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More Information About Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England and is one of only eight members of the English Core Cities Group.

Whilst the City of Nottingham unitary authority has a historically tightly drawn boundary which accounts for its relatively small population of 288,700, the wider Nottingham Urban Area has a population of 667,000 and is the seventh-largest urban area in the United Kingdom, ranking between those of Liverpool and Sheffield.^[2]

Nottingham is famed for its links with the Robin Hood legend and, during the Industrial Revolution, obtained worldwide recognition for its lace-making industry. It was granted its city charter as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria in 1897 and has since been officially titled the City of Nottingham.

Shopping

In 2007 Nottingham was positioned fifth in the retail shopping league of England (CACI Retail Footprint 2007), behind London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

There are two main shopping centres in Nottingham: Victoria Centre and Westfield Broadmarsh. The Victoria Centre was established on the site of the former Victoria Railway Station, and was the first to be built in the City, with parking for up to 2,400 cars on several levels, two levels of shopping with bus station, and topped by 26 floors of flats. Work on redeveloping Westfield Broadmarsh at a cost of £400 million (creating 400 stores, 136,000 m² of shopping space) is to start in 2008 although this could be offset by closures elsewhere in the city. Debenhams and Marks and Spencer are to be the anchors of the new centre, which will be open in 2011. Smaller shopping centres are the The Exchange Arcade, the Flying Horse Walk (once a famous hotel) and new developments in Trinity Square and The Pod. The new developments will increase the shopping sales area in the city centre by 28% to 4,300,000 square feet (399,000 m²). The Bridlesmith Gate area has numerous designer shops, and is the home of the original Paul Smith boutique. There are also various side streets and alleys that hide some interesting and often overlooked buildings and shops - streets such as Poultry Walk, West End Arcade and Hurts Yard. These are home to many specialist shops as is Derby Road, near the Cathedral and once the antiques area but now home to some the city's most interesting independent shops.

Nottingham has a number of department stores including the House of Fraser, John Lewis, and Debenhams. Hockley Village caters to alternative tastes with shops like Ice Nine and Void, famous across the city.

Tourism

Nottingham receives a considerable volume of tourism, with almost 300,000 people visiting from overseas in 2005 alone.^[11] Many visitors are attracted by Nottingham's nightlife and shops, by its history, and by the legend of Robin Hood, visiting Sherwood Forest and Nottingham Castle. Popular history-based tourist attractions in central Nottingham include the Castle, City of Caves, Lace Market, The Galleries of Justice, and the City's ancient pubs.

Parks and gardens include Wollaton Park (over 500 acres) near the University Highfields Park on the University of Nottingham campus, Colwick Park, which includes the racecourse, and the Nottingham Arboretum, Forest Recreation Ground and Victoria Park which are in or close to the city centre. Sherwood Forest, Rufford Country Park, Creswell Crags and Clumber Park are further away from the city itself. A new park is being developed in the city at the Eastside City development.

The Nottingham Robin Hood Society was originally formed by Robin Hood historian Jim Lees^[12] and two Nottingham teachers Steve and Ewa Theresa West in 1972. Steve and Ewa Theresa played the part of Maid Marion and Robin Hood and attracted a ' band' of like minded followers who ' costumed up ' nearly every weekend for a function. The then society acted in street theatre, appeared at charity events and functions and for several years ' held up ' the appointed Sheriff of Nottingham at the opening of the annual Nottingham Festival. The society also made a film for Japanese Television and joined in picnics and midnight vigils around in Major Oak to promote tourism. Although a Nottingham Robin Hood Society remains, the original society members disbanded after the death of Jim Lees.

In February 2008, a Ferris wheel was put up in the Old Market Square and was a major attraction of Nottingham City Council's 'Light Night' on February 8. The wheel returned to Nottingham in February 2009 to mark another night of lights, activities, illuminations and entertainment. Initially marketed as the Nottingham Eye, it was later redubbed as the Nottingham Wheel, to avoid any association with the London Eye. ^[13]

Entertainment

The 2,500-capacity Nottingham Royal Concert Hall and 9,500-capacity Nottingham Arena attract the biggest names in popular music. For less mainstream acts and a generally more intimate atmosphere, Nottingham has a selection of great smaller venues including The Salutation, Seven (formerly Junktion 7), The Old Angel, the award-winning dedicated rock music venue Rock City and the smaller sister venues The Rescue Rooms, The Bodega Social Club and Stealth. These venues, with their packed listings and close proximity, make Nottingham one of the centres of live popular music in the UK.

Nottingham Playhouse is the major producing theatre in the city including some new and innovative works.

In the 1980s, Nottingham was barely mentioned in the Good Food Guide; but now there are several restaurant entries and a range of cuisine reflecting the ethnic diversity of the city. The Nottingham Restaurant Awards play a leading role in promoting the industry.^{[citation needed]}

The large number of students in the city bolsters the night time entertainment scene. There are several well established areas of the city centre for entertainment such as Lace Market, Hockley, The Waterfront and The Corner House.

Nottingham also boasts one of only 20 remaining Turkish Baths in the UK.^{[citation needed]}

Transport

Road

Nottingham is close to the M1 motorway and major roads the A52 and the A46. To the west of Nottingham through to Derby, the A52 is known as Brian Clough Way.

Air

East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire, served by low-cost international airlines, makes the city easily accessible from other parts of the world providing daily services to many principal European destinations such as Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Dublin, Oslo and Amsterdam, internal flights to Edinburgh and Belfast and limited services to trans-continental destinations such as Barbados, Mexico, Sanford and Florida. Nearby Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield also provides domestic European and Trans-Atlantic services. Birmingham International airport is about one hour's drive away and 2 hours 15 minutes on the train, providing flights to most principal European cities, New York, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Dubai and the Indian sub-continent.

Rail

Nottingham is served by rail services operated by East Midlands Mainline from Nottingham railway station to London, CrossCountry and local services by East Midlands Connect.

The re-opening of the Robin Hood Line to passengers rather than just freight, between 1993 and 1998 linked Nottingham with its close neighbours Hucknall, Mansfield, Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield. Other lines connect the city to Beeston, Burton Joyce, Netherfield and Carlton. Nottingham has direct services to London, Leeds, Birmingham, Leicester, Lincoln, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool and Norwich as well as many other conurbations.

From 11 November 2007 Midland Mainline and Central Trains services in Nottingham were combined into a new franchise, East Midlands Trains, with the exception of the Nottingham to Cardiff services which are now operated by CrossCountry.

Also, from the December 2008 timetable change, Nottingham will be served by an hourly express from Leeds, operated by Northern Rail. This service will serve Nottingham, Chesterfield, Dronfield, Sheffield, Meadowhall, Barnsley, Wakefield Kirkgate and Leeds.

Nottingham railway station is the last survivor of a once much larger rail network around Nottingham. At one time Nottingham was served by four other railway stations,

• Nottingham Victoria Station (closed 1967)
• Nottingham Arkwight Street (Closed 1969)
• Nottingham London Road High Level (closed 1969)
• Nottingham London Road Low Level (closed 1948)

Tram

Nottingham Express Transit a light rail system opened in 2004, running from Hucknall in the north to the city's railway station. An additional spur to/from Phoenix Park serves as a Park and Ride Station close to the M1 motorway (Junction 26). See National Park and Ride Directory for details. Phase 2 development of the system will add two new lines to the southern suburbs of Wilford and Clifton and western suburbs of Beeston and Chilwell to create a three-line network.

Museums And Galleries

• Brewhouse Yard Museum, a museum of Nottingham Life
• The Galleries of Justice - Museum of Law Trust based at the Shire Hall in the Lace Market
• Green's Windmill and Science Centre
• Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery - home to the city’s Decorative Art and Fine Art collections, along with the Story of Nottingham galleries, and the Sherwood Foresters Regimental Museum
• Nottingham Contemporary - under construction and due to open in autumn 2009.
• Nottingham Industrial Museum
• Nottingham Museums of Costume and Textiles in Castlegate
• Nottingham Natural History Museum - based at Wollaton Hall.
• Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre in Ruddington is a museum of local transport. It has an eight mile (13 km) long railway where Heritage steam trains and Diesel locomotives are used on passenger runs, a classic Road Transport collection with many Nottingham associated vehicles to see, a miniature and model railway and many other things.

This Article was sourced using Wikipedia