Completely and utterly lost, I had a blister on my heel the size of a golf ball and, to make matters worse, it was starting to rain. I had no idea if the track I was on led deeper into the forest or was guiding me back out but, with the wind shaking the conifers and rustling the leaves of ancient oaks, I limped on.

Planning to squeeze in a jog before breakfast, I’d left The Clumber Park Hotel over an hour ago, leaving my boyfriend Tom snoring away in bed. With one of the most beautiful sections of Sherwood Forest right outside our room, I’d set off excitedly without checking my route or bringing a phone.

Snapping twigs beneath my trainers as I ran along well-marked forest tracks, it had all started so well. With woodpeckers drumming overhead and tortoiseshell butterflies fluttering across the path, I had congratulated myself on getting up early to explore.

I was in Clumber Park, 3,800 acres of parkland and woods that, at its full extent, were once at the heart of Sherwood Forest. Originally the Dukes of Newcastle’s country estate, the park’s mansion house was demolished in 1938 but plenty of relics still remain, including a Gothic-style chapel and a three-arched bridge across the estate’s elongated lake.

A mosaic of historic architecture, managed gardens and woodland, you can be exploring walled gardens one minute, spotting warbles and whitethroats from a bird hide the next, and wind up moments later, lost in the woods. A lack of signposts adds to the authentic forest feel but, in the National Trust’s largest property, navigation can be tricky for first-timers.

By the time I arrived back at the hotel, Tom was mopping up the last of his fried egg and a waiter was clearing away a pan of lukewarm sausages.

“I was just starting to worry,” Tom said, wiping ketchup from the corner of his mouth.

In need of some TLC, I made a beeline for the hotel spa, feeling instantly soothed as I wafted into the aromatic lounge. While men and women dressed in white robes sipped herbal teas and nibbled chicken salads, I revived myself with a glass of Prosecco and perused the treatment menu, booking myself in for a massage.

We whiled away the afternoon, reading magazines around the indoor pool, rotating between the sauna and Jacuzzi, and keeping a watchful eye on the outdoor hot-tub – large enough for friends but too cosy to share with strangers, we hopped in whenever it was free.

That evening, we tucked into sirloin steaks and saw the night in with a bottle of red in the Courtyard Restaurant.

On Sunday morning I opted for a lie-in followed by double helpings at breakfast. Relaxing with the papers while I digested half a pound of bacon, we mulled over our options for the day. There was still the forest Segway track to try, Nottingham was less than half an hour’s drive to the south and Robin Hood’s fabled tree – a 1,000-year-old oak where the outlaw is said to have hidden – was a mere seven miles away.

But with plenty more of Clumber Park still to explore, we hired bikes and downloaded a route map from the National Trust website.

Sunday was far more successful: we pedalled along Europe’s longest avenue of lime trees to enter the park near Hardwick Village, where 19th century redbrick cottages once housed the Clumber estate’s workers, before following a five-mile route beside the park’s 85-acre lake.

We didn’t get lost this time but, I warned Tom, it was the impromptu detours that had tempted me off track on day one. One of England’s most beautiful parks, Clumber is well worth a weekend away but, if your sense of direction is a bad as mine, either plan a route and wear comfortable shoes, or play safe and stick to the spa.

  • Double rooms at The Clumber Park Hotel start at £65 per night. Visit www.clumberparkhotel.com or call 01623 835333. The hotel also accommodates dogs, at £15 per pooch per night.
  • Cycle hire can be arranged at the hotel or you can hire bikes from the Clumber Park’s cycle centre (call 01909 544911). The hotel also offers facilities for storing your own bikes.
  • For more information about Clumber Park and suggested walking/cycle routes, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/clumber-park