To mark International Robin Hood Day on Tuesday, October 29, Paul Kirkwood goes on a tour of lesser-known places associated with the legendary vagabond in Yorkshire
After Robin Hood's Bay, this is surely the most notable Robin Hood spot in the county. The cave comes complete with a curved and roofed balcony affording fine views towards the Peak District. Fred Flintstone would be very happy here. Access involves crawling through a narrow gap and skirting a pool of water but the only hazard is wet feet. Make a visit part of a walk along Stanage Edge (which will be featured in the February edition of Yorkshire
Life). The cave is marked on the OS map a short distance north and up from the Hooks Carr car park at grid ref SK 245 829.
A wooded corner of the former Kirklees Priory estate seems a curious resting place for one of Britain's most folkloric characters. Consisting of a boulder and engraved stone, the grave is enclosed by a low wall, 650 metres from the site of the priory. The story goes that Robin was a cousin of the prioress. Unwell, he visited the prioress who bled him to draw out the disease. Robin consequently perished but before he did so fired an arrow from the window of the the priory gatehouse and told Little John to bury him where the arrow landed. Note: Kirklees Priory is private and you can visit only with Calderdale Heritage Walks each July.
In the far north-west of the Yorkshire Dales national park, Robin Hood's grave is a cairn, about five feet tall and 20 paces in circumference with a low grassy bund. It doesn't mark the top of anything, though. In fact, quite the reverse. It's located in the bottom of a shallow valley reminiscent of the Yorkshire Wolds. To reach the grave park in an old quarry at grid ref NY 628 099. Walk west beside a fence across open access land for 1km then at a stile turn right onto a footpath that leads to the grave after 700m.
Legend has it that Robin befriended the landlord of the Cat i'th Well pub on his travels between Nottingham and Carlisle. The landlord sheltered him from the authorities and in return Robin gave him some of his ill-gotten gains. The rest of Robin's money was hidden near the boulders. The landlord painted them white to remind him of the location and repainted them every year as an indication to Robin as he passed by that his money was still safe. Supposedly, the stones must still be repainted white annually or else the pub will fail. The paint looked fresh on my visit and the pub is still going strong. One landlord who repainted the stones pink went out of business the following year.
Exactly what constitutes the Hole is open to debate even after a detailed exploration of the feature marked enticingly on the OS map as part of Goldsborough Carr. I reckon its a rocky overhang that effectively forms a cave. Combine a visit with a 10km loop including Shacklesborough, a small but still somehow satisfying pudding shaped peak in a wonderfully peaceful, wild area in the North Riding. You're unlikely to see a soul all day.
For the walk route see bit.ly/Shacklesborough. Close to the route, the Hole is at grid ref NY 617 177. Park on the minor road just to the north beside the track to East Friar House.
Friar Tuck in goal, Little John a tower of strength at the back, Robin Hood as centre-forward and Maid Marion with the sponge bag. It would make the basis a formidable line- up. The side in question is actually based in the former pit village of Robin Hood and competes in the West Yorkshire league. For such a low level in the football pyramid the ground is pretty substantial with a grandstand. It's the sort of community arena where a dog or two are bound to be among the spectators. Their star ex-player is Roy Ellam who went on to play for Leeds, Huddersfield and Bradford in the late 60s and early 70s.
You don't need a grid reference to find this 'Robin. Just pull over into a layby after Barnsdale Bar next time you're travelling south on A1. A panel describes how the well house was designed by Sir John Vanburgh, also architect of Castle Howard, for the Earl of Carlisle in 1710 to celebrate Robin Hood's local connections. The surrounding area is known as Barnsdale. Fifteenth century ballads about Robin mention several places in Barnsdale. Grade II listed, the well house was relocated 150m to the layby during road widening works and the well capped. It was probably first recorded in 1622 as a stopping off point on the Great North Road.
Wentbridge, South Yorkshire
Near to the well is Wentbridge also in Barnsdale. A plaque on a medieval bridge spanning the River Went on the Great North Road, records how Wentbridge, or more precisely, the nearby Sayle's plantation, is 'one of the only place names that can be located in A Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode', a Robin Hood ballad. The story goes that Robin and his merry men would stop knights and other wealthy travellers, invite them to dinner in the forest and then force them to pay. The plantation provided a steep lookout point for Robin and a challenge for engineers building the A1 bypass in the early 1960s. They spanned the valley with a viaduct, at the time one of the largest road viaducts in Europe.
Struggling to merit its reference on the OS map, the well is actually a spring and easily mistaken for a mossy puddle. Our hero would not refresh easily here but, at 550m altitude, would have a good vantage point over Foxup Moor and Langstrothdale. Of considerably greater note is the nearby Top Farm in Yockenthwaite which features as Helen's farm in Channel 5's All Creatures Great and Small series. Start a 12km walk at the farm, ascend to Horse Head, cross open access land to the well, descend to Beckermonds and complete your return beside the Wharfe. Route at bit.ly/RobinHoodsWell.
So was Robin Hood a Yorkshireman?
Robin Hood seems to have been a name given to many men from different places who robbed and hid during the 14th century. Hood's reputed haunt was Barnsdale in the West Riding of Yorkshire. All the early ballads point to that location and his activity in that area and not Sherwood Forest. There was only about 12 miles between the two areas at one point. Robin Hood's tales became associated with Nottingham as that was the major town in the region. Storytellers localised their tales according to their local audience to get more tips which is perhaps how Hood became associated with so many places.
We've not mentioned Robin Hood's Bay purposely, as everyone knows that!
According to Fylingdales Local History Group, there 'is not a scrap of evidence to suggest that Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest folklore visited the Bay'. The name is more likely to have grown from legends with local origin and probably from more than one legend.
RECOMMENDED READING
- Robin Hood's Bay: 5 of the best coastal walks to explore
- The history of Robin Hood’s Bay
- Robin Hood’s Bay - a picture perfect village with a fascinating past
