Retford and its environs were thought to be sufficiently attractive for the Great Northern Railway Company to organise trips based in Retford (1908). Visitors stayed at the White Hart Hotel, with a fare inclusive of the railway journey, the drive (by four in-hand, landau, citoria or dogcart), and a couple of meals. C Moss, author of the 1908 handbook, notes: "Attention, almost at the very outset of the journey, is directed to the beauties of the drive. By a gentle incline we pass into the fair demesne of Babworth. At the foot of the declivity, Babworth Hall, the church, the rectory and the lake, wherein shrub and tree are shadowed, naturally catch the eye."