Kings Clipstone not only cuts the village in two, but also fragments this network. The joining up of the path and track network, with the village acting as a central hub could allow Sherwood to become Britain’s most important venue for these walking, cycling and equestrian activities.