Photos of Nottingham

As I posted earlier in the week, I've taken some shots of Nottingham to share with people that I meet in America to give them a sense of where I live.  I haven't properly sorted them out yet, but thought I'd post some of my faves here.  It’s a tough job – I know that people will want to know about my city but I could go on about for hours so wanted to just have a handful of images that capture the sense of the place.  And I tried not to be all trendier-than-thou about it by only including my favourite obscure places, there’s room for the Council House Lions and the Robin Hood statue in this collection! 

I remember when this noticeboard and sign went up people came up to me and asked what the point was, it'll get vandalised within a week.  I'm really proud of the fact that it's still there, undamaged after nearly two years. 

This is Woodthorpe Park - a great green space near to where I live - it's well used and loved by joggers and dog walkers alike and has two great features - a 18 hole pitch-and-putt course and a cafe run as a social enterprise by Framework, the homelessness charity.  

The Lions by the Council House are such an iconic part of Nottingham - I love the lore and tradition that's attached to meeting at the 'Left Lion' - so much so that Nottingham's great free listing paper is named after it and someone's even set up a twitter account for his neglected mate.  

Nottingham's history and heritage as a lace manufacturing city talks to my 'Company Towns' research theme and I always enjoy taking people to walk down Broadway in the historic Lace Market area.  There are some great explanatory plaques there and the contrast between a quiet Sunday morning and a buzzing Friday night is one to be seen to be believed!  

Finally a quick shot from the balcony of the Castle - how green does the city look from here! 

Pre-Departure

Despite doing my usual thing and totally forgetting about Heritage Open Weekend I’ve had a brilliant final weekend in Nottingham.  At the Roosevelt Scholarship Annual Dinner back in June I was blown away by one of the previous scholars, Deborah Stevenson and her presentation on her time taking street poetry around America.  One thing that she said that really stuck in my mind was the exhortation to, “be a tourist in your own city”.  I took this to heart this weekend and tried to look at the city with the eyes of a stranger.  It was helped by it being a gorgeous late summer day but I was reminded by all the great things that this city has to offer and what I’m going to miss whilst I’m away.  I also took the opportunity to take some photos to show people that I’ll be staying with to share some of what Nottingham is like. 

Stuff that I’m blasé about and take for granted are cast in a different light when you see them for the first time, so I made sure that I captured some things like the Council House and Market Square, some of my favourite Watson Fothergill buildings, the Robin Hood statue, The Olde Trip to Jerusalem etc etc.  I’ll post some of the shots I took later in the week once I’ve had a chance to sort them out. 

But it was the time that I spent just after breakfast on Saturday around Sherwood where I live that I enjoyed the most – it’s a great neighbourhood that I love living in (and am proud to represent).  I popped into Woodthorpe Park and could barely move for joggers and dog-walkers taking advantage of the early morning sun.  I also got a bit sentimental at seeing a father facing into that rite-of-passage by teaching his son how to ride a bike – I remember those sessions with my dad in the back garden when I was growing up and love anyone being introduced to the freedom and health benefits of being a regular cyclist.  

I’m writing this with the sun on my back sitting out on the terrace at Sherwood’s newest eating venue – Kiosk.  Tucked away on the street corner at the end of my road it opens up into a surprisingly large space and the food is excellent.  I had a Mexican themed breakfast of hash browns, spicy egg, refried beans and flat bread – a total bargain for £5. 

But I’ve got to get back home shortly and face into the final preparations – think I’ll do a dry-run of packing today so that I avoid the last minute job that I specialise in which usually involves forgetting various critical items of clothing (like trousers). 

Photography

I've always enjoyed taking photographs but these days don't seem to have much time to do it.  It's annoying as I saved up for ages to afford this camera (including trading in my precious old film Contax) only for it to lie almost totally unused.  However, when I do get a chance to get out there and take some shots, I'm usually focused on the urban landscape that's around us all.  

The background of this blog is of the 'Futurist' building which users of the Ring Road in Nottingham will be very familiar with (probably whilst stuck in a traffic jam...) to the point of contempt, but I still think is one of the most striking Art Deco buildings in the city.  I was excited to hear that one of my favourite Nottingham photographers, Trish Evans, is planning to do some of her fantastic free-running photos on the roof, once all the health-and-safety stuff has been sorted out.  

If I get to go to America I'm hoping to take lots of photos, and will in particularly be focusing on the built environment that shapes our cities.  I'll also be interested in the sort of buildings that large companies choose to base themselves in - and how this affects their workforce and productivity.  I for one get a little tinge of excitement knowing that I work in a Grade II listed building which is part of a site with two of just a few Grade I listed buildings in the UK.  Does that make any sort of difference to the work that gets done there?  Perhaps not but I like the sense of history and place that it helps to create. 

I thought I'd share a handful of some of my photos from around Nottingham.  It was on my list of 'things to do this Easter weekend' to get out and take some more but not sure I'm going to have time now.  These are mainly of areas that have seen somewhat better days, but they're not typical of Nottingham of course...!

Old Midland Bank Building, Basford

This is just round the corner from the Fox and Crown pub if people know that area.  It's on the walk to the tram station from the pub so I always enjoy looking at it on the way.  The surrounding area has by-and-large been revamped and transformed into a light-industrial space but this building is still there and abandoned.  

 

I really like the faded patina of the wood boards and the door;

Warehouses off Ilkeston Road, Radford

I'm quite often around this area of Nottingham as I used to live just up the road and the leisure centre (John Carroll) is where my diving club meets.  I've always been intrigued by the warehouse buildings - they look huge from the outside and with the few exceptions now seem to be totally abandoned.  I wonder what it was like when in full swing compare with the eerie silence you can get on a Sunday morning now.  

    

The major industry now appears to be weed control and security which is a real shame.  I hope that some use gets found for this site soon enough before it falls apart. 

The surrounding area has some great sights too - the below is not posed, I really did find a 'morning after the night before' abandoned shoe in the middle of the road - just outside an abandoned pub it seemed quite fitting really.