Fellowship of the hood

No wonder the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham could never catch Robin Hood - the prince of thieves, it seems, is a shapeshifter.

Yet another film depiction of Robin Hood (Russell Crowe refused to wear tights in this one) means big business for the city's tourism industry.

Our travel group steps off the train at Nottingham and is quickly confronted by Crowe staring menacingly out of many a billboard.

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is a historic inn sited directly beneath Nottingham Castle in the city centre. It's a pub with a proud history that dates back to 1189 and a sign declares it to be "the oldest inn in England" (one of three in Nottingham making that claim).

Legend has it the inn brewed beer for the castle above and was a meeting place for knights before King Richard I led them off on a crusade.

The pub is actually in one big cave, carved out of Sherwood sandstone that can bear heavy weight (such as the castle above) but is soft enough to hollow out and create several rooms.

Ye Olde CCTV cameras scan the main bar area.

We're lunching in the Rock Lounge, a former malting room with a 60-foot chimney once used for hauling the booze up to the castle.

There's a rickety old chair next to our table and closer inspection reveals why it's vacant - it's the "Pregnancy Chair", complete with a disclaimer warning that "any female who dared to sit upon this ancient chair very quickly became pregnant".

There is what can only be described as a pregnant pause and the girls at the table dissolve into giggles.

After lunch, right on cue, Robin Hood materialises before our very eyes, and plonks himself down on the pregnancy chair.

Actually his name is Ade Andrews and he's a local actor, raconteur and tourist guide but the resemblance is uncanny, in hand- stitched leather pants and a green tunic.

"Onwards", Andrews beseeches, as he sets off at a cracking pace, stopping briefly nearby to showcase a seven-foot statue of Robin Hood outside Nottingham Castle's walls.

Our guide delights in recounting the more barbaric aspects of medieval times and points out the wall where, in 1212 King John, hanged 28 sons of Welsh noble families.

Andrews isn't one to blow his own horn (he has one) but he is the leading Robin Hood-related tour guide in Nottinghamshire. The other bloke doesn't even dress up.

He cuts quite a sight as he leads us from Nottingham Castle and onwards to a tour of the city centre.

Back home if you dressed up as something from Lord of the Rings and led a tour group through Manners Mall you'd expect to get mocked.

But Andrews is well- received by the locals and sends a group of schoolkids into high merriment during our tour.

Robin Hood, he explains leaning on his longbow, is a shapeshifter - a legend that has grown and been recast over the years to incorporate social changes.

The robbing from the rich and giving to the poor fits nicely into the history of socialism and the uprisings against the ruling classes.

Debate still rages about who the real Robin was, and it is far more likely that he is a combination of several anti-authoritarian figures.

Everyone in Nottingham seems totally non-fussed that a couple of Aussies claimed the lead roles in the new film, but since Errol Flynn's camp portrayal - green tights, American accent - it seems anything goes.

Tourism is worth [PndStlg]1.4 billion a year to the city, with more than 35 million visitors.

Local authorities predict a 10 per cent surge in tourists based on the new movie.

Andrews bids us farewell at the entrance to a non-descript looking shopping mall, and once inside we are transported back, and down, in time.

Don a hard hat and head down a steep flight of stairs and you find yourself in the City of Caves attraction, part of a complex of 400 caves dating back to the Dark Ages.

The city has more man- made caves than anywhere else in Britain and some unfortunates were still living in them as late as the 1920s.

We're back at Nottingham Castle for a showdown with Robin's arch enemy - the Sheriff of Nottingham.

This part of the legend has definitely not survived the centuries.

These days the sheriff title is a purely ambassadorial role filled by Mrs Penny Griggs, a city councillor.

Mrs Griggs is a pleasant mother of two who cites cooking and socialising with friends as hobbies. She looks resplendent in her gatehouse enclave, dressed up in her ceremonial robes.

Ye Olde heat pump on the wall looks after the air conditioning.

The next day we set out on Robin Hood's trail, starting at Sherwood Forest.

The forest is surprisingly small, with the mighty oak plantation ravaged for building materials over the centuries.

It's a gentle stroll along a wooded path leading to the star attraction - the Major Oak, where legend has it Robin and his men used to hide.

These days the 1000-year-old tree is propped up on wooden crutches to survive.

Later in the day guide John Charlesworth leads us to Creswell Crags, a limestone gorge with a mind- blowing collection of artefacts dating back more than 40,000 years.

This is an area where lions, bears, mammoths and even rhinoceros once roamed.

Strap on a helmet and headlamp and you can enter the caves and rock shelters. Fragments of ivory weapons and tools are on display and the cave walls and ceilings are dotted with Ice Age cave art up to 13,000 years old.

It takes a while for your eyes to adjust to the dark and damp caves but with Charlesworth's guidance (he used to work here) the images of animals, hunting and even of a naked woman reveal themselves.

Even the Neanderthals were into porn, it seems.

The writer travelled courtesy of Cathay Pacific and Visit Britain.

Getting There
Cathay Pacific offers twice daily connections from Wellington to London via Auckland or Sydney and Hong Kong.
A special economy class fare of $2499, plus tax of $295 is available until July 26.

- © Fairfax NZ News