Discover the Area

Windmill – the windmill was built in 1820 and at one time, due to the demand on it, was also powered by steam. Restoration was completed in 1993 and now, on a windy day, you can see it grinding various types of flour, all of which are available in the mill shop. The café serves snack meals, refreshments, home made cakes, and there are tours of the mill.

Walks of Life museum – open Wednesday and Sunday 2pm – 6pm (and the same bank holidays). Amazing to see how only 60 years ago many items were delivered by hand cart, plus many older exhibits.

Tuxford Arts Festival July 2009.

Thaymar Ice Cream – 6 miles from Tuxford. Home made ice cream from fresh milk and cream. Farm shop and tea room.

Tuxford community website

Sherwood Forest, with the famous Major Oak, has a Visitor Centre where you can discover the history of Robin Hood and walk in the ancient woodland.
12 miles (20 mins) west of here near the village of Edwinstowe.
The Robin Hood Festival is held each year in the last week of July or first in August). Great jousting for the kids to watch.

Clumber Park was the home of the Dukes of Newcastle from the 1700s, but is now run by the National Trust. Over 3800 acres to explore with marked paths and cycle trails – cycle hire available. Lake, café, restored walled garden.
15 miles (20 mins)

Rufford Abbey is a former 12th century Cistercian Abbey which, after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536, became a country house of the Savile family. Stable block with crafts and gifts and gentle waks round the lake to the mill and shops. 12 miles(20 mins)

Southwell – historic market town with the 13th century cathedral sized Minster, mother church of the Diocese of Nottingham and also the best surviving Workhouse in existence 12 miles (25 mins).

Worksop – Mr Straw's House One of the National Trust's smaller properties it is a fascinating reminder of 'ordinary' life just 100 years ago. 16 miles (30 mins)

Sundown Adventureland It is so uniquely designed for the under 10's, that they absolutely enjoy it. Just don't take teenagers! Rampton, 8 miles (20 mins)

Whitepost Farm. 25 acres, over 3000 animals, indoor and outdoor play areas.
On the A614 near Farnsfield, 12 miles (20 mins)

Wheelgate Adventure Park. Adventure rides and smaller animals and falconry.
On the A614 near Farnsfield. 12 miles (20 mins)

Tropical Butterfly house, wildlife and falconry centre. North Anston 20 miles (30 min)

Wetlands Animal Park
Just north of Retford in 32 acres of lakes and woodland you have the opportunity to see and touch a variety of animals.

Making it! North Notts family attraction for inquisitive minds and active hands.
Mansfield – near the Water Meadows complex. 18miles (25 mins)

Water Meadows Swimming pool and leisure centre, Mansfield. Full scale leisure pool with flumes.

South Forest Leisure Centre, Pool with separate children's pool. Edwinstowe.
10 miles (15 mins)

Retford Leisure Centre – new pool and fitness suites.In Retford 10 miles (20 mins.)

Newark Air Museum – bringing historic aviation to life with 69 aircraft and cockpits and 4 covered display areas. Check the website for special events.

Papplewick Pumping Station – claims to be Britain's finest working Victorian water pumping station. Open on Sundays and on special 'steaming' weekends.
Situated about 10 miles north of Nottingham it was built to supply water to the growing city. 20 miles (30 mins)

Go-Ape Awesome tree top adventure (popular – must book) Min. age 10 yrs, min. height 1.40 m.(4ft.7in.) 3 hours clambering up rope ladders and whizzing down zip wires. Sherwood Pines on B6030 between Ollerton and Clipstone.
12 miles (20 mins)

Nottingham Dirt Buggies Quad Bikes and dirt buggies. Lockwell Hill Activity Centre, A614/A617 junction 11 miles (15 min)

Amen Corner Karting
From amateur to pro, 2 tracks, race days, and 'arrive and drive' sessions – but phone first in case there is a match on.

CYCLING

Sherwood Pines
Bicycle hire, or bring your own, for way marked trails of various levels of difficulty – family to competition. As for Go-Ape.

Clumber Park Bicycle hire, or bring your own. Trails within the park from 2 to 10 miles.

National cycle trail 6 runs through Sherwood forest and can be reached on byways from Tuxford.

WALKING

We are in the middle of open farmland with just a couple of walks from the site using footpaths. There are some pleasant walks through Tuxford and out the other side, perhaps to a pub lunch and a bus back. Drive for ten minutes and you have a wealth of walks in the Dukeries. We have some walks books for sale in reception, and are happy to advise you.

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust manages 13 wildlife reserves in our local district of Bassetlaw. We have a wonderful range of wetlands, grasslands, woodlands and heathlands all within 30 mins drive of Orchard Park

Vicar Water Country Park off Mansfield road, Clipstone. Visitor centre with café, paths and trails around Vicar Pond.

Sherwood Pines The Forestry Commission has various events, such as finding bats and creating willow crafts

Retford is our nearest town and was a coaching and post town on the old Great North Road where it crossed the River Idle through the 'red forde'.
Traditional markets on Thursdays and Saturdays, bric-a-brac Fridays. Farmers market 3rd Saturday each month. 8 miles (15 mins)
Retford History: Retford Heritage trail

Newark is south of Tuxford and is a bridging point over the River Trent. It has a castle in ruins and an interesting history in the Civil War. There is a large market square and riverside warehouses now converted to museums and pubs. 12 miles (20 mins)
Newark History: Newark heritage trail:

Lincoln is the County town of Lincolnshire, and hence a good shopping centre, but is only 18 miles (25 mins) from Tuxford. It has an impressive Cathedral (visible from Orchard Park), castle and roman canal.

Nottingham, the county town of Nottinghamshire is 30 miles away, about 50 minutes drive out of the rush hour. It has two large shopping malls with all the major stores, plus an area between with many interesting individual shops, e.g. Paul Smith. Worth visiting are the Castle, Caves, and Galleries of Justice Museum. Try lunch at the reputedly oldest pub in England – The Trip to Jerusalem, just below the Castle. Drive to the northern side of the city to the park and ride and take the tram in.

Pilgrim Fathers – learn of the life and religious persecution in the late 1500's that caused a group of people in North Nottinghamshire to escape via Holland to what was to become the United States.

Creswell Crags – go further back in time to discover our ice age past and the drawings left 13,000 years ago, discovered in 2003. 20 miles (30 mins) on the A616 near Cresswell.

D.H. Lawrence Heritage Eastwood. Visit his home and discover how the son of a miner became one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. 35 miles, 1 hour.

These are a little further away from Tuxford:

Newstead Abbey on the A60 between Mansfield and Nottingham 20 miles (30 mins). Ancestral home of the Poet Lord Byron

Hardwick Hall One of Britain's greatest and most complete Elizabethan houses – a magnificent statement of the wealth and authority of its builder, Bess of Hardwick, a woman nearly as rich as Queen Elizabeth herself. Follow her marriages and widowhood and her schemes for her children to become rich and powerful.
Near J 29 of M1, 25 miles 45 minutes.

Chatsworth House Bess of Hardwick built the original Chatsworth, along with her second husband, Sir William Cavendish, as a grand Elizabethan mansion. Her great great grandson, William Cavendish, 1 Duke of Devonshire re-built Chatsworth 100 years after her death in the splendid extravagant style you see today. It is still the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.
West of Chesterfield, near Baslow. 40 miles 1 hour.

Farmers'markets

Thoresby stall market – new goods at knock down prices.
Sunday Market all day, March to Christmas, and bank holidays. 12 miles.

Car boot sales

Torksey, 7 miles. Wed and Sat 12.45 pm. Take A57 towards Lincoln, over Dunham Toll bridge At first major junction, left, signed A1133 Gainsborough. At next T junc. (beside Torksey caravans), right, signed A156 Lincoln. Car boot 150 yds on left
Warsop Windmill 15 miles Sunday a.m. Take A6075 from Tuxford to Ollerton roundabout (junction with A614), 2nd exit A6075 signed Mansfield. Straight across Edwinstowe lights. Mini roundabout – first exit signed Clipstone.Market 50 yds on right.

We have a large range of pubs within a few miles, some expensive and superb, some ideal for family meals, some for a quiet meal for two, some well positioned for a walk, and, after much painstaking research, we will be happy to advise you.

Newark is famed as a town for antiques.
There are several antiques fairs on a two monthly basis at Newark and Swinderby, antique shops in Newark and a large permanent market at Hemswell in Lincs, not far away.

Local buses: YourBus, Veolia and Marshalls buses in Tuxford (25 min walk from here) go on several local routes – we have the timetables and can advise you. Veolia and Marshalls buses in Tuxford (25 min walk from here) go on several local routes – we have the timetables and can advise you.

Trains: Our nearest stations are: Newark (North Gate), 12 miles south, is on the East Coast main line London to York etc, and Newark (Castle) is on the Lincoln to Nottingham line.
Retford, 8 miles north, is also on the East Coast main line, and also the Sheffield to Lincoln line.

Boat trips: On the Chesterfield canal in Retford there are public trips on certain weekends (see web site) on the Seth Ellis Narrow boat.
Also the John Varley narrow boat has trips from the Tapton Lock Visitor Centre, Chesterfield. In Lincoln there are trips from the Brayford Pool along the Roman Fossdyke Navigation.

The Church of England Parish church of St. Nicholas, Tuxford, dates from the 12th century

Tuxford Methodist Church, Newcastle Street.

Catholic church: St Joseph's, Retford

Just a mile from Tuxford is College Farm Equestrian centre in West Markham

If you have friends or relatives that would like to stay nearby in a B&B whilst you camp, you could try the holiday flat in Tuxford:
 

For other holiday cottages in the Sherwood Forest region see the Sherwood and the Dukeries tourism site for the Robin Hood area:
 

If you like the 'feel' of Orchard Park, we are part of an association of similar smallish family run parks called Countryside Discovery – no club houses, no discos, generally in the countryside – have a look at:

The British Holiday and Home Parks Association has enlisted the help of Professor David Bellamy to help parks to be as friendly to the wild life and the environment as they are to their guests. The criteria include resource conservation, energy efficiency, and ecological management of the park to provide a wide range of habitats for wildlife. We have achieved a silver award at our first attempt.