h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Located deep in the heart of the Midlands, Nottinghamshire will be forever associated with the Robin Hood legend, as well as with the author DH Lawrence. But what other distinguishing features set Nottinghamshire apart from the other English counties? Spill the beans here and help us write this entry!

Paully

"Associated" with Robin Hood maybe, but everyone seems to forget that Nottingham was the home of the Bad Guys. Robin Hood was Robin of Loxley, which actually corresponds to where Sheffield is now. So Robin Hood was really a Yorkshireman

*wonders if she can nominate somebody for this entry although she's been missing offline for a few days*

I'd nominate myself, but I'd only moan about teenage pregnancy

The Goose Fair is also part of Nottinghamshire

(Remember that scene from Saturday Night and Sunday Morning?)

nottinham university

Trip to Jerusalem - oldest pub in England I think

Alright, from understanding this right.

People: Lord Byron, D.H Lawrence, Jesse Boot (founded Botts' chemists), William Booth (founded the Salvation Army), Torvill and Dean (olympic ice-skaters), ITV personalities.

Places: Nottingham Castle, Caves of Nottingham, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem (yes oldest pub), Nottingham University, Trent University, Queens Medical Centre, Maid Marion Way (once voted the worst road in Europe), Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, the River Trent itself, St Anns Wells Road (once voted worst place to live in Britain), Wollaton Park and Hall (once housed American GIs during the Second World War), Newstead Abbey (home of Lord Byron), Old Market Square, the Council House and the 'lions', Beastmarket Hill, Sherwood Forest and the Old Oak.

Things: Notts County Football Club (oldest in the country founded 1862), Nottingham Lace, Raleigh bicycles, Goose Fair, Trams.

Firsts: First Police Lab 1934, first children's library 1882.

And that's just for starters.

Notts County is the oldest *League* club in England. The oldest football club in England (indeed, the world) is Sheffield FC.

whats for seconds MJ

For seconds, we have in Nottingham...

Places: The Tennis Centre, The National Watersports Centre, The Vale of Belvoir (lovely scenery), the Galleries of Justice, Nottingham Forest Football Team, Newark Castle, Newark Air Museum, the Lace Market, White Post Farm and Creswell Crags caves.

Things: Cruise the River Trent on the Nottingham Princess, visit the National Ice Centre to see a band or watch the Nottingham Panthers Ice Hockey team play,

People: WWI Flying Ace Albert Ball, Graeme Greene (author), Alan Sillitoe (playwright), JM Barrie (wrote Peter Pan), and Helen Cresswell (author of Five Children and It).

Geography: Nottinghamshire is made up of the boroughs of Nottingham, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Mansfield, Newark, Ollerton, Papplewick, Ravenshead, Retford, Rushcliffe, Arnold, Southwell,
Boughton, Eastwood, Sutton in Ashfield, Farndon, Sutton on Trent
Gedling, West Bridgford and Worksop.

And there's probably more stuff I can talk about, but I'll let me brain rest for a bit.

Weren't Torvill and Dean based at that Nottingham Ice Rink? Dunno if either or both of them were born in the area I'm afraid...

Just thought, perhaps a list of drinking establishments and clubs is worthwhile, seeing as stag-dos and students frequent Nottingham.

The Good Ones (frequented by students, desperate nurses and doctors): Quilted Llama, Dogma, Via Fossa, Cookie Club (popular with the indie scene), Pitcher and Piano, Horn in Hand (student pub), Revolution (Vodka theme bar), Rock City (or as it is known locally Rock Sh**ty), Scruffy's, Slug and Lettuce, Bar None, Flares (70s theme), Lloyds, Tantra.

The Okay Ones: The Irish (you MUST either be drunk or work/study at Queens Medical Centre to drink here), Temple Bar, Goose on the Square, Walkabout (aussie theme pub), Bar Oz, Ye Olde Salutation, Reflex, Rose and Crown (again full of QMC regulars, mostly Uni lecturers too), Speak Easy, Ropewalk, Liberty's, Bar Humbug, Bar Ha Ha, The Bell Inn, Jumpin Jaks (VERY noisy, but a laugh), the Sir John (good meeting before clubbing pub), the Rig (next door to Rock City), Pit and Pendulum (for the Goths )

The Bad and terribly Ugly Ones: Media (expect to be involved in a fight), Long Island (expect your drink to be spiked or unexpectedly snog an underage drinker), Ocean (more of the former), Yates (expect a fight), Isis (ick).

jeez, must look like I'm a regular tee-totaller eh?

Yeah T&D were at the Ice Centre Paully, I think one of them was local and one of them was Australian, but I'm NOT sure at all on that account...

Is there still a nightclub called the Black Orchid? Several happy evenings spent there whilst I was a student at Nottingham... and glad to see that the Irish gets only an 'okay' rating from you! It was never any cop back in the early 90s, so lord knows what it's like nowadays!

Paully

oo, no, the Black Orchid is gone now (showing your age there Paully ), I think it's now a pub called the Peacock, but I'm not positive...

@ Irish. sawdust, bad beer and packed full of nurses...some things never change.

Indeed I am! The house band at the Black Orchid were called KWS, and they got to No.1 whilst I was at Uni with "Please Don't Go" - I hated it even then, and vowed never to go back to the B.O.!

P

Dunno if it's still going, but Selectadisc used to be one of the best Indie record shops in the country...

Also - ahem - some fans of my acquaintance report that the only UK branch of the inexplicably popular US restaurant chain 'Hooters' is in Nottingham.

Now I've got the chorus banging about my head. You utter, utter...well you SHOULD know the rest.

oh, yes. Hooters. Isn't that a place where you can see some owls?