Nottingham and surrounding area

The City of Nottingham and Sherwood Forest to its north are forever part of English history and folklore from the tales of Robin Hood and his enemy The Sheriff of Nottingham. For this and many other reasons, Nottingham attracts a lot of tourists. It is a very old city which predates Anglo Saxon Times. Among places well worth visiting are:

Nottingham Castle – https://www.nottinghamcastle.org.uk/

Wollaton Hall and Park – https://www.wollatonhall.org.uk/

The Arboretum

The Adrenalin Jungle – http://www.adrenalinjungle.com/

Apart from horseracing, Nottingham have a proud tradition in other sports, particularly Cricket, Football and Rugby Union. The Cricket ground at Trent Bridge is also a regular host to England Test matches. Notts County Football Club was founded in 1862 and are the oldest professional club on the planet. Nottingham Forests winning exploits under the coaching of Brian Clough are well known to all football fans.

I didn’t stay in Nottingham, but I feel sure that the city caters well for visitors. The racecourse also has suggestions of where to stay on its website.

http://nottingham.thejockeyclub.co.uk/venue-hire/venue-information/accommodation

I feel sure that racing here can be combined with a visit to one of Englands oldest cities.

The Racecourse

The course is oval-shaped and is a left-handed galloping track, 1m4f round and a run in of 4 ½ furlongs. Races of 5f and 6f are run on a straight course.

There is no massive draw advantage. In sprint races maybe a slight bias towards high drawn and near the stands side rail. Conversely, for races of 1m with one left handed turn, there maybe a slight bias towards low drawn.

Nottingham currently stages only flat racing. 

Clerk of the course: Jane Hedley
Racecourse telephone: 01159 580620

Getting here

Nottingham is about 128 miles from Central London, 51 miles from Birmingham and 81 miles from Manchester.

The racecourse is situated in Colwick Park, Nottingham NG2 4BE, approximately 2 miles to the east of the city centre on B686. It’s easy enough to get to by car and parking is free. There is Blue Badge parking close to the entrance and access points are provided at entry.

For those using public transport, the railway station is about two miles away. I understand that bus number 44 is your best bet if you don’t fancy the walk.

Racecourse facilities

Course website: http://nottingham.thejockeyclub.co.uk/

Disabled access: http://nottingham.thejockeyclub.co.uk/plan-your-race-day/visitor-information/disabled-access

I found the area behind the grandstand to be quite spacious though there wasn’t a particularly big crowd today. The parade ring area has been done beautifully.

Sherwood’s Restaurant high in the grandstand offers exceptional views of the course and all the action. The Jockey Club claim it to be one of their best. There are other food outlets on the course. I personally had fish and chips from ‘The Winning Plaice’ and it was spot on. For desert, I went and had coffee and a muffin in ‘Ann’s Tea Room’ and that was equally excellent.

All of the bars I saw looked fine and the racecourse specifically allow drinks to be taken into the viewing area. This isn’t something I would like to see if it were crowded but today it wasn’t anything like such.

The grandstand itself is supported by pillars which makes viewing a little awkward, particularly if trying to view with binoculars. If you are there on a busy day, try and get yourself a good spot before the stand fills up.

My Day

It’s a very long drive from Leominster to Nottingham and for some reason my GPS on my phone took me past the racecourse and then back again. But I got there safe. The traffic in Nottingham was busy.

Again just the one winner which was enough to clear me from a betting perspective. I’ll take it but it would be nice to have a few good days to help pay for this little adventure ?

Today was the anniversary of the murder of so many people by terrorists in Manchester last year. Hats off to the racecourse and all who attended for observing a one minute silence.