Parts of this much centralised English county Keith had visited with his parents throughout his wartime boyhood. Later as a young man his continuing enthusiasm for the natural scene, and wildlife in particular, had entailed many forays into the Sherwood Forest country which embraced much of Th e Dukeries famed for their acres of preserved woodlands, heaths and river-connected lakes. In the following years, his interests in the great country houses and their surrounding ducal estates involved him in pleasantly long hours of research. He took an interest in the ancestry connections, the Civil War battles and the origins of market towns and villages. Occasionally, he diverted to learn more about Byron and D. H. Lawrence and as he rummaged studiously through the library shelves discovered the works of a then more recent writer, Fred Kitchen, who devotedly described the north Nottinghamshire scene as observed through the eyes of a farmer. Befriending a Dukeries gamekeeper, Forestry Commission warrener and Ruff ord Abbey caretaker further enhanced each of the author’s explorations, the majority of which are included in this fascinating volume.