of Robin Hood. During the Second World War parts of Sherwood Forest were used extensively by the military for ammunition stores, POW camps and training areas. Oil was produced at Eakring. After the war large ammunition dumps were abandoned in the forest and were not cleared until 1952, with at least 46,000 tons of ammunition in them. Part of the forest was opened to the public as a country park in 1969 by Nottinghamshire County Council, which manages a small part of the forest under lease from the Thoresby Estate. In 2002 a portion of Sherwood Forest was designated a national nature reserve by English Nature. In 2007 Natural England officially incorporated the Budby South Forest, Nottinghamshire's largest area of dry lowland heath, into the Nature Reserve, nearly doubling its size from . A new Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre was authorised in 2015. In August 2018 the RSPB opened the new development with a shop and café, having been granted permission to manage the woods in 2015. Part of an agreement with Natural England was that the land where the existing 1970s visitor centre was located would be restored to wood pasture. Some portions of the forest retain many very old oaks, especially in the portion known as the Dukeries, south of the town of Worksop, which was so called because it used to contain five ducal residences. The River Idle, a tributary of the Trent, is formed in Sherwood Forest from the confluence of several minor streams. Tourism Sherwood attracts around 350,000 tourists annually, many from other countries. Each August the nature reserve hosts a week-long Robin Hood Festival. This event recreates a medieval atmosphere and features the major characters from the Robin Hood legend. The week's entertainment includes jousters and strolling players dressed in medieval attire, in addition to a medieval encampment complete with jesters, musicians, rat-catchers, alchemists and fire eaters. Throughout the year visitors are attracted to the Sherwood Forest Art and Craft Centre in the former coach house and stables of Edwinstowe Hall in the heart of the Forest. The centre contains art studios and a cafe and hosts special events, including craft demonstrations and exhibitions. Major Oak Sherwood Forest is home to the famous Major Oak, which according to local folklore was Robin Hood's principal hideout. The oak tree is between 800 and 1,000 years old and since the Victorian era its massive limbs have