Robin Hood's Arbour loop from Cox Green

01:50

7.12km

30m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: August 17, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

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982 m

Robin Hood's Arbour

Highlight • Historical Site

Robin Hood's Arbour
There are no known connections linking the legend of the outlaw, Robin Hood with Robin Hood’s Arbour. Indeed Robin Hood’s Arbour dates from much earlier times. The feature is an Iron Age rectilinear enclosure which is thought to have been a farmstead. An archaeological excavation in 1890 revealed ‘samian ware’, a type of Roman pottery produced mainly in Gaul. Further excavations in 1960 recovered some Iron Age pottery and some wattle marked daub. Other finds comprised flint implements including a Palaeolithic hand axe. These finds can be seen in the Reading Museum.

Tip by

5.89 km

Highwaymen Trail, Maidenhead Thicket

Highlight • Trail

As early as 1255, Henry III ordered the area around the London to Bath road to be cut back, as it was notorious for highwaymen. However, the problem reached a peak following the execution of Charles I in 1649, which left a growing number of desperate Royalists on the run and a number of them became highwaymen. Maidenhead was a busy coaching stop and the Bath Road, between Maidenhead and Reading, was one of the busiest roads in the country; in it had good coverage with many escape routes through the Thicket. Highwaymen flourished here until the early 1800s. By far the best-known highwayman was Dick Turpin. It is said that the Dew Drop Inn at Burchett’s Green was in his usual stamping ground. This pub had an underground room where Turpin would hide his horse, Black Bess, when in need of shelter after an escapade on Maidenhead Thicket.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Turpin

Tip by

6.08 km