Located in the centre of England, this city is the home of the Sherwood Forrest and all things Robin Hood. Although there are references to the hero of the poor in the form of a statue outside Nottingham Castle and a forest exhibit dedicated to all his endeavours, this English city in the midlands offers much more than just a the story of Robin Hood and his men. About an hour away from the much larger city of Birmingham, Nottingham offers its visitors a blend of English countryside and metropolitan life.
In the city centre you’ll find the typical English high street with its chains of Carphone Warehouse, Debenhams, Top Shop/Top Man, Marks & Spencer, Boots and WH Smith. The city’s town square is brightened up in summer with the space used for fair rides and a fake beach that utilises the centre fountain – thoroughly enjoyed by kids young and old alike. For the shopaholics out there, its selection of shops is quite broad, international and, being less populated than larger cities found elsewhere in the country, less crowded and usually well stocked with items that may have been sold out earlier elsewhere in the country. A compact town centre means your feet will thank you at the end of the day, and the hike back to the hotel would also be much less painful. In saying that however, the notorious English supermarket (Morrisons, ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury) is located in the ever-popular big box sites dotting around the outskirts of the town centre.
Venture further afield however, and you’ll find fruits to pick in the University of Nottingham grounds (think apples and blackberries), canals full of river boats during the summer and activities generally confined to small English towns usually found much further from larger town centres. During my stay here, I walked along canals with fields brimming full of waist tall grass lined with blackberry bushes, watched river boats chug along at a leisurely English summer pace and visited the site of a kayak and canoe white water centre.
It's a fantastic place to relax and wander along the shores as you watch riverboats coming in and out of the canal locks. That is, when the English weather co-operates. Temperature-wise, Nottingham is usually a couple of degrees cooler than London, but is usually wetter than southern England. Although not as wet as dreary old Manchester, you’ll spend a good 50% of your time under the brolly trying to avoid the rain.
Sport fans can enjoy the dog races (something not often found in modern day England); catch a home game of one of the two soccer teams – Nott’s County and Nottingham Forest or spend a day or two at the cricket.
Useful hint:
For those of you who are addicted to you Internet (much like myself), you’d be comforted to find that many cafes and eateries around town and smaller high streets offer free wi-fi, so order that coffee and whip out those iPhones or netbooks to log on for!
Getting here:
- National Express and Megabus services depart from most major English cities to Nottingham often and if booked early enough, fares as low as £1 can be found.
- Train services link Nottingham to the rest of the UK. Book early for the cheapest fares (cheapest tickets go on sale about 2-3 months before travel)
- Nottingham is linked to the major highways with England’s notorious A-Roads. It’s about a 3-hour drive from London, 1 hour from Birmingham and about 2 hours to Manchester.
- RyanAir, easyJet and BMI/BMI Baby currently fly to the east midlands airport (serving Derby, Lincolnshire and Nottingham), however, easyJet is about to cease their flights, so flight will become a little more limited. The next closest airport is Birmingham.
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