UNNC students on their Nottingham Tour

On 12th March 2011, a group of Ningbo students with their personal tutors were given a tour of Nottingham City Centre by local guide Bill Shaw. We were given an introduction to the history of Nottingham and we were also lucky enough to be granted access to places of interest such as Nottingham Castle and the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub. The views from Nottingham Castle were breathtaking and Bill helpfully pointed out all the places of interest in the city. We also walked to the Lace Market and Market Square.

After our morning of walking, we were all very hungry! We decided to go for some lunch to carry on our discussions about what we had learnt in the morning. Everyone agreed that it had been a fun day and that we were now much more familiar with Nottingham and its history.

Here are some feedback from our Ningbo students:

"Last Saturday's trip is really nice. We definitely picked up the right destination, Nottingham Castle. Though the real castle was actually not there a very long time ago, the palace built in the spot of the Castle is still marvellous. I like walking along the palace wall and having a bird eye view of the Nottingham city. Also, we had a friendly and knowledgeable tour guide Bill. He told us a lot of history of the castle, Robin Hood and funny jokes. By the way, I must mention the jousting field in front of the Palace. Isn't it like the fighting field in the BBC TV Series Merlin? It just remind me much of that drama. Besides, Bill took us to the oldest Inn in England and the Gallery of Justice. You will never know these places and the stories behind them if you travel on your own and without a local guide. I guess I can tell all these to my friends next time we travel to the Castle. They will be astonished how much I know about Nottingham."  

- Chong Ni (Alison)

"To me, Nottingham is probably the most familiar stranger. Having travelled so many cities across Britain, I found the least known place is where I live day by day. The half-day is a journey of rediscovery. When I was standing at the top of the hill in the castle, the city showed up a completely different view. You can imagine what breathtaking scenery it is when the whole city is under your feet. The buildings that I had been taking for granted suddenly became fascinating, because I found almost every one of them has a long story to tell. Before you rush to crowded tourist spots, wouldn’t it be better to cruise around the city you live in?"

- Yuni Wen