It is a tale which has been told for centuries and which has spawned countless plays, books and Hollywood blockbusters. In the latter format, internationally renowned actors such as Russell Crowe and Sean Connery have portrayed the titular character, who in a country awash with folklore has become one of its best known legends.
Robin Hood became a popular figure in the Middle Ages and with his reported robbery of the rich to give to the poor, his story continues to fascinate people across the globe. His marriage to Maid Marian and the companionship of his Merry Men are among the features of Robin Hood's story that have made it such rich pickings for studios including Walt Disney and Warner Bros.
With the competition to attract both international and domestic tourists so strong, Robin Hood is therefore acknowledged by Nottinghamshire's political and business leaders to be a major asset for the county. But the recent collapse of Nottingham Castle's operator has raised numerous questions about the city's tourism offer, chief among them being the way in which it promotes Robin Hood.
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The heroic outlaw is far more recognised for his connections with county rather than city. Robin Hood was said to live in Sherwood Forest, with the Major Oak still standing there today said to have been used as a hide-out by the Merry Men.
In the heart of Sherwood Forest is the village of Edwinstowe, the home of the church where Robin Hood and Maid Marian are said to have married. But the legend of Robin Hood is one which has several ties to the city of Nottingham itself too.
One of the key aspects to the story of Robin Hood is his rivalry with the Sheriff of Nottingham, who is said to have imprisoned Robin in the caves beneath Nottingham Castle. Yet despite all of the above connections, it would be hard to argue that Nottingham makes as much of Robin Hood as Stratford-upon-Avon makes of William Shakespeare, or as Liverpool makes of The Beatles.
There is the famous Robin Hood Statue on Castle Road, an award-winning Robin Hood Tour around Nottingham, and events including the Robin Hood Half Marathon and the Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival. But many are now calling for Nottingham to make more of Robin Hood within the city, and to do much more promotion of the attractions across Nottinghamshire that people can visit.
One of those making such calls is Ben Bradley, the Conservative leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, who said: "It's a source of great frustration for me. I have never been, but I understand that even if you go to Shanghai Airport, it's got posters of Sherwood Forest around it.
"This is a globally known story and I've never understood why we don't make more of it. I would love to see us theme our packages and attractions around it.
"I would love to see a Robin Hood theme park in the heart of Sherwood Forest. I think it would help us make the most of our visitor economy."
Alex Norris, the Labour and Co-op MP for Nottingham North, agrees that Robin Hood is a major asset for both city and county. He said: "I have lived in Nottingham for 20 years and people have always said that the city doesn't make enough of Robin Hood in some form. We do use it quite a lot, but it is our global brand and whenever I talk to somebody from a different country and they ask where I'm from, Robin Hood comes up and it is a brilliant global brand.
"I don't think we can use it too much. The joint working between the city and the county I think is really important because whether it's tourism, whether it's inward investment, the political boundaries are not of any great interest there."
Closer working between Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council was highlighted by many as a way in which Robin Hood can be better utilised by the area. Chris Hobson, the Director of Policy and External Affairs at the East Midlands Chamber, said: "When it comes to the visitor attraction offer, I think Nottingham city and Nottinghamshire county need to work much more closely in terms of bringing those two offers together.
'"If you're visiting from outside the region, you don't care where the city boundary ends and the county boundary starts. People might want to come into Nottingham city but then want to go out to Sherwood and so having a visitor destination function that works properly across city and county is going to be really important.
"We need to be able to see it through the eyes of visitors rather than our own ways of working. It's a great opportunity and of course Nottingham is more than Robin Hood, but it's silly not to make the most of it."
On the subject of more joint working with the city council, Ben Bradley highlighted upcoming East Midlands devolution arrangements as a good opportunity. He said: "The challenge has been that all of the attractions exist in different council areas, some are owned by private companies and some are run by charities.
"All of them have different priorities and strategies around tourism, so it will be helpful to tie that together under a combined authority and have consistent branding and packaging. There isn't even a place where you can go 'I want to visit Sherwood Forest' and go down the full list of attractions, because they're all run separately.
"Even with Sherwood Forest itself, part of it is in Newark and Sherwood and part of it is in Bassetlaw, so it's marketed in different ways. I think people underestimate the tourism there is around all that history and heritage. It all just needs organising."
Such is Robin Hood's international fame that it is not only in the field of tourism where the legend is still in frequent use. Under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, who himself visited the Castle Road statue on the campaign trail, the Labour Party proposed a 'Robin Hood Tax' in 2017 which would have taxed financial transactions to raise money for public services.
In more recent political history, BBC Radio Nottingham's Sarah Julian made headlines in October when asking then Prime Minister Liz Truss whether her mini-budget policies made her a "reverse Robin Hood." Given the commercial potential of the legend, it was also with much controversy that a claim was made in 2021 that Robin Hood was born in Sheffield.
But as work now begins on restoring Nottingham Castle, some are optimistic that the collapse of its operator provides a good opportunity to start making much more of another Nottinghamshire asset. Alex Norris added: "I'm sure as we look at the castle's future, and hopefully have better success there, as we look at the Broad Marsh development and the success there in years to come, I think Robin Hood will be an integral part of all of it."
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: "We provide funding directly to Marketing Nottingham to promote the Robin Hood legend and, indeed, created a dedicated attraction as part of the £30 million castle refurbishment which the council carried out in 2018. We're always keen to join up and work together on tourism and promoting the city and county offer to a regional, national and international audience – and Robin Hood undoubtedly has a big part to play in that."
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