Nottingham Sights

  1. Brewhouse Yard Museum

    Housed in five 17th-century cottages carved into the cliff below the castle, this engaging Brewhouse Yard Museum re-creates everyday life in Nottingham over the past 300 years with particularly fine reconstructions of traditional shops.

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  2. Caves of Nottingham

    Nottingham stands on Sherwood sandstone riddled with man-made caves that date back to medieval times. Bizarrely, the entrance to the most fascinating, readily accessible Caves of Nottingham is inside Broadmarsh shopping centre, on the upper level. These contain an air-raid shelter, a medieval underground tannery, several pub cellars and a mock-up of a Victorian slum dwelling.

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  3. Industrial Museum

    The Industrial Museum , in the 18th-century stable block, displays lace-making equipment, Raleigh bicycles, a gigantic 1858 beam engine and oddities such as a locally invented, 1963 video recorder that never got off the ground.

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  4. Mortimer's Hole

    An underground passageway, Mortimer's Hole , leads from the castle to Brewhouse Yard. Roger Mortimer, who arranged Edward II's murder, is said to have been captured by supporters of Edward III who entered via this passage. Ask to see the Sheriff Room (there is still a Sheriff of Nottingham today, a purely symbolic role).

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  5. Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery

    More of a mansion than a castle, the stately building here now has been standing since the 1670s. The last Nottingham Castle was demolished after the Civil War, while the original was put up by William the Conqueror. The Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery opened in 1878. It vividly sets out Nottingham's history and displays some of the medieval alabaster carvings for which Nottingham was noted.

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  6. Tales of Robin Hood

    This themed attraction is still piggybacking off the popularity of Kevin Costner's Prince of Thieves - from 1991! It's tacky, outdated and overpriced but there are kicks to be had in watching actors prance around in merry-men costumes.

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  7. Wollaton Hall

    Built in 1588 by Sir Francis Willoughby, land and coal-mine owner, Wollaton Hall is a magnificent example of Elizabethan architecture at its most extravagant. Architect Robert Smythson was also responsible for the equally avant-garde Longleat in Wessex. It was undergoing restoration works at the time of research; call ahead to check opening hours. The hall also houses a mediocre natural-history museum.

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