Nottingham - a great City to visit

Nottingham is a great city to wander around, with some fine architecture, the market square dominated by the imposing council building; two shopping centres linked with a pedestrian route; the old buildings linked to Nottingham Trent University frequently used by D.H. Lawrence; the lace market with its original factories (many converted into town housing); and St. Mary’s Church.

As the title of this journal suggests, Nottingham is awash with museums, and other than the free ones that I’m highlighting, there are many others. The Galleries of Justice tells the chilling tale of crime and punishment in Nottingham over the last three centuries. You’ll see a Victorian trial in progress in the original court, experience the walk to the cells, view the dark "transportation cell" and the condemned prisoner’s cell, and be told the gory stories of public executions in Nottingham. This is a tour well worth doing. Opposite the Galleries is the small but fascinating lace museum, and you can always stop off for a drink and lunch at the Pitcher and Piano, a converted church.

The Tales of Robin Hood is a treat for children as your tour takes you through the sights and smells of medieval England and introduces to Nottingham’s most famous character, Robin Hood.

The small Costume Museum is moderately interesting, and there are masses of clothes and textiles exhibited in period-decorated rooms. If you fancy a tour of the caves, then Nottingham can do that for you, because under the modern and developing city is a maze of caves and tunnels dating back to Anglo-Saxon times.

Nottingham has three great theatres, and most times you could just turn up on the day to get a seat (for some performances, a last-minute booking might attract a bit of a discount). The Theatre Royal is the oldest one, and this was tastefully restored in 1977 – the chandelier is an absolute stunner. In season, you could pick up a game of ice hockey at the ice arena or a game of football at one of Nottingham’s two football grounds (Notts County is the oldest team in the football league, but Forest is the more successful of the two). In summer, you could take in a game of cricket at Trent Bridge.

Newstead Abbey, the home of Lord Byron, is in striking distance from Nottingham, as is D.H. Lawrence’s Victorian family home.

Quick Tips:

If you’re staying around Nottingham for a few days and intend on using public transport, buy a frequent-traveller ticket, which works out to be much cheaper than individual fares.

Nottingham has a really helpful tourist information centre in the centre of town. There are a number of helpful leaflets detailing "places to visit," and a monthly free paper listing forthcoming events is available from libraries in the information centre. Nottingham has the Evening Post, a daily newspaper that also has full listings and The Topic, a glossy monthly magazine.

If you’re planning a stay here, then the Internet can help with two notable sites: Nottingham Experience

and Nottingham Tourism

As you’re wandering around Nottingham, take a few moments out to relax in the recently re-landscaped arboretum – it still retains some of the Victorian features.

If you’re around and about in October, then you could spend some time at the Goose Fair. This tradition is well over 700 years old, and although not my cup of tea, is said to be one of the largest fun fairs in the country.

Best Way To Get Around:

Nottingham is in the process of discouraging the motorist, so I’d recommend that you keep your car out of the city in the daytime. Use the out-of-centre park-and-drive scheme and be driven, hassle free, by the free bus from the car park to the centre of town. It’s easier to park at night in the city.

Recently, Nottingham has started to develop a network of trams. There’s only one route at present, but it will take you from the train station and through the city centre to the town of Hucknall. It’s a trouble-free form of transportation.

Buses run frequently around the city and are not expensive. Taxis are another option but obviously much more expensive and certainly not the best way of picking your way around Nottingham. Trains run in most directions out of Nottingham to the suburbs, but frequency varies considerably.

Like all cities, the best way to get around Nottingham is on foot. Everything is close at hand and big efforts have been made to encourage pedestrians, with traffic banned on several streets. There are a few gentle inclines but nothing too strenuous.

Brewhouse Yard Museum, nestled in the rock below Nottingham Castle, makes full use of all available space in this row of 17th-century cottages. It depicts life in Nottingham over the last three centuries and is so crammed with exhibits that I’d be surprised if you managed to take it all in one trip. The museum is free to visit during the week, but there’s a small admission charge on weekends.

Over the years, the museum’s curators have collected an astonishing number of everyday items from across the centuries, and these have often been placed in context around this person-friendly museum. There are several "mock-up" shops (including a chemist, grocer, and cobbler) with the original packaging displayed, and I can virtually guarantee that you’ll hear grandparents trying to explain to their grandchildren what was contained within. I saw whole rows of now-defunct goods, and with that came a flood of childhood memories. Brewhouse Yard is good for triggering off those previously forgotten experiences. There are period rooms equipped with objects from the Victorian days: a play room cluttered with old toys, including a hoop and stick, bagatelle, whip, and top; a Victorian kitchen (no microwaves here!); and a formal dining room. These are filled with memories of the days when Nottingham was renowned worldwide for its lace, bicycles, and cigarettes. Adorning the wall are collections of "cigarette cards," and I couldn’t help but recall my childhood days when I played "Faggies" with what are now very collectable card sets.

There are a few models of early Nottingham, when the river had taken a much different course than years past and would have licked the cliff face along Castle Boulevard. I also learned that the yard itself was once a haven for criminals, as an ancient charter had given it the status of a haven. That is not the case now!

A glimpse of Nottingham’s recent history can be explored as you progress through the museum, as carved into the rocks are the house’s cellars. These were World War II air raid shelters, and it is not hard to imagine families cramming into this confined space every time the sirens sounded. There are some really interesting displays in this section of the museum.

As a museum, it also has a large number of "cased exhibitions," with displays of local archaeological finds, coins and medals, some original music scores alongside musical instruments, some early "new technology," and a wealth of social history backed up with local archives.

In a separate adjacent building you can explore a Victorian School Room – this is a favourite with children as they struggle to understand that their grandparents would have written on a chalkboard or dipped a crude nib-pen into ink.

When you’ve finished your tour of the museum, I suggest you pop into The Trip. This pub claims to be the oldest hostelry in town (although others would contest that), and it’s worth having a quick drink in this fairly unique building.

Wollaton Hall offers a cracking day out, and if you visit in the picnic season, you can enjoy your food whilst sitting in the grounds watching the fallow deer wandering past you. The Hall stands at the top of a hill and offers great views of the parkland and glimpses of the City of Nottingham.

Wollaton was built in the 1580s, when stone was dragged to the site by horses and carts from Ancaster (several miles away). The Willoughby family, an extremely wealthy and influential family in their day, continued to live in the Hall until the 1920s, but now it’s owned by the city council. There have been several large-scale restorations over the years to ensure that the Hall continues to be an historical masterpiece for future generations and offers something for everyone.

Outside you can admire the superb image of a classic Elizabethan mansion and wander the grounds (there are 500 acres total!). The formal flower garden "hosts" a sensory section, and you won’t be disappointed with the Camelia House (1823). Take your time as you tackle the slope down to the lake, and if you’re up to it, take a stroll through Thomson’s Wood at the extreme end of the park.

The Hall’s stable block now houses an Industrial Museum and exhibition gallery. I’m not really into heavy engineering, but Wollaton’s Beam Engine House is an absolute must. It is old technology at its best and so well preserved. Also, you’ll have the chance to look, close up, at Nottingham’s heritage in Lace. I was also fascinated to look at some really early engines, some manufactured in my hometown of Lincoln.

Climbing the great staircase to the Hall, just glance over your shoulder and admire the view that would have greeted the original Mr. Willoughby as the door was opened for him by one of his many servants. Over to your right, you’ll see part of the city of Nottingham. Once inside, there are treats in every room. There are period rooms decked out in the original style, and the Great Hall is a befitting entrance to this magnificent building. Throughout the building there are a number of fine artworks. I’m not aware of any really famous ones but several are noteworthy.

Wollaton has a well-renown taxidermist section, and there’s a superb natural history museum. All the locals know George the Gorilla, and a stuffed giraffe that used to dominate the entrance hall can now be seen upstairs.

If you can, try and make the tour of the roof and caves. When I last went, there was a chance to speak with the taxidermist and see some of the work in progress, and the rooftop tour (restricted by numbers) is an eye-opener, not least because of the tremendous views that are available from the rooftop, but it’s also a chance to see the old dance floor and to trip over the ancient rafters on route to the leaded summit of Wollaton Hall.

Green’s windmill stands proud on Nottingham’s skyline, a frail reminder to the life gone by, but still a strong influence on the city’s future. You see that this historical building has become a fascinating museum and also a focus of learning for the city’s school children.

The windmill was built in 1807 and was owned and operated by George Green, a mathematical physicist. After his death, it was derelict for over 100 years, but when staff at Nottingham University heard that it was to be demolished, they started fundraising. By 1979, they had enough money to buy the mill. It was presented to the city of Nottingham, and after 5 years of careful restoration, Green’s Mill was opened to the general public as a small local museum – a tribute to the genius of the local man who contributed greatly to the scientific world.

There’s a short climb up to the mill from the free car park, and on a good day, you may like to take a picnic and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the parkland surrounding the mill. There’s a decent view and place for children to play.

This is a working mill, and although output is not incredibly large, there will always be enough freshly milled flour for visitors to buy. The smell of the mill as you enter for the first time is "proper country," and if you let your imagination run, you can believe that you’re in the middle of rural England. Make your way steadily to the top and you’ll have a great view of Nottingham and the surrounding area. As you climb the stairs, the mill’s "rooms" have clear explanations of how the milling process works, and you can inspect, close up, milling artifacts and the giant crushing millstones.

Around the mill’s small courtyard is the building that houses the interactive exhibition. Although this is aimed at the children’s educational programme, it has a number of experiments introduced by George Green. I’m not proud, so I don’t mind telling you that I had a go on most of them. A short video takes you through the history of George’s windmill.

This is a small museum, and you’ll probably only need 1 hour to fully explore it. If you’re in a large group (12 or more), it may be worth ringing beforehand to make sure there isn’t another large group visiting. If you have to wait, there’s a decent compact coffee bar, and on a bright summer’s day, it can be fairly relaxing to sit in the courtyard and watch the world go by.

A small museum shop is on site, and there you can buy the locally milled organic flour, a range of books, and scientific games. At least you can assure yourself that any toys bought here have a scientific basis to them – so learning can be fun.

For more information, check out the website at www.greensmill.org.uk.

Nottingham Castle and Robin Hood – inseparable and very much part of Nottingham. And yet this fine castle, which once would have directly overlooked the banks of the river, is not as old as people would like to think.

The origin wooden castle, built on this spot in 1068 by William the Conqueror, was later developed with the present gatehouse and perimeter walls, but the castle itself was destroyed during the Civil War. The present castle, inspired by Italian architecture, was built in the late 167’s and originally the home of the Duke of Newcastle until rioters set fire to it in 1831. A period of restoration followed, and it has been a museum since 1875. Today, you can wander the grounds and art museum for free (although there is a small entrance fee on the weekend).

Outside of the castle, in the remains of the moat, is the Robin Hood Statue, which has been around since 1949. Over the years, Robin has lost many an arrow to enthusiastic tourists, but they are now fixed with greater security!

Go up the hill and through the medieval gatehouse and saunter around the grounds. In spring and summer, the grounds are a mass of brightly coloured flowers, and I’d be most surprised if you didn’t see the odd squirrel or two flash by you. As you meander to the castle, there are some superb glimpses of the city through the trees’ foliage. Next to the Victorian bandstand is a new addition – a statue that started off life in the Market Square. The tram development meant that these four people had to find a quieter spot.

The museum houses the "Story of Nottingham Exhibition," which has a fine collection of silver and glass and an ever-changing art collection often featuring local artist, all set in the beautifully constructed Long Gallery. Whilst you’re here, you can take in a snack in the restaurant, but I would recommend that you check out the view from the museum’s roof, where there is a panoramic view as far as Wollaton Hall.

You can do a tour of the caves into the castle’s original dungeons, while a pre-booked tour explores Mortimer's Hole. You’ll need to be fairly sprightly, as this 98m medieval tunnel descends to the foot of the cliff. It was named after Roger Mortimer, who, alongside Queen Isabella, had usurped King Edward III. The king’s supporters had crept into the castle and captured the queen and Mortimer. Not surprisingly, Mortimer was executed later in 1330.

In recent years, more detailed exploration has been made into the archaeology of the castle grounds, and now the site of the older castle is pegged out with clear explanations as to how the building would have looked.

The castle is a good place to visit, but forget Robin Hood and the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham, because it’s much too modern a building for Robin ever to have entered.