Nottingham is located in the county of Nottinghamshire in the central part of the UK. The first associations that its name usually evokes is the legend of Robin Hood, a robber who hunted with his gang in Sherwood Forest. These stories have a historical basis: when King Richard the Lionheart of England returned from the Crusade, his opponent, the Sheriff of Nottingham, settled in Nottingham. Richard captured the castle, which is reflected in folk tales. See ANDYEDUCATION.COM for education and training in United Kingdom.
But the history of the city began long before these events. Nottingham was founded by the Saxons in the 7th century, and it got its name from the name of the Saxon ruler of Snot – Snottingham, which meant “a settlement belonging to Snot”; over time, the “s” at the beginning of the word was no longer pronounced. In the 11th century on the opposite side of the Trent River, the English king William the Conqueror built a fortified castle on a hill. The population of both banks began to trade with each other in “no man’s land”, at the foot of the hills – this place still exists under the old name of Market Square (Market Square).
The appearance of Nottingham combines buildings of various eras – from medieval castles and houses to baroque palaces, from the slums of workers of the 18th and 19th centuries to modern shopping centers.
How to get to Nottingham
The nearest airport is East Midlands located in Leicestershire, between the cities of Leicester, Derby and Nottingham. Buses from the airport to Nottingham depart every 20 minutes for a fare of 6.50 GBP and a journey time of 45 minutes.
You can also fly from London (Stansted Airport), and from there there are Central Trains trains to Nottingham.
At the railway station, located in the southern part of the city, trains arrive from Birmingham (journey time 1.5 hours), Manchester (2 hours) and London (2 hours), Liverpool, London, the cities of the West Midlands and the north of Britain.
Transportation
The main types of public transport in Nottingham are tram and bus. A ticket for one trip on the tram will cost 2.20 GBP, on the bus – from 2 GBP. You can plan a route and find out more about the numerous travel cards in Nottingham at the office. website of the Nottingham Transport Company (in English).
One type of travel card in Nottingham is called Robin Hood.
A bike can be rented for 1.5 GBP per day with a Citycard at one of the city’s many bike stands.
Weather in Nottingham
The climate in Nottingham is temperate, changeable, summer is both hot and cold. The maximum temperature in the summer months varies from +20 to +25 °С. It is coldest in January and February.
Shopping
Large shopping centers: Broadmarsh Shopping Center and Victoria Centre. The main shopping streets of the city are Lister Gate and Clumber Street, shops of famous European designers can be found on Bridlesmith Gate and Victoria Street.
Entertainment and attractions in Nottingham
Attraction number 1 is, of course, Nottingham Castle, now a museum with an exhibition telling about the history of the city. Right outside the castle gates is a monument to the legendary fighter for justice, Robin Hood. Sherwood Forest, near the village of Edwinstowe, where Robin and his companions are believed to have lived, is now parkland. It is notable for its long-lived oak, whose age is estimated at 800-1000 years.
Also worth checking out:
- the Renaissance palace Wollaton Hall, surrounded by a picturesque park, now the Museum of Natural History is located here;
- the Gothic Church of St. Barnabas (1841-1844), located at the intersection of Derby Road and North Circus Street;
- the largest Nottingham medieval church of the Holy Virgin Mary;
- Galleries of Justice – a museum of crimes and punishments;
- “City of Caves” City of Caves – a branch of the Museum of Crime, tells about the conditions in which people worked in underground labyrinths;
- the town hall (Nottingham Council House), built relatively recently, in 1927-1929, in the neo-baroque style. A 61-metre-high dome crowns the building and towers majestically over Old Market Square, the largest square in the country.
Nottingham is home to several hundred restaurants reflecting the region’s ethnic diversity. There are inexpensive restaurants along Mansfield Road, while Mintons Tearoom, located in Grizzley, a suburb of Nottingham, serves homemade food.
Around
An hour’s drive from Nottingham (about 52 km to the north) is the Creswell Crags limestone canyon, in the rocky cliffs of which several caves were discovered that were inhabited by people during the last ice age. Here, in 2003, cave paintings and bas-reliefs made by ancient people were discovered – and before that it was believed that there was no rock art in the UK. The images at Creswell Crags are thus considered to be the northernmost examples of cave art in Europe. You can get to Creswell Crags by train from Nottingham to Worksop, on the Robin Hood Line, then by bus number 77.
Many tourists tend to visit Newstead Abbey, 18 km from Nottingham (half an hour by car) – it is known as the ancestral home of the poet George Gordon Byron. Byron’s tomb is located in the church of Hacknall (about 10 km north of Nottingham).
Events in Nottingham
Nottingham Castle hosts the annual Nottingham Beer Festival and Robin Hood Padgent. Rock concerts and festivals are regularly held on the territory of Wallaton Hall, and in September, Old Market Square hosts an annual gastronomic festival with the uncomplicated name Food and Drink.
