Current Time in Nottingham, United Kingdom

Nottingham is a city in the East Midlands of England, standing on the River Trent where the land rises from the floodplain to a series of sandstone cliffs. It lies roughly in the centre of the country, about two hours north of London, with the remnants of Sherwood Forest to the north and the Peak District within reach to the west. The soft rock beneath the city has been tunnelled for centuries, leaving hundreds of man-made caves under the streets.

The city proper has a population of around three hundred and thirty thousand, and the urban area holds well over seven hundred thousand. Nottingham is known worldwide through the legend of Robin Hood, the outlaw of Sherwood Forest whose enemy was the Sheriff of Nottingham, and the story has given the city an international profile far beyond its size. Its modern economy is built on healthcare, financial services, science and two large universities.

Settlement began with Anglo-Saxon and Danish occupation, and the city's early name meant the homestead of Snot, softened over time. William the Conqueror ordered a castle built on the rock in 1068, and it became a favourite royal residence and a centre of national events, including the raising of the royal standard by Charles I in 1642 at the start of the Civil War. Nottingham grew rich on lace in the nineteenth century, when its machine-made lace was exported around the world, and later on the great local firms of Boots the chemist, Raleigh bicycles and Player's tobacco.

Nottingham Castle, rebuilt as a ducal mansion and now a museum and gallery, sits above the caves and the pub called Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, which claims to be one of the oldest inns in England. The City of Caves attraction leads into medieval tanneries cut into the sandstone. The Lace Market district, with its tall Victorian warehouses, has been restored as a quarter of bars and studios, and the Old Market Square, one of the largest in the country, forms the civic heart in front of the domed Council House. Wollaton Hall, an Elizabethan mansion in a deer park, and Newstead Abbey, once the home of Lord Byron, lie a short distance out.

Cultural life is strong. Nottingham is a UNESCO City of Literature, home to the writer D. H. Lawrence, who grew up in the nearby mining village of Eastwood, and to Alan Sillitoe. The Goose Fair, held every October since the thirteenth century, is one of the oldest travelling fairs in Europe. Trent Bridge is a famous Test cricket ground, Nottingham Forest won the European Cup twice, and Notts County is the oldest professional football club in the world.

Transport is excellent, with fast trains to London, a modern tram network, and East Midlands Airport nearby. The M1 motorway skirts the city to the west.

The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University together give the city one of the largest student populations in Britain.

Nottingham is popular because it offers legend, caves, sport and a genuinely lively cultural scene in a compact and welcoming city.