Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire will be forever linked and is perhaps most famous for the legendary outlaw Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest fame, skilled archer and champion of the poor. Walk through Sherwood Forest to follow the footsteps of the Robin Hood and his Merry Men or perhaps trace the journey of the Pilgrims en route to the Americas. The National Trust’s Clumber Park is just south of Worksop.

Nottingham Castle is in the city of Nottingham at Castle Rock, along with the Robin Hood statue, medieval caves and Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem Inn – which lays claim to Britain’s oldest pub. The Lace Quarter is great for shopping and taking refreshments in cafes and restaurants.

The market town of Newark is home to both Newark Castle, The National Civil War Centre and Kelham Hall set alongside the River Trent where you can explore the grounds and enjoy a picnic or the tea room. Nearby you will find the Newark Air Museum collection.

Other sites of interest in the county include Creswell Crags, Southwell Minster, Wollaton Hall & Park, Holme Pierrepoint Hall and Newstead Abbey, Lord Byron’s ancestral seat.

Nottingham is also famous for football – Notts County is the oldest football county in the country, whilst Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest won the European Cup on two occasions and cricket at Trent Bridge.

The landlocked county of Nottinghamshire in the Midlands, home to the legend of Robin Hood, is surrounded by the counties of South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire..

Nottinghamshire is home to just over a 1 million people, the county town is Nottingham and there are other large towns at Newark, Retford and Mansfield.

Nottinghamshire is situated on the Roman Fosse Way and there are settlements at Mansfield and a fort in Bilborough on the Broxtowe Estate.

Nottinghamshire was later part of the Kingdom of Mercia, whilst the Norman times saw the advent of malting and woollen industries in the region.

With its coal and iron ore reserves Nottinghamshire played an important role in the Industrial Revolution, spawning some of the world’s first wagon trains such as the Wollaton Wagonway. Canals and railways followed to support the growth in lace and cotton industries as Nottinghamshire became a key trading hub.

The 18th and 19th centuries saw the creation of deep mechanised collieries as the mining industry grew in importance until the infamous strikes of the mid 1980’s.

Situated in the Midlands, Nottinghamshire is easily accessible from London and many other parts of the country via both the M1 and the A1.

Being centrally located, Nottinghamshire is accessible by rail from most of the larger conurbations. The mainline runs from St. Pancras in London in a little over an hour and half, whilst the East Coast Mainline reaches Scotland via Leeds and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Visitors from further afield can use both the East Midlands and The Robin Hood airports.