All routes

Robin Hood: From Barnsdale to Kirklees

Robin Hood is known from medieval ballads, and the oldest of them are set as much in Yorkshire's Barnsdale and in Nottingham as in Sherwood. This route follows A Gest of Robyn Hode and its companions, from the Sorrowful Knight's first dinner in the greenwood to Robin's death at the priory. None of these places can be proved: every identification is a tradition, and the legend is not history. Each stop names the ballad that tells its episode and says how firmly the place is tied to it.