Better by design

NOTTINGHAM has received quite a bit of bad press recently, highlighting violent gun crime, but there's more to this architecturally odd city than a violent minority. We spent a weekend exploring what Nottingham's really all about: art, literature, history, the legend of Robin Hood and. . . shopping.

We stayed at the comfortable Welbeck Hotel in Talbot Street, adjacent to the main multi-storey car park for which the hotel offers discounted rates. The Welbeck boasts a beautiful conservatory-style dining room on the top floor, with panoramic windows looking out over a vista of corrugated industrial roofs. In the near distance you can see an impressive domed tower and the tops of some distinguished-looking buildings reminiscent of the City of London, but town planning seems to be a fairly recent concept.

Friday evening was the first warm one in late spring, and as we strolled through the narrow medieval streets in the city centre the world and his wife were doing the same, giving everywhere a friendly, holiday feel. Pavement cafes and bars in this pedestrian-only area added to the atmosphere of happy relaxation and even at the end of the evening, as we made our way back to the hotel after a very pleasant dinner at the Petit Paris in Kings Walk, we felt completely secure.

The next morning we gathered our strength for an assault on the tourist attractions. Nottingham Castle was on our itinerary, although only parts of the original medieval structure remain. The existing building is a 17th century mansion housing a museum of fine art, with spectacular landscaped grounds well worth a visit if you fancy a picnic.

Sixteenth century Wollaton Hall, set in rolling parkland which is home to herds of deer, features museums of natural history and science, and the Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard takes you back to glimpse life as it was lived over the last 300 years.

The Galleries of Justice in the Lace Market has just acquired on permanent exhibition the HM Prison Service collection, previously kept under lock and key. Some gruesome reminders of prison life over the centuries give a vivid account of days when crime really did result in punishment. Alongside the Galleries is an attractive church with a steeple and stained glass windows, but to our astonishment, if you venture through the great oak doors you find it's been refurbished by the Pitcher and Piano pub group. With music in the evenings and tables with sun umbrellas outside in the churchyard, we felt the spirits in this establishment were best left alone.

AMONG the attractions we would have liked to visit were the Tales of Robin Hood centre, where you can try your hand at using a longbow and indulge in a medieval banquet in the evening, and of course Sherwood Forest Country Park, once part of a royal hunting forest, where you can hear the legends of Robin Hood, see veteran oaks over 500 years old and play dodging among the trees, robbing the rich to give to the poor.

We'd been recommended several local hostelries for a really good pub lunch; the Cock and Hoops was one, or Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. The latter has some intriguing stories told about it, not least its connections to the shadowy Knights Templar. There's a ship inside which is reputed to cause the death of anyone who touches it, so it was perhaps fortuitous that we left it too late for a pub lunch.

Just down the road from the Galleries we discovered Piccolino's, a recently opened restaurant where we enjoyed some excellent pasta and a restorative glass of Italian red before sallying forth to hit Nottingham's much-vaunted shops. It's one of the country's top five shopping destinations, and deservedly so, with narrow pedestrianised medieval streets full of designer clothing and shoe shops: Kurt Geiger, Paul Smith, Zara - I kept losing our Kate as she dashed into the next boutique, squeaking with excitement. Even the charity shops are stylish in presentation and content - one of our colleagues found a pair of designer shoes in Oxfam for £20. There are also some large indoor shopping malls with the usual big High Street names, including three department stores. We found everyone in the shops to be endlessly helpful, with one person actually running out of the store after us to add something to the directions she'd just given.

There was no shortage of coffee shops and little pubs, with tables outside for refreshment of shopping fatigue, as well as fast food outlets for those who can't do without their burger and chips.

Five-thirty comes even to the hardiest shopper, and we tottered the short distance back to the hotel to change for the evening. A five-minute walk to the Royal Concert Hall for a gala performance by the world-famous Bolshoi Ballet in luxuriously spacious air-conditioned surroundings was a blissful end to a tiring day.

We travelled by train from Darlington, changing at Derby with a short taxi ride at the other end. The return journey was a nightmare as the local train was cancelled and the trip to Derby was accomplished in the granddad of all buses, stopping at all the rail stations along the route. I was so grateful to sink into my nice clean, reserved seat on the Virgin train back to Darlington.

I have to say that Nottingham isn't the most picturesque city, although some of the architecture is pleasing and the centre has a lot of character with its quaint narrow streets. But it's certainly not the Dodge City that some of the press have tried to imply. And if you love to shop - Nottingham has it all.

TRAVELFACTS Sue Heath travelled by Virgin Trains. For train times and bookings, visit www. virgintrainsfares.co.uk. She stayed at the Welbeck Hotel, where weekend room rates start from £82. www.welbeck-hotel.co.uk For more information about Nottingham visit www.experiencenottinghamshire.com