Nottingham Tunnels

Can anyone tell me if it is worth doing the official tour of the tunnels under Nottingham? (Will probably do it anyway as it doesn't cost a lot and will pick-up pieces of history.)

  https://www.nationaljusticemuseum.org.uk/cityofcaves/

Is it possible to get an extended tour outside the official commercial tunnels as I know they extend a lot further.  Would I need to bring my waders?  :D
 

Andy Farrant

Active member
They are worth a visit from a historical point of view. There are lots of other 'caves' in Nottingham which range from glorified beer cellars to moderately extensive pillar and stall workings (Peel Street). None are very long, and no need to bring waders. The caves beneath the old Broadmarsh are actually several caves along an old cliff face that was covered over by the shopping centre. Tony Waltham used to arrange tours for interested parties and has written the definitive guide 'Sandstone Caves of Nottingham'. You can visit some for free, notably the back room of the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub. The Bell Inn in the city centre also do tours of their beer cellars (or at least they did). Some additional sites may be open during 'Open Doors' events, but things have changed since covid. Some have been laser scanned - see https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/notcaves_he_2020/
 

Cantclimbtom

Well-known member

Saw this and thought it might be of interest to you in your thread here, including mention of a book called Tony Waltham’s ‘Sandstone Caves of Nottingham’

Hope this helps...
 

Duncan Price

Active member
I did a write up of a visit there (with Tiny Waltham & Andy Farrant) in 2001 for the Chelsea SS newsletter which should be attached to this post.
 

Attachments

  • CSS NL Vol 43 No 6 June 2001 p60-61.pdf
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Can anyone tell me if it is worth doing the official tour of the tunnels under Nottingham? (Will probably do it anyway as it doesn't cost a lot and will pick-up pieces of history.)

https://www.nationaljusticemuseum.org.uk/cityofcaves/

Is it possible to get an extended tour outside the official commercial tunnels as I know they extend a lot further. Would I need to bring my waders? :D
I did the official tour during summer 2021 and thought it was quite interesting historically - it was a self-guided tour: you get a download for your phone with audio that tells you what you are looking at at each place - and you could go more or less at your own pace.
 
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