Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do

This post may contain affilliate links. It means that if you buy something through one of these links, we might get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate commission helps us keep this travel blog running.

If you’re planning a fun weekend in Nottingham, England and looking for some activities and ideas, you’re in the right place. We literally just returned from our weekend trip to Nottingham, and I’m ready to share with you my thoughts, our itinerary and the best things to do in Nottingham for 2 days!

Before we get started, I wanted to say huge thanks to visit Nottingham and especially Sophie for hosting us in Nottingham and organising everything for our trip. Also big thanks to Jury’s Inn and all the businesses who hosted us and were very kind. All the opinions are, however, our own, so I won’t recommend you something that I’m not 100% sure about.

Getting to Nottingham – the heart of East Midlands

It’s very easy to get to Nottingham from pretty much anywhere in the UK due to its location in the heart of East Midlands. If you’re planning to get to Nottingham from London – you can either take a bus (check getasnap.com – they are cool and cheaper than any other coaches in London) – that’s about 3 hours or a train – that’s faster for sure, but also usually more expensive, unless you grab a great deal. Check Trainline for the most accurate train prices!

You can also rent a car, however, I would recommend public transport – that’s less pollution and believe me, you don’t really need a car in Nottingham. If you do – you can easily hire an Uber, and it costs pennies in Nottingham.

Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do
Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do
Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do

Where to stay in Nottingham:

Jury’s Inn hosted us for two nights in Nottingham, and honestly, we couldn’t have stayed at a better hotel! We had a lovely room with a view, breakfast with a lot of options and the city centre only 15 min walk away and the train station just 2 minutes away. Book it on their website or on Booking.com!

Without further ado, let’s get started with the best things to do and see in Nottingham during a fun weekend!

Great and fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do

Visit one of the oldest pubs in England

Alright, there are plenty of pubs claiming to be the oldest pub in England, and apparently, 3 of them are located in Nottingham. What a coincidence! You can visit all the 3 and decide which one is your favourite. The Bell’s Inn, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem and Ye Olde Salutation Inn, which is a bit different because it’s a rock pub and you will see very different folks inside.

My favourite was definitely Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem – it has the most personality, in my opinion. However, if you’re into hard rock, you might enjoy Ye Olde Salutation Inn a lot, as it’s a bit different from the “normal” or ordinary pub.

It’s hard to say, which pub is the oldest in the UK, because most of the places haven’t been working continuously, hence the confusion. However, if you want to learn a bit more information on that topic, you can check out this article.

Learn whether Robin Hood was real or not with the tour by Ezekial Bone (Ade Andrews)

One of the most remarkable things (and the things you have probably heard about Nottingham) is the association with Robin Hood. Shamefully, I didn’t know much about Robin Hood apart from a couple of things that I’ve seen in the movies and cartoons. However, there are just so many things about Robin Hood that I didn’t know, and I was happy to learn at the Robin Hood-themed history tour of Nottingham by Ezekial Bone, who is one of the best guides I ever had.

If you’re not that much into Robin Hood, don’t worry – the tour will also cover pretty much all things about Nottingham history, its place in the English economy and the notable places in Nottingham. The tour is also really fun and involves drinking a pint of beer (or two), so you won’t get bored!

Make sure to check out Ezekial’s website and just arrive at a time and place mentioned in the Facebook group to join the tour!

Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do

Interested in other exciting tours in the UK? You can read this post about the best tours to take in Edinburgh, Scotland! Or read a post about the Edinburgh Vaults Tour – a fascinating tour to visit in Edinburgh >>>

Feed the animals at the Stonebridge City Farm

One of my favourite experiences in Nottingham and one of the fun things to do in Nottingham was visiting the Stonebridge City Farm. It was amazing to find out that there is a friendly city farm in the heart of Nottingham and they are doing such a great job in educating children how to treat animals nicely and let children interact with animals. You can actually purchase a little snack (pressed grass) for the animals and feed them yourself. There are over 100 volunteers helping with the animals every single week, which is pretty impressive as well.

Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do
[vc_message style=”round” message_box_color=”success” icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-check”]If you’re interested, what gear do I use to take photos, I have Sony A7 III with Samyang 35 mm prime lens. [/vc_message]

Have a cocktail and dance at the Hockley Arts Club

One of the most beautiful and also the trendiest venues in Nottingham is Hockley Arts Club. Located in the heart of Nottingham, in the beautiful area of Hockley, Hockley Arts Club is a restaurant, bar, club and a must for all the people visiting Nottingham. I’d say Hockley Arts Club is the Florist of Bristol – it also has a room full of flowers on the last floor (there are multiple floors, so you can actually get lost there). At night, there is dancing and parties on the ground floor, and on the first floor, you can eat. I absolutely loved both the food and the cocktails at the Hockley Arts Club, and I can give it a huge thumbs up!

Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do

Watch the deer in the Wollaton Park

One of the most beautiful places in the entire Nottingham is the Wollaton Park and Deer Park located outside the city centre. You’ll probably need an Uber to get there (or alternatively, you can use public transport). You can visit the beautiful Natural History Museum (this stunning building in the middle of the park), or you can head to the right side of the park and wander around looking for deer. Make sure to be 50m away or even more from the deer to not scare them away and avoid incidents.

Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do

Escape the room in Escapologic

I love escape the room attractions, how about you? I was thrilled to visit Escapologic as part of our Nottingham itinerary for a weekend, and it’s probably one of the activities we both (with Pepe) enjoyed the most during our trip. We were trying to escape from one of their most complicated rooms, Curio, which is travel-themed (that is absolutely amazing).

If you’re looking for fun things to do in Nottingham, then escape the room at Escapologic would be a great option – the location also couldn’t have been more convenient. Make sure to book your visit in advance, though. You can do it here >>>

Watch a play in Nottingham Playhouse

Did you know that Nottingham has a wonderful theatre where you can watch some really amazing plays? Well, I didn’t know either before Visit Notts secured us a couple of tickets for the “Memories of water” – the play was definitely unique and special, and I ended up liking it! So before you come to Nottingham, make sure to check what’s on in Nottingham Playhouse – and maybe you’ll manage to see something really great.

Have a bubble tea in Nottingham City Centre

Well, Nottingham is a student city, so it’s not a surprise that there are plenty of nice bubble tea shops in Nottingham. I was happy to find some of the bubble tea places that we have in London (Marucha. It was beautiful inside and the boba tea, oh my, it was delicious.

If you haven’t tried bubble tea or boba tea before, you should definitely give it a try. Bubble tea in Nottingham is excellent, so I would definitely recommend Marucha or T4!

bubble tea nottingham

Have a pint in a converted church

If you’re into strange places to have drinks and you haven’t had enough in the underground caves of the Ye Olde Trip to Salvation pub, you can head to the bar called Pitcher & Piano that is located in a converted church. You might have been to Pitcher & Piano before, as there are 18 bars all around the UK, however, none of them is as impressive as the one in Nottingham.

Visit the caves of Nottingham

Nottingham has a lot of underground caves. By a lot, I mean A LOT. Something like 400 or even 450! If you take a Robin Hood-themed tour by Ezekial Bone (check number 2), you will most probably visit one of the caves beneath the Ye Olde Trip to Salvation pub. However, there are many more caves, and there’s even a cave tour in Nottingham! Make sure to take it if you’re into caves!

Try tapas in Delilah Nottingham

If you’re looking for a delicious lunch in Nottingham that is made from organic/sustainable ingredients, and that is also very tasty – head to Delilah Fine foods. In Delilah fine foods, you can get a delicious sandwich or a salad or, if you come later, you can order a tapas sampling set. I absolutely loved everything in Delilah – and would recommend it to you in a heartbeat.

Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do
Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do

Have you already been to York? It’s probably one of my favourite cities in England! Read more about York in this post >>>

Some FAQs about Nottingham that you could be potentially interested in:

What is there to do in Nottingham for free?

If you’re on a tight budget and don’t want to spend money on attractions or expensive eats, there are plenty of great free things to do in Nottingham.

Some of them I already mentioned above, e.g. Stonebridge City Farm. The entrance is completely free, but if you want to feed the animals, you would need to buy a snack for a pound or so, which is still a great bargain.

Parks, e.g. Arboretum or the Wollaton Park are obviously free as well!

Attenborough Nature Centre is also free. It’s opened by David Attenborough, by the way, and it’s amazing.

If you want to read more about the best free things to do in Nottingham, head to this guide by Campsites.

Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do

Is Nottingham a great destination for stag do’s and hen parties?

Yes! I’ve seen a lot of stag do’s and hen parties in Nottingham during my weekend in the city, however, make sure to be quiet and respect the others, as no one likes drunk people shouting under their windows at night. There are plenty of things you can do while on a stag party and one of the best things to do is definitely escape the room quest by Escapologic.

Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do

I hope you enjoyed this post about a fun weekend in Nottingham, England – 11 ideas for everyone. And I hope you will enjoy Nottingham as well!

See you in some of my other posts: I love travelling around the UK, so here are some of the posts you can find here on Tripsget: guide to Edinburgh, Scotland; road trip around the South of England; guide to Bristol; best things to do in York; the best hike in England and more!

5 thoughts on “Fun weekend in Nottingham, England: 11 amazing things to do”

  1. I’ve always wanted to visit Nottingham but have no idea why because I knew absolutely nothing about it until reading this post. I think I was right in wanting to visit though because it sounds like an awesome city!

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.