Sherwood Forest... our Band of Merry Men.

At the beginning of the summer our family was put in for an EFMP (exceptional family member program) move back to the States. It's been a two month process and we still don't know exactly where we are going or when, but that we will be leaving beloved England before the end of September. Since we knew our time was short, we've been making the most of it and traveling!

The second weekend in August we took the kids camping in Sherwood Forest and we able to attend the annual Robin Hood Festival there. We arrived in at the Sherwood Holiday Park on Friday afternoon and the campsite was fabulous. Clean, quite, family friendly and very peaceful. Camping in the UK is definitely different from camping in the USA--the UK has a no campfire rule due to the overabundance of peat moss--but it is just as wonderful. Here's a few pictures of our campsite set-up.

We were a bit nervous about sleeping 7 of us in one tent, but it worked out great. We had fun playing with a frisbee on the open lawn, especially at night... someone super cool bought the kids a lighted frisbee for the trip. Yes, I won major cool points for that one! We also brought a few coloring books and some card games. The camping was such a nice escape from the busyness of every-day living. So great to be unplugged.

We spent all day Saturday, exploring the world of Robin Hood at the annual Robin Hood Festival in the Sherwood Forest. The festival was awesome. Characters in costume were all over the forest and were very interactive. We got to talk to them about daily life in Sherwood, we were able to hear lots of live music and see a fire thrower.

One of the first things we did after arriving at the festival was go to the open theater for a retelling of Robin Hood and His Band of Merry Men. This was an audience participation performance and Mac and Daeglan were picked from the audience to play two of the Sheriff of Nottingham's men at arms. They took well to the role, but got reprimanded a few times for trying to fight Robin Hood (or their fellow men at arms) when it was time for fighting yet. Daeglan had a short speaking part, which he stuttered through. Daeglan is awesome though, it simply doesn't phase him. He has all the confidence in the world and we hope that never changes.

Daeglan delivering his lines. Which, if I remember correctly, were something to the effect of "Let's get Robin Hood and all his Merry Men!"

Mac fighting Robin Hood. Look at that natural fighters stance!

After that show, we went to the jousting field for a bird of prey demonstration. Brody is obsessed with falconry and is begging for his own bird of prey. You can imagine his delight when the kids were invited out onto the field to be a part of the demonstration. Here's a picture of all the kids. *Note Brody is the one standing in the middle of the field. They were supposed to be pretending to be mice and be listening for the owl to fly over, then stoop down when they heard it. Brody claims everyone else was cheat and they were watching for it. He was amazed that even with his heightened sense of hearing, even he could not hear the owl coming.

After lunch we got to watch the jousting show in which Robin Hood and the Merry Men went up against the Sheriff of Nottingham and the evil Guy of Gisbourne. It was fun, if a bit cheesy. The horses were really the stars of the show. They were magnificent beasts.

On the right, Robin Hood. On the left, Will Scarlet.

We then went on a walk around the forest. Nestled in among all the amazing old trees were little camps of mediaeval peasants and tradesmen. The boys particularly enjoyed the armory. It's always the favorite. What I find amazing is how heavy the weapons and armor are and to think of men actually fighting battles in all that gear. Geoff isn't as in awe about it... maybe that's because he is used to wearing 70+ pounds of gear to work.

Brody. "Man this sucker is heavy. And I can't breath in here!"

Daeglan. "Am I supposed to be able to see?"

Mac.

As usual he didn't have much to say about it, but his face says it all :)

Jere-Miah with a mace. "This is my kind of weapon."

The last thing we got to do at the festival was archery lessons. We each got a little bit of instruction and were able to shoot five arrows each. By far one of the funnest things we have ever done as a family. So much fun, in fact, that we are hoping to buy some real practice bows and make this a family hobby when we get back Stateside.

Jere-Miah with an English longbow.

Mac

Emeryss.

She half-giggled the whole time, but she secretly really loved it

and was trying really hard to be just as good at it as the boys.

Daeglan

Brody. He soaked up every bit of instruction.

Archery is another passion for him. Basically, this trip was Brody's wishes come true!

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend and our little band of Merry Men was sad to head home. But we are so happy to have these memories to treasure for years to come.