Transport links
Nottingham City Transport Bus Stops FO07 or FO15 on Mansfield Road. For more information on Bus times and prices please visit nctx.co.uk

Trams run past Gregory Boulevard (along Noel Street) and stop close to the entrance. There is a Car Park for Trams users (Park and Ride) which is accessed from Gregory Boulevard. For more information on Tram times and prices please visit thetram.net

The name "Forest" derives from the Middle Ages when the land that is now a recreation ground was part of Sherwood Forest which once extended from the city of Nottingham to the north of Nottinghamshire. The site was the southernmost part of Sherwood Forest and was part of the open area known formerly as "The Lings" which, largely covered by gorse and scrub, extended into the parishes of Lenton, Radford and Basford.

The site of the Forest was one of the original areas to be protected in perpetuity by the 1845 Nottingham Inclosure Act, which set aside some 80 acres (32 ha) of Sherwood Forest for public recreational use. In commemoration, the Mayor of Nottingham planted the ""Inclosure Oak"" which can still be seen at the Mansfield Road entrance to the Forest. Joseph Paxton, a leading gardener and architect of the nineteenth century, was responsible for the criss-cross formation of walkways.

For over 300 years the Forest has been home to sport, including horse racing, cricket and football. It was home to Nottingham Racecourse by 1773, and it remained there until it moved to its current location at Colwick, south east of Nottingham, at the end of the 19th century. Nottingham Forest Football Club first played their games on the Forest after their formation in 1865, hence the club's name.

Standing at the Mansfield Road entrance is Forest Lodge, built in 1857. This Grade II listed building was originally used as a Police or Keeper's Lodge and a police cell can still be seen at basement level. A red granite monument stands at the Monument Gate on Forest Road East, commemorating the fallen of the Boer War.

By comparison with its sporting heritage, the use of the Forest for the city's traditional Goose Fair is relatively recent. The fair has existed since at least 1541, but it only moved to the Forest in 1928, from its previous long term home in the city's Old Market Square.

The Friends of the Forest came together in 2001 to protect the park from unsuitable development and to continue working in co-operation with the Nottingham City Council to preserve it for use in accordance with the 1845 Act of Parliament that created it.

To keep its independence and to pay for the newsletter and other expenses each member pays an annual subscription of £5.

As it was gradually realised how lucky we are in Nottingham to have all this inner-city open space, 130 acres created by Act of Parliament and therefore unable easily to be misused or sold off, we instituted the annual Inclosure Walk, so that our fellow-citizens could learn about it and experience the pleasure of its four parks and three miles of wide, tree-lined walks.

We have planted quite a lot of native woodland flowers spread thinly along the upper parts of the bank by the cemetery, with the expectation that they will gradually spread and join up – a fine sight for our descendants in 100 years’ time. There are Snowdrops, Bluebells, Wood Anemone. There is also Meadow Saxifrage to be found on the Forest and we are keen that it should not be endangered.

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