This 1920s tradesman's house, once home to Worksop's grocer Mr Straw, is preserved as it was years ago. A fascinating glimpse into the past, it offers a rare opportunity to see once-common household articles in an original setting.
Available :
Mar - Oct 2013; not Mon or Sun (annual)
In honour of its most famous outlaw, Nottingham holds an annual Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest. Throughout the week visitors are entertained by jugglers and jesters, strolling minstrels and street theatre performers, a falconer and experts in medieval combat.
Available :
Aug 2013 (annual)
The Magna science and adventure centre was converted from a former steelworks. Visitors can walk on air, feel the heat of a fire tornado, blast water cannons and take the controls of a JCB.
Available :
Daily
Opened in May 2003, the £15.7 million iceSheffield is a state-of-the-art ice skating venue, hosting national and international events and recreational skating for the community, including learn-to-skate lessons.
Available :
Daily; not Mon
Celebrate the demise of Guy Fawkes at the After Dark fireworks spectacular at Sheffield's Don Valley Grass Bowl. Attractions include a bonfire, family funfair, fire jugglers, musical accompaniment to the display itself and plenty of food and drink.
Available :
Nov 2013 (annual)
With approximately 20,000 people either participating or attending, the annual Sheffield Fayre at Norfolk Heritage Park is among the largest free events in South Yorkshire. The various events include favourites like the Sheffield Horticultural Show and a History Camp.
Available :
Aug 2013 (annual)
Chesterfield's popular local market takes a step back in time every July, as it takes on a medieval theme and offers shopping and entertainment for all the family. Expect medieval re-enactments, a court jester and a funfair for the children.
Available :
Jul 2013 (annual)
The Leadmill in Sheffield has good reason for its "Great Night Out" guarantee as it was voted best club outside London by NME and Melody Maker. It hosts different club nights and live music throughout the week.
Available :
Daily
The Sheffield International Documentary Festival is among the UK's leading media events - both a public film festival and an industry gathering dedicated to documentary film and TV. It's based at the Showroom Cinema but events take place throughout Sheffield.
Available :
Jun 2013 (annual)
Run over one and three-quarter miles, the illustrious St Leger Race provides the ultimate test for staying thoroughbreds and is the climax of the St Leger Festival. The famous course at Doncaster provides the perfect backdrop for the festivities and is always packed to its 20,000 capacity.
Available :
Sep 2013 (annual)
Situated very close to Sheffield's Millennium Galleries, the Graves Art Gallery features the city's collections of 19th and 20th-century British and European art, along with temporary shows. Highlights include works by Picasso, Stanley Spencer and Henry Moore.
Available :
Daily; not Sun
The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield hosts the World Championships, the most famous and important tournament in snooker. To win here is to reach the pinnacle of the game.
Available :
Apr - May 2013 (annual)
Part of Sheffield's Heart of the City project and directly connected through Arundel Gate to the Winter Garden, the Millennium Gallery offers a 21st-century approach to enjoying the visual arts. Watch out for details of visiting blockbuster exhibitions.
Available :
Daily
Part of Sheffield's £120-million Heart of the City project and directly connected through Arundel Gate to the Millennium Gallery, Winter Garden is a huge temperate glasshouse and a green oasis in the city centre. People-watch in this jungle-like interior.
Available :
Daily
Sheffield's medieval cathedral is the city's oldest building. Now Grade I listed, it contains architecture from the 15th to the 20th centuries, magnificent Tudor memorials and striking stained glass. The bells ring out every Sunday and on special occasions.
Available :
Daily
Located in one of Sheffield's oldest industrial districts, the Kelham Island Museum houses working machinery that recreates the sights, sounds and smells of the Industrial Revolution. Find out a about the steel industry and how it thrust Sheffield into the global economy.
Available :
Daily; not Fri or Sat
Newstead Abbey is a beautiful historic house set in landscaped gardens and parkland in the heart of Nottinghamshire. Founded as a monastic house in the late 12th century, Newstead became the ancestral home of the poet Lord Byron.
Available :
Daily
Bringing Leicester's history to life, Castle Park resounds to a festival running up to and over the August Bank Holiday weekend. A wide range of music, street theatre, dance, storytelling, children's activities, guided walks and free events fill the park.
Available :
Aug 2013 (annual)
Castle Park is Leicester's Old Town, an historic area of ancient walls and gateways, churches, fine old buildings, museums, gardens and riverside walks.
Available :
Daily
Sheffield's answer to Kew Gardens, the 19-acre Botanical Gardens were originally laid out in 1836. Today, the gardens are listed by English Heritage as a Grade II site and contain three restored Victorian glass pavilions with connecting walkways. They are full of exotic warm-temperate plants from Asia, the Himalayas, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Available :
Daily
Chatsworth, stately home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, hosts a country fair every year in its 1000-acre grounds. The fair offers visitors a chance to peruse local arts and crafts and buy delicious treats from hundreds of stalls.
Available :
Aug - Sep 2013 (annual)
Chatsworth, stately home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, welcomes the best riders in the country every May to compete in its International Horse Trials. Testing both rider and steed to their limits, it makes for a great day out.
Available :
May 2013 (annual)
Chatsworth House, stately home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, is also known as the "Palace of the Peak". In addition to art treasures, it has a beautiful 105-acre garden and a working farmyard, which is great fun for kids.
Available :
Mar - Dec 2013 (annual)
Nottinghamshire Pride brings together a huge variety of performers together to appear at the Forest Recreation Ground. Four stages play host to live music and their are outreach programs and stalls promoting diversity and discussion of LGBT issues.
Available :
Jul 2013 (annual)
Not to be confused with the larger-scale Notting Hill Carnival in London, Nottingham hosts its own colourful Caribbean street party at Forest Recreation Ground. Expect a parade, food (lots of jerk chicken), live music and plenty of colour.
Available :
Aug 2013 (annual)
The Nottingham Forest Recreation Ground hosts a bonfire, fireworks display and funfair on the site of the famous annual Goose Fair. Warm your hands over the fire, eat some candyfloss and enjoy the fireworks on a traditional rocket-filled night out.
Available :
Nov 2013 (annual)
Nottingham's Goose Fair, held at the Forest Recreation Ground, dates back to at least 1284. It has more than 150 state-of-the-art rides and 450 games, sideshows and stalls - from vintage carousels to the latest white-knuckle rides and children's amusements.
Available :
Oct 2013 (annual)
Opera North, always worth catching, comes to Nottingham's Theatre Royal. Joining revivals of Puccini's Madama Butterfly (directed by Tim Albery) and Gilbert & Sullivan's Ruddigore (directed by Jo Davies) is a new production of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades.
Available :
Nov 2013 (annual)
Nottingham's recently-refurbished Old Market Square is a bustling area and a popular meeting point. Within the square the 1920s Council House stands tall, with two stone lions at the bottom of its baroque-style pillars.
Available :
Daily
Nottingham's monthly Regional Food Market is held on the third Friday and Saturday of every month on the Old Market Square. It attracts a flurry of foodies, who come to bag the best of local ale, cheese and rare-breed meats.
Available :
Daily
Nottingham Arena is the city's main venue for indoor entertainment. Located in the heart of the multi-million National Ice Centre and the Lace Market, it hosts big-name artists such as Elton John and Oasis, international ice shows and sports events.
Available :
Daily
Bridlesmith Gate is Nottingham's shopping haven. The pedestrianised street contains the majority of the city's designer outlets, including Ted Baker and Diesel, as well as high-street staples such as Muji.
Available :
Daily
Opened in 2009, Nottingham Contemporary is now not only Nottingham's premier centre for contemporary art, but also one of the largest contemporary art centres in the UK. Its four galleries contained present a constantly changing selection of exemplary contemporary art.
Available :
Daily; not Mon
The Dot to Dot Festival is a unique opportunity to sample a broad range of established and up-and-coming global music acts. Various venues across Nottingham play host to this year's festival, which also visits Bristol and Manchester.
Available :
May 2013 (annual)
Nottingham's nottdance is an annual festival which aims to challenge the limitations of dance. Bringing the best in local and international choreographic talent to the city it pushes to the extremes the possibilities of movement and choreography.
Available :
Feb 2013 (annual)
The British Juggling Convention offers several days of prestidigitation, parties and amiable mayhem. Performers, enthusiasts, mavericks and beardy-weirdies gather on the streets and stages of Nottingham in 2011.
Available :
Apr 2011 (annual)
Located beneath Nottingham's Broadmarsh Shopping Centre, the City of Caves is a cave system that has been extensively adapted by man. Visitors can explore the Anglo-Saxon tunnels and displays provide a fascinating insight into local life throughout history.
Available :
Daily
Nottingham can't possibly get through the year without a nod to its most famous inhabitant. The annual Robin Hood Pageant within the walls of Nottingham Castle features jousting, comedy, real ale, comic re-enactments, live music and a replica medieval village.
Available :
Oct 2013 (annual)
Nottingham Castle is a 17th-century ducal mansion perched on a hill overlooking the city. Built on the site of a former medieval castle, today it houses a museum and art gallery. Don't leave without walking around the beautiful gardens.
Available :
Daily
The Museum of Nottingham Life is housed in Brewhouse Yard, a collection of five redbrick 17th-century cottages nestled at the base of Castle Rock. The museum traces the social history of the city over the past 300 years through exhibitions and reconstructed rooms and shops.
Available :
Daily
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