Tag: Robin Hood’s Stride

Riding through the glen …

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The man who never was

When I was a young boy in Nottingham, in what now seems the Middle Ages but was actually the 1950s, we loved playing at Robin Hood. Inspired by the TV serial and song (Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Riding through the glen) we could make a primitive bow and arrows ourselves, and finding a green cap with a feather was not so difficult. Even today, when kids may have better things to do, the man remains a popular icon thoughout the North Midlands, not only in Nottinghamshire but in Yorkshire and Derbyshire too. How to account for the persistence of this medieval figure who is world-famous for such improbable behaviour as robbing the rich to give to the poor?

A man in tights

He is a man extraordinarily difficult to pin down, historically. But it appears that stories of his deeds were known by the fourteenth century, at first as an oral tradition and then appearing in written form. The stories vary over the centuries; all they have in common is an outlaw figure living in the forest, leading a group of men who rob passers-by. Some versions have him as a victim of corruption, a yeoman whose lands have been stolen, engaged in guerilla warfare with the sinister Sheriff. It seems likely he would focus on travellers on the Great North Road (Stamford, Newark, Bawtry), but forested routes as far west as the Erewash valley may have provided useful cover. Assuming Robin Hood was a composite character, composed of many outlaws in different times and places, it’s still worth trying to explain his remarkable survival and popularity throughout the region, including Derbyshire.

Quite a stride

Robin Hood’s Stride, between Youlgreave and Birchover (and right on the Portway) is one of the most famous sights in the region, but there are many other places in Derbyshire linked to the hero/villain. These include two Robin Hood’s Wells, an Inn, a Cross, a Chair, a Leap and two hamlets, one near Whatstandwell and one west of Chesterfield. There is also Little John’s Grave in Hathersage churchyard, while Robin is alleged to have married under the Doveridge Yew. The outlaw’s name brought prestige and glamour to the ordinary, while providing sardonic humour to others. One eighteenth century writer even had a repentant Robin becoming a hermit in Deepdale, near Dale Abbey, grafting him onto an older legend.

The hermitage at Dale Abbey

The legends remind us of the perils of travel in the Middle Ages, but also reflect an almost universal sympathy for the outlaw who has the courage to break free from the common lot. They portray a fantasy world, in which the sun is always shining in the greenwood, and only the rich are robbed.

Source:

https://www.derbyshirefolklore.org/robin-hood-in-derbyshire.html

Striding along …

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Another bullseye?

It’s hard to escape from Robin Hood in the north Midlands, with pubs bearing his name spread out over the region, from Macclesfield to Stoke and Sheffield to Nottingham. There are also Robin Hood wells, hamlets, fish and chip shops and the rock outcrop west of Winster, Robin Hood’s Stride. Clearly, the legendary figure has long had popular appeal, although in the case of the Stride the name must have been humorous, since the twin ‘towers’ are many yards apart.

A giant leap …

The Stride provides an excellent natural landmark, visible for miles around, handily for travellers on the Portway, which runs between the Stride and Cratcliff Rocks. Before the days of maps people must have memorized a series of landmarks to avoid getting lost: perhaps certain trees, river crossings or rocks like this. But the Stride seems to have been at the junction of several routes, not just the roughly north-south line of the Portway, but also an east-west track.

Darley bridge

This very scenic walk can be followed on public footpaths, starting from the layby below Cratcliff Rocks on the B5056. 100 yards north a footpath climbs the sharp slope, and then joins a track heading east and following the contour line. Go past a ruined stone barn and continue along the top of Birchover Wood. At Uppertown the path becomes a track; follow along Clough Lane and Oldfield Lane till you reach a road and then turn right into Darley Bridge village. Turn left on the main road, cross the bridge, and just to the right of the Square and Compass pub take the field path over the water meadows. The importance of the river crossing is shown by the position of this Robinson’s pub – it has been regularly flooded but stoically continues to provide refreshment for travellers. This probable packhorse route continues past the DFS showrooms and up into Two Dales, where it follows an ancient way known as Back Lane, heading for Darley Flash and (probably) Chesterfield.