In mid November Nottingham, like many places in the UK, had its first snow of the season. We’d been expecting it but the amount certainly took people by surprise, myself included. It was perfect snow for going on a walk, compact and not slippery or icy. Since snow always helps get me in the Christmas mood I thought I’d share some photos of the snow, plus some of the Christmas markets/events I’ve attended so far this year.
Another February, another Light Night event. This is a real highlight of the arts calendar in Nottingham and as ever there was so much going on that we always have to be quite selective about what we visit. We started off as we have before at Sneinton Market which had an interesting light display in a box named Geist, the design of which is based off of a neutrino or “ghost particle”.
Nottingham Castle (re)reopened on 26th June after a controversial opening after COVID lockdowns with accusations of racism and bullying amongst the staff, unjustifiably high prices for entry and generally shambolic management. (I’ve written about this elsewhere so I won’t rehash that or the history of the castle – you can read some of that here when I visited after the first re-opening). Adult tickets now cost £12 for an annual pass which is far more reasonable for what you get. There is also now no charge for under-15s.
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Snow really hit Nottingham on Wednesday evening and was falling pretty much nonstop during Thursday. I decided that since the Council had done a good job in keeping the bus routes open I’d head into town and take some photos since opportunities to do so in the snow don’t come along very often. I headed first to the Council House in the Market Square, then up to Nottingham Castle and around the Park Estate. I also went out into our garden and measured the snow – we’re at 5 inches now and counting. As long as it’s safe to do so I’m planning to do a bit more photography over the weekend. Continue reading
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As in previous years we headed out for Nottingham Light Night this past Friday to take photographs of the various light installations. We concentrated this time on the Market Square, Nottingham Castle and around the Lace Market area. Last year the Nottingham Wheel was all lit up in the Market Square but this year was the turn of the 70 metre high Starflyer ride, which plenty of brave souls seemed to be enjoying!
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Nottingham’s 10th Light Night took place on Friday 10th February and as usual the city centre was packed with people taking in the light displays from the Castle, to the Galleries of Justice, the Wheel of Nottingham and for the first time this year, the Arboretum. There are so many events going on around the city centre and beyond – the event has spread out to include areas of Sneinton this year – that you really need to have a set plan of where you want to visit. Since this is the first time the Arboretum has taken part I definitely wanted to visit there, but first we went to Market Square to see the lovely light display on the Wheel of Nottingham, which also had a screen up playing Frozen, a nice touch since it was lightly snowing at the time!
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Nottingham Castle is currently displaying (until 9 October) 10 of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings, on loan from the Royal Collection. The drawings take in many of Leonardo’s eclectic interests spanning anatomy, botany and engineering and were done in pen and ink, chalk and watercolours.
Nottingham Castle is a staple of Nottingham’s cityscape and somewhere I’ve visited a lot, but not specifically written about. The name Castle is perhaps a bit of a misnomer, and tourists can be taken aback that it doesn’t fit the stereotypical appearance of a castle. In fact the current incarnation is the 17th century ducal mansion that was built on the site of the Medieval Castle.
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I visited the Trent to Trenches Exhibition at Nottingham Castle in November, just before it was to come to a close. I’d already heard many good things about it, and thankfully this was borne out on my visit. In the centenary year of the start of the First World War, the exhibition focuses on the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire at home and in the trenches during that time.
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Recently I decided to visit the Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard which, as I mentioned in my post about Nottingham Light Night, I didn’t think I’d visited before, though it actually appears I may have made a trip there when I was at primary school. Regardless it all felt new and has certainly undergone some changes since that trip. It is based just around the corner from the entrance to Nottingham Castle, right next to Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem and traces the social history of Nottingham over the past 300 years. It spans five 17th century houses and includes a school room, kitchen and bedroom, shop fronts such as grocers and pharmacies and an air raid shelter from the Second World War.
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