Nottingham

Jon and I went to Nottingham for the weekend because I had been given a free nights stay as a present for my old office as I was promoted. So I thought it might be nice to get away but not go too far.

We stayed in the lovely Rutland Square Hotel. It was in a great location and everything was within walking distance.

We went to Nottingham Castle which was right up the road fro our hotel. It was a lovely place and the views from here were great. It was built in 1679 by the Duke of Newcastle. There is a playset and a hands on museum for children. It is very nice to walk around the grounds which include a war memorial, Edwardian Bandstand, medieval bridge and tower.

Nottingham Castle is more of a gallery or museum than an estate house like you would see at Wimpole Hall or some place like that. Your ticket to the castle also gets you into Brewhouse Yard Museum which is right next to the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is said to be the oldest pub in England. We went down here and ate lunch. It is by far the best pub I have been in. It has so much character. Some rooms are carved out of the rock below the castle and this place used to provide ale for the castle. The food was great and there was a nice atmosphere.

Then we headed into town. I liked that many streets were cut off to traffic. Nottingham has a reputation for a great place for a night out, a lot of hen and stag dos head here (there is a Hooters too but not close to the town centre). It has some authentic attributes but otherwise is full of chain restaurants which are comforting but then they lack originality.

I got us some vouchers from my Tesco Clubcard points so we could go see a movie at the Cineworld. It was worth it as the seats were so comfy and a great way to kill some time.

The next day we got up and the Robin Hood Festival was going on in Sherwood Forest. Sherwood Forest is about 40 minute drive from Nottingham and Nottingham is about a 2 hour drive from Cambridge. While this was a great time to see Sherwood Forest, I would suggest not driving all the way from the bases for the day to see the Robin Hood Festival. The festival going on made the trip to Sherwood Forest worth it because otherwise you just go see the Major Oak.

Then we return back and headed out for a meal. I highly recommend Thai No 1 on Carlton St. Jon and I went to Thailand in 2012 and this place reminded me of it. The food was amazing and took me back.

Overall we enjoyed ourselves, it was a nice get away and perfect to get a little bit of Robin Hood in your life.

All the Best!

American to Britain