My husband is interested in attending the big antique market in Newark later in the year. Looking for a nearby town that would make a pleasant home base. Don't drive, so need good public transportation. I've ruled out Lincoln (I think) as being too hilly for our aging, overweight bodies. Is Nottingham just an ugly industrial city, or is there a bit of charm and history? Other ideas?

What about Newark itself? Pleasant enough little town.

Are the skirts of londoon anywhere near Dunoon in Scotland?

I'll bet you're thinking of Notting Hill, not Nottingham, which is the London neighborhood (not "town&quot the market is in.

Nottingham is about 130 miles north of there, in the Midlands. I don't know anything about it except some long-gone industrial history, and the bit about Robin Hood (remember the Sheriff of). Maybe the Sherwood Forest?

Nope, pippy - Portobello Rd Market is right IN central London. Nowhere near Nottingham. Not even close.

Barbara5323: I personally would not stay in Nottingham. Newark would be a better choice IMHO.

My husband is from Nottingham, and I would stay there in a heartbeat! There are plenty of things to do there~Nottingham Castle, the caves of Nottingham, and yes, Sherwood Forest (which actually exists) just to name a few.

Nottingham is the gun crime capital of the UK.

How many nights are you planning to stay and where will you be coming from and leaving for ?

Nottingham is the gun crime capital of the country. It is also the binge drinking capital (its council was the first to allow strips of alco-barns).

So I wouldn't go into the centre in the evening - and some of the suburbs are SERIOUSLY dodgy.

It's also the charmlessness capital. Not its people - but the city itself. Apart from the Trip to Jerusalem pub, it's hard to think of a single redeeming feature.

It's not an ugly industrial city: never really had any heavy industry. It's just ugly because it's ugly, As, sadly, is the whole urbanised strip for a few dozen miles north and south of it.

The local posh, twee, small town is Southwell. Use transportdirect.info to check on public transport ito Newark. Its Minster is wonderful. Otherwise places round Stamford if you had a car, but unlikely to be an option (though check) without.

Newark's well placed for fasr trains north and south: but nowhere within 50 miles on the line would be very appealing

Ah Nottingham...as we drove towards it last year, we had little visions of Robin Hood and Fairy Castles. It must be a wonderful place, right?

So, it was a bit of a surprise as we realised it is more like Pittsburg than the Magic Kingdom. Or maybe even Newark, (Newark, NJ that is).

I'm sorry to all that my enjoy this city, but I thought it was a dump.

Dave

We stayed on a canal boat and really enjoyed Nottingham. The Lace Museum, the castle on the hill, the Jerusalem Pub, Sherwood Forrest, the motorcycle gathering at the air force base, the static planes at the base that my children climbed all over, the nice, big mall, etc. We enjoyed our week there.

John b.

Good heavens above, I'll have to stop going to Nottingham if it's that bad.

I don't like the place but the only thing that worries me when I do go is that the stone lions in Old Market Square might deafen me (they roar whenever a virgin walks past) but that hasn't happened to me yet. Never seen anyone waving a gun around and taking potshots at tourists either.

There are certainly some areas I would avoid, but those exist in any big town (and some smaller ones).

If you want to visit Newark, it would be much better to stay there. It's an attractive town, and much more pleasant than Nottingham.
Where are you staying before going to Newark? It's about an hour and twenty minutes from London by train and even less from York, so you can easily get there for a day without having to stay overnight in the area.

We took the train from Sheffield to go to the Hard Rock and there was a carnival going on and the town was light up beautifully at night. We walked around for a bit before heading back to Sheffield.
I thought it was rather nice. However, I liked Sheffield.
By the way, I like Pittsburgh and I grew up in Akron, not to awfully far from Cleveland.
So what do I know.

She'll actually have to stay overnight to hit that huge antiques fair (acres and acres) bright and early! Agree re Newark rather than N'ham as the preferable stop over. You might need to take a taxi from hotel to the fields, as i had to , but that was many yrs ago.
Have fun!

Thanks for all the helpful info on Nottingham. I think we'll forget this idea and plan something else for our antiquing trip. Any lodging that I like in Newark is already reserved by returning visitors to this huge antique event. There are no towns of interest nearby where I'd care to base. Nottingham just doesn't sound all that appealing for a week or more. We don't like to hop around from place to place. Prefer settling into one location and taking short day trips.
I'll start another thread to get ideas on a couple of other options.