Having just seen an affectionate BBC programme on Ordnance Survey (theme – only weird men buy OS Maps), I was tempted to give you an extract from Explorer 260. But all that would show you is how built up east Nottingham is, with points of interest having to be hunted down on foot.
The faithful navigator (note arty shadow) gives you a better perspective;
From memory there’s a windmill, and a modest hill up to Mapperley and the Bread & Bitter; all the Notts suburb action is to the west.
I did offer Mrs RM an invigorating 3 mile stroll up Carlton Hill, an offer politely declined. You can’t drink those cans of Bud Light while you’re walking, and our return tickets to Newark allowed us to “break our journey”, an odd term I always feel.
A six minute journey to Carlton from Nottingham station. It isn’t rough, but I bet we were their first tourists. I didn’t even see the obligatory information board.
Fans of trees growing out of buildings will find their nirvana here though.
The Fox & Hounds just outside the station looked in rude health, till we realised the custom was all teenagers attending the boxing school.
Mrs RM needed a comfort break, but resisted my urging to pop in here and ask for “a pint of cask conditioned real ale“, instead gamely pressing on the new GBG tick.
I told her the Old Volunteer would take ten minutes; it took twenty. Don’t blame me. Across the road from a modern shopping arcade, it’s a pleasant looking local that I expected to be pleasantly quiet at 5pm.
It was absolutely heaving, seemingly with folk of all ages. It took us a while to realise the youngsters queuing for coke were taking part in a charity pub quiz to which all the answers came from “Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are dead“. Students these days.
Clearly Flipside beers for £3 are a big draw round here, though obviously Mrs RM plumped for their dearer 7.5% Porter (NBSS 3), noting with glee that they were happy to serve her a pint.
All the tables inside were taken, but the outside tables gave unparalleled views of the B686 and this bit of history;
I sensed the ACV was coming to late to save the heritage cycle shop.
It was all very pleasant, and we followed the Porter with the craft keg , which I only now see was a mere 3%.
Back on the East Mids trundler, an enthusiastic guard “Next stop Bleasby ! Bleasby is our next stop !” sounded like a man who had never got off at Carlton.
retiredmartin 
Hmm, I have a large collection of OS Landanger maps. I must be weird, then 😐
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Rather weird than reliant on SatNav. I did suddenly realise how much I’ve invested in OS over the years, rarely see Explorers discounted.
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I thought more than 60 Explorers was normal providing that they are in numerical order.
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You should have walked, you could have stopped off at the March Hare on the way up. That’s a funny pub, men in the spit and sawdust back bar and the lounge full of chintz and flower pattern wallpaper, full of old women.
I used to work round there. Rough isn’t the word.
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Shame I didn’t.
Posh folk generally live west of town, presumably in Stapleford here 😉
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Stabbo ain’t so posh. Posh folk live in Beeston Fields, Bridgford, Mapperley, or the Park.
The joy of Nottingham is that you could do a complete lap of the suburbs without ever going in a posh area. Lenton to Radford, Radford to Carrington, Carrington to St Anns, St Anns to Sneinton, Sneinton to Meadows, Meadows to Lenton.
That would be a good pub crawl, if you like keg smooth.
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That’s what playing for Crewe Alexandria does for you
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I love the title.
And who doesn’t love maps, all kinds of maps? Especially maps with pink markings. Whose opinion was that?
I just received word that my Philips Navigator Britain is arriving on Tuesday, very exciting.
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The Volo is my local, as I live pretty much halfway between Carlton Station and there. It’s a shame the Fox near the station is what it is, lovely old building like that. Love the Volo though, always nice for a quiet pint in the daytime, or a few on a Friday after finishing work early.
The Volo is only 10 (or maybe 20!) minutes walk away from The Willowbrook in Gedling, a decent Castle Rock pub. More foody than the Volo but usually a good range of beers on. Probably 5 minutes further walking from the station than the Volo.
As for Carlton being rough, it’s a bit of a curate’s egg as it’s quite a sprawling area. The station is basically the border between Carlton and Netherfield, and I’d certainly feel safer walking around Carlton than Netherfield. However if you cross Burton Road and head into Gedling Village instead of heading to the Volo, house prices almost double in the space of about 5 minutes walk. Partly due to bigger houses but also it’s generally seen as a better area. I guess it’s all relative though! Happy to see you took the train, more and more people have been using trains to and from Carlton to get to work and back, particularly since the tram line that runs through the QMC opened. I can make it from home to the QMC in about 25 minutes door to door if timed well by hopping on a tram after arriving in Nottingham station. Prior to this it was a two-bus job usually taking over an hour. I’ve also made it from my door to London St. Pancras in about 2 hours 20, albeit with a slim connection time! A nice read, enjoy your travels.
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Thanks for commenting Will.
I did a post on the Willowbrook on 27/1/16, nice pub but quiet. Inn for a Penny was decent, too.
Just a private joke about Carlton, less edgy than in some of Cambridge suburbs like Arbury.
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The Fox is truly appalling though. One of only a handful of pubs I’ve been in over the last decade that made me regret stepping over the threshold. We were definitely not welcome…
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The Fox & Hounds?
Yes, remember it looking a bit uninviting now.
Weird getting comments on 3 year old posts with the great Alan Winfield in the thread, but always very welcome. Never close comments!
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I am sure you would have been quicker getting a bus to Carlton which would have dropped you off outside the Old Volunteer,no walking through edgy Carlton.
Pleased that PY called Stapleford Stabbo,he must be local as everybody in the Nottingham area calls it that,even bus drivers on the 15 do,one one of the roughest bus journeys you could do,Ilkeston or in local talk Ilson to Long Eaton always full of idiots at any time of the day,i have always thought it worse than any of the many bus journeys i did in Manchester and Salford.
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The windmill you referred to is in Sneinton on Windmill Lane,its called Greens Windmill.
I went out with a girl who lived on Windmill Lane and also took a different girl for a drink in the Inn for a Penny and stayed overnight in Gedling,probably a first and last time ever.
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