During the first world war 20,000 soldiers were trained at one of the largest facilities in the country in Sherwood Pines (formerly Clipstone Camp) prior to being sent to the western front.
Quote from the Forestry Commission website:
"Clipstone Camp Archaeological Project
- Remnants of the unique First World War Camp still exist in the forest including trenches and a Lewis Gun range, these will be protected and enhanced for future generations.
- Many of the sites have been preserved as a result of tree planting but now require care to help them survive in the long term."
So before you go digging your own bike trails have a think about what may lie beneath the surface.
In winter the bike trails that don't have a compacted surface can get a bit muddy and you will have an opportunity to experience a taste of the muddy battlefields of Flanders (without the bullets and shells)
Here's a mugshot of Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War in the famous World War I recruitment poster.
And here's what Sherwood Pines could have looked like today if Lord Kitchener hadn't driven the German army from our shores.
So if you are aged between 19 and 30, at least 5'3" tall and with a chest size greater than 34 inches then follow the heady rush of patriotic optimism to the enlisting posts sign up with your pals and get your bikes to Sherwood Pines
