The city of Nottingham is a half hour train ride from Grantham. Nottingham is a large city that is home to Nottingham University and Nottingham People's College. It has a large pedestrian shopping district, a castle, and lots of museums. It also uses the trademark of Robin Hood (Nottingham, our style is legendary) as a badge of civic pride.
When you arrive in Nottingham by train, you will come to this train station. From here it is a short walk to the city center through a huge shopping mall. The Touist Information center here is not as helpful as the one in Grantham, but you can get a map of the city there.
As you walk from the train station into the center of town, you cross over the canal. There are may pleasure boats on this canal, and you can rent one for a day. There is also a pleasant walk along the water way as it flows past the office parks.
On a hill overlooking the town is Nottingham Castle. Admission is free during the week, but costs a few pounds on the weekend. This site has seen many different structures on it, and the archeological tour of the site is far more interesting than the sad Georgian manor that sits on the hill now.
Nevertheless, the gardens surrounding the castle are wonderful, and the museum inside the Georgian manor is very interesting. The museum has a great social/ethnographic exhibit on the first floor, and an fascinatingly eclectic collection of fine art in the galleries. The view of the city from the castle walls is a little industrial, but lovely in expanse.
There are a great many guided tours of Nottingham. For more information concerning these tours, please consult the booklet on reserve in the RWC library. These tours include:
The Peel Street Caves
Anglo Saxon (or Georgian) Nottingham and the Lace Market
Anglo Saxon Pub Trail
The Castle and the Park Estate
Sneiton Conservation Area Walk
Wellington and Arboretum
Nottingham Canal Walk
Murder, Mystery and Mayhem (themed pub trail)
The Nottingham Ghost Walk
Haunting and Historical Happenings at Newstead Abbey
