Pipewell

The Domesday Book of 1086 records the population of Pipewell as 9 persons.
Even today with its small 19th century church set close to the woods is still a tiny village.
It was Pipewell however, that Richard the Lionheart's Council of Nobles met in 1189 to organise the third Crusade, meeting perhaps at the Cistercian Abbey which stood there at that time.
The earthworks still remain, can be seen in passing as can the particularly attractive and intricately patterned leaded windows of the present-day cottages.
Pipewell Woods are of national importance and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Controversy surrounds the interest in hunting and shooting but few deny that the pursuit of game preserved some woods such as these at Pipewell would otherwise have been removed long since. You will be unlucky not to spot at least one pheasant as you pass through these woods.