THE glazed pie, still warm from the oven, was placed before me, packed with all the food of the forest...venison, partridge, pheasant and hare.

Dipping into the rich, red wine gravy, I was reminded of a time when this feast would certainly have been the food fit for a villain.

Not your ordinary bad boy, you understand, but Britain's most celebrated outlaw, Robin Hood.

Because, here was I tucking into the dish that would have graced his table at the pretty village of Edwinstowe in Nottinghamshire, where Robin is alleged to have married his sweetheart, Maid Marian, in the ancient St Mary's Church.

Despite spending a week holidaying in this fascinating and little known county, I still have not unscrambled the evidence to prove whether the colourful stories surrounding Robin and his merry men are fact or pure fiction.

However, tradition says that Robin was active in the 1170s during the reign of King Richard of Lionheart.

Less than 100 years later, the stories of his exploits had boosted him to new heights - although there is no reference to him ever being caught.

By the 1400s, he was such an heroic legend that his name appeared in plays, and he is kept very much alive today at annual May festivals across Nottinghamshire when he is portrayed as The Green Man, or woodland spirit.

Now the enterprising county council is inviting holidaymakers and visitors to rediscover one of the region's most intriguing attractions - Sherwood Forest itself.

I visited Southwell Minster, one of the few complete buildings to survive from the time of the Norman Conquest.

Here again, the legend surrounding Robin was to reappear in stark reality.

In the ornately decorated Chapter House there are famous stone carvings known locally as the Leaves of Southwell.

Among the carefully crafted carvings of foliage, a number of enigmatic faces watch over you in haughty silence.

They show a man's face enmeshed in greenery and spouting leaves from his mouth.

Could furtive Robin be up to his old tricks again?

Historians and folklorists still speculate about the outlaw's links to these works in stone.

But perhaps the real answers lie in those dark, forest glades in the middle of Sherwood...

Nottinghamshire County Council has produced leaflets - The Trail of Robin Hood, and Sherwood Forest: A Legendary Past - Green Future - which are available by calling 01623-822944, extension 220.

It can also supply a list of country house hotels, accommodation and inns.

Make sure you call in for a pint of home-brewed ale and a tasty home-cooked meal at the Olde Red Lion at Wellow, telephone 01623-861000.

Center Parcs Sherwood Holiday Village has weekend, mid-week and longer breaks at competitive prices.

Call 01623-827400 for information, or your local travel agent.