Alan has a story to tell about leaving and returning; of trying to make sense of something a stranger once told him; of male voice choirs, aubergine muffins and Muntjac deer. He is joined by those who come here as visitors, rangers, and volunteers, and for whom this place plays a big part in their lives.
This walk is around 2.5 miles and should take around 2 hours to complete. It starts and ends at the Bestwood Country Park car park (in Bestwood).
You can download the route instructions and map below and print it out to take with you on the walk, although the instructions on the audio are very clear and – as long as you start in the right place – you shouldn’t get lost. (If the map is currently visible on your device you can zoom in and out using the – and + keys above it).
The audio can be streamed here (or on a variety of other platforms as listed at the very bottom of this page). You can also download these tracks to your device from the links below (just click on those three dots to the right) if you’d rather do that (and save your data!)
1. The Bestwood Country Park car park on Park Road
2. The noticeboard at the bottom of Broad Valley Drive
3. Alexandra Lodge
4. The Park Rangers noticeboard
5. The arch to Khalsa Wood
6. The picnic tables in the Big Wood glade
7. The Adventure Playground
8. Bench on the downhill path
9. Bench by the old oak and copper beech trees
10. The old oak overlooking the dip
11. Path alongside the reclaimed colliery area
12. The Winding House
13. Bench by the basketball play area
14. St. Alban’s Road
Alan’s Story was written by Andy Barrett and read by Phil Molloy. It was recorded by Phil Booth at J.T. Soar and the sound design was Adam P McCready. The photos that you come across were made by Julian Hughes. Thanks to Roger Williams; the Bestwood Male Voice Choir; the African Apostolic Church; Katja Hock, Rob Wombwell and all those whose voices are included; everyone who shared their stories; and all who helped with the research for this walk.
The audio can be streamed from the following links (and, if you have subscriptions with any of these, you should be able to download them as well):
https://open.spotify.com/show/3R0qqM2WA69jFHZtK3cqYI?si=715c463966724a6b
https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Sherwood-Voices-Podcast/B0BPTQTZ9C
https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/d585029f-8481-4619-af1a-3288300bf655/sherwood-voices
You can also access the audio and maps at http://www.inspireculture.org.uk/sherwoodvoices
Sherwood Voices 