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Photo: Andrew Hill, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ruins of Cistercian Abbey, and part-ruined part-restored mansion house, set in an extensive park.
Rufford Abbey is a country estate in Rufford, Nottinghamshire, England, two miles (4 km) south of Ollerton. Originally a Cistercian abbey, it was converted to a country house in the 16th century after Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. Part of the house was demolished in the 20th century, but the remains, standing in 150 acres of park and woodland, are open to the public as Rufford Country Park. Part of the park is a local nature reserve. The remains of the house is owned by English Heritage and the country park is owned by Nottinghamshire County Council and managed by Parkwood Leisure.
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Dates from 1185 so hundreds of forest dwellers have been baptised, married and buried here. Inevitably it's touted as the place where Robin Hood and Maid Marian got married, but since she only showed up in legend 300 years later, she sure kept him waiting.
Visitor Centre
Can get very busy but includes an interesting display about the forest's history and ecosystem. Café and toilets here. Dogs welcome.
About ½ mile from the Centre along a well-marked, wheelchair accessible track. The Major Oak is the oldest of the more than 900 ancient oaks here and could well be 1000 years old. (So in Robin Hood's time it was small and insignificant, the obvious meeting point was at Thynghowe.) This part of the forest can be busy but carry on to find quiet glades and mysterious paths.
Run by the National Trust, this extensive park has an elegant serpentine lake. Formerly the home of the Dukes of Newcastle, but the mansion fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1938. The 1889 Church of St Mary (not to be confused with the one in Edwinstowe) remains in use and is a Grade I listed building in Gothic Revival style.