Nottinghamshire Day Celebrations
Nottinghamshire Day 2026
Fun and family friendly activities as part of Nottinghamshire Day celebrations will be taking place on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August at Sherwood Forest Nature Reserve.
Time: 11am to 4.30pm on for activities on both days. Visitor centre open 10am to 5pm
Cost: Free entry to the event, RSPB parking charged at £7 all day.
Activities taking place include:
Legends of Nottinghamshire trail: An interactive, family-friendly outdoor trail that brings local legends to life through a series of illustrated puzzle boards.
Rebels, regents and rulers, a live history, combat and storytelling experience:
- Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians - 11am
- William Marshal, the Greatest Knight - 12pm
- King Edward I - 1pm
- The Sheriff of Nottingham - 2pm
Each day culminates in a spectacular 30 minute live combat show at 3:30pm, featuring fast-paced sword and shield battles, quarterstaff fighting, tales of outlaws and knights, and appearances from Nottinghamshire’s most famous legends.
Charges apply for axe throwing.
Find out more about activities taking place over the weekend.
Nottinghamshire Day in previous years
Nottinghamshire Day 2025
An actioned-packed day of activities taken place, including archery, axe throwing, Hunt the Outlaw, falconry displays and a display from crowd-favourites, the Sherwood Outlaws.
Nottinghamshire Day 2024
In 2024, we celebrated Nottinghamshire Day at Sherwood Forest as part of the Robin Hood Festival on Sunday 25 August.
Watch our Notts Day 2024 round-up video.
Throughout the day, visitors enjoyed a range of activities including craft-making and poetry-writing workshops, Hunt the Outlaw, medieval musicians, storytelling, axe throwing and more!
Our colleagues from Inspire libraries ran the craft corner, creating peg dolls of Robin and his merry band.
Also new for this year was a Nottinghamshire-themed poetry writing workshops, where budding Byrons entered a competition with their own odes to Notts.
The Ukranian School Band performed a set, and there were stalls from the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Nottinghamshire, Ruddington Framework Knitters and Foster For East Midlands.
Poetry Competition
There’s a rumour there are lots and lots
Of unknown, secret poets in Notts.
Who have yet to even try to write a poem
To share their thoughts and share the bounty
Of this brilliant, beautiful county
That they are really proud and happy to call their home.
So here’s an opportunity
To write and share your poetry
Be you born here, live here, work here or just play,
What warms your heart or lights your fire
About the county of Nottinghamshire?
Please share a poem for the annual Nottinghamshire Day.
The Nottinghamshire Day poetry competition closed to entries on Friday 30 August. Want to vote for your winner? Head over to our Facebook page where the shortlisted poems will be shared. The winner will be decided by a public vote to make sure you show your support for your favourite poem!
