Many a teenage girl got goose bumps in the 1980s listening to Clannad singing "Robin, the hooded man" - at least while dark and handsome Michael Praed had the lead role in the TV series.
Somehow the blond Jason Connery didn't have the same appeal.
But the legendary outlaw has always been a man of many faces; Robin has been played by actors including Errol Flynn, Kevin Costner and now Russell Crowe, but he is always in Sherwood Forest, the Sheriff of Nottingham is always his enemy, and Nottingham is definitely Robin's 'hood.
Hot on the trail of the man in tights - on a 27degC day when we had packed no summer clothes - we arrived in Nottingham by train after a comfortable two-hour journey from London.
A short taxi ride took us to the Lace Market Hotel, a conversion of two Georgian houses, but there was no time to enjoy the well-appointed room or the giant free-standing bath.
We had a lunch date at Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Possibly England's oldest inn is partly dug into the rock upon which Nottingham Castle stands.
In the ancient and reputedly haunted caves below, beer is still brewed, and inside the pub is a tunnel, leading up to the castle, through which barrels of ale were once hauled.
As we ate in the Rock Lounge (not rock music, but carved out of real rock), in strode a tall man with long dark hair, carrying a longbow - Ade Andrews, a Nottingham actor who guides tours through the streets of the city in the character of Robin Hood.
He perched on the Pregnancy Chair ("any woman sitting in it will soon afterwards become pregnant") and told us tales of the greenwood as we finished our lunch and enjoyed the establishment's fine ales.
I can recommend Old Speckled Hen.
Then we followed him around the streets as he guided us through the history of Nottingham.
Small children called out "Hello, Robin Hood" and older folk turned and stared as Ade strode briskly through the city centre, a gaggle of sweaty Kiwis trailing behind.
He graciously stopped to pose for tourist photos or chat to school parties, in between regaling us with stories of outlaws and Sherwood Forest, where he also works.
Our tour ended at Broadmarsh shopping centre, which is built atop a complex of ancient caves tunnelled into the soft rock.
The foundations of the shopping centre even pierce the caves, which over the centuries have been used for many things, including as a tannery, as dwelling places and as a bomb shelter during World War 2.
We took a self-guided tour, grateful for the coolness of the tunnels.
At Nottingham Castle the sheriff was waiting for us, a meeting which did not go as expected.
The Sheriff of Nottingham does not have a black beard and doesn't seem at all evil, though her robes are black.
That's right: her.
The sheriff of Nottingham is a blonde woman called Penny, the sixth woman to hold the title, which she took up in May.
Nor was Nottingham Castle what we expected.
It is not the original castle, but a stately ducal home begun in 1663 by William Cavendish, the first Duke of Newcastle.
However, the ancient gatehouse remains, as does the wall from which in 1212 King John hanged 28 young hostages, the sons of Welsh noble families.
As well as boasting its usual exhibits and lovely gardens, at present the castle is hosting an exhibition of props and costumes from the latest Robin Hood film.
All this walking on a scorching hot summer's day had made us thirsty, and we retired to the Lace Market for a rest and a drink before dinner.
Later we called in at the Pitcher and Piano bar, which is worth a visit just for the architecture.
It's in a former church and has all the stained glass and many other features intact.
It was heaving with people on such a hot night and we sat outside to take the evening air. In the morning, with half an hour before the start of our day's activities and temperatures in the high 20s, I raced to Marks and Spencers to buy some summery clothes. (It's amazing what you can buy in a short time when you try.)
Then it was off to Sherwood Forest - well, the remaining 180ha of the former royal hunting preserve - and the Major Oak.
This 800-year-old tree may have been a meeting place for Robin Hood and his Merry Men, depending on which RH time line you use, and these days is supported by a sort of Zimmer frame to keep it in one piece.
Clumber Park, a hugely popular 1500ha park and picnic spot once owned by the Dukes of Newcastle, made a lovely rest stop.
Despite the thousands of people enjoying the pretty park it still seemed uncrowded.
Lunch was at Rufford Abbey and Country Park, where in the ruins of the Cistercian abbey - a link to the traditional tale of Robin Hood and the monk - gargoyles gazed down from the crumbling walls.
Creswell Crags was next, and more walking in the hot sun.
I was tired, grumpy and almost ready to give up, when we got to the top of a small rise and saw the beautiful limestone gorge where humans have come since prehistoric times.
The sight was instantly refreshing.
From spiders in Robin Hood Cave to recently discovered rock art in Church Hole and the excellent little museum, it was definitely worth the effort.
Dinner that night was at Hart's, one of Nottingham's best restaurants.
We enjoyed every morsel, but the creme brulee was best.
On a lovely summer's night well-behaved patrons spilled out of packed bars on to the street, but there was no couch-burning to be seen in this student town.
The next day we collected rental cars in a long and torturous process that took more than an hour, including walking to Europcar and much waiting and filling in of forms before we got the keys to the large seven-seater we had been given - for two people.
Our plan to use the GPS to guide us to the hotel to pick up our bags fell apart when we couldn't seem to make it work.
We drove through Nottingham's maze of narrow one-way streets, getting glimpses of where we wanted to be, but time and again the roads forced us in another direction until at last we somehow made it.
We felt exhausted before we'd even left Nottingham.
Never mind, it was only a 40-minute drive to the Peak District - if we were going the right way.
• Next week: Part 2 - chasing Keira.
Janice Murphy visited Britain with assistance from Cathay Pacific and Visit Britain.
About Robin Hood
The original tales of Robin Hood were not written, but passed by word of mouth and can be traced to the 13th century. In the earliest recorded stories, Robin was a yeoman - a commoner - who had fallen foul of the law some time between 1272 and 1377 and become an outlaw with anger-management problems.
But as time passed, the tales grew and changed.
By the late 16th century he had been given the status of a noble and his story set in the time of King Richard, in the 1190s. Maid Marian was a later arrival, possibly by way of a story from France.
Along the way Robin became associated with May Day celebrations, and even Henry VIII was known to dress as an outlaw and "rob from the rich to give to the poor". But the modern version of Robin Hood was largely shaped by Sir Walter Scott in his book Ivanhoe.
On the web
For Britrail passes see www.britrail.com
About Nottingham: www.robinhoodbreaks.com
Ade Andrews: www.bonecorporation.co.uk
Visit Britain: www.visitbritain.co.nz
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