Bunny and Gotham - Day Walk

From the our meeting point we will head towards Gotham Hill, from here you will get some great views of the local area. Afterwards we'll head over to a tumulus, Cuckoo Bush, supposedly site of the fence the Wise Men of Gotham built to keep a cuckoo trapped so that summer would go on forever. When the cuckoo flew away, they declared they should have made the fence higher.

Onwards to Gotham village, famous for the legendary Merry Tales of the Mad Men of Gotham, first published in 1540, in later editions sanitised to Wise Men. One story tells how the Wise Men acted as madmen to dissuade King John from passing through the village and taxing them, madness then being thought contagious.

These numerous tales of simple-minded logic include raking the moon out of a pond, trying to drown eels and a rider carrying a corn sack on his shoulders to take the weight off his old horse. Many of the tales date from the 12th century, but it is a mystery how the hapless villagers acquired their reputation.

The walk is fairly flat afterwards, and we'll cross Gotham Moor to the quaint village of Bunny (maybe seeing a few steam trains enroute).  The walk heads through Rushciffe Country park and then back to our starting point.