getting to Nottingham

[khitajrah]

Can anyone give any advice on the best way to get to Nottingham? I would ideally like to fly but BA doesn't seem to have flights on the day I need, and the Flybe site isn't helpful either.

[Twerto]

Probably fly to Edinburgh and train to Nottingham. Train is about 4.5 hours and costs £85. flight will be about £120 ( dpending on when you book ) and train is about £85 ( probably cheaper if you book in advance )

 

Alternative could be to fly to Aberdeen and then Manchester ( about £222 ) then train ( 2.5 hours and costs £38.50)

[jz]

Hello khitajrah,

 

I had a summer school this year with the OU at Nottingham and looked into various ways of getting there. I agree with Twerto, fly to Edinburgh and then take the train. That's what I did with the train journey being more expensive than the return flight!

 

You will probably find you have to travel a day early. You will be able to get a room at the Nottingham University halls of residence by contacting the OU beforehand.

 

I'm sure you will enjoy the week - it is both exhausting and exhilarating.

[khitajrah]

Thanks Twerto and jz, I will look into doing that then. What residential school did you attend jz?

[jz]

What residential school did you attend jz?

 

MSXR209 Mathematical modelling

 

Much of the enjoyment comes from the enthusiasm of your fellow students, and having to work as part of a team.

[shetlandpeat]

You need to book your tickets for the train at least a month b4 to get the biggest discount.

It can be even cheaper if you use multiple tickets..

 

National Rail Conditions of Carriage, which says:

 

17. A combination of tickets

You may use two or more tickets to travel on one train journey as long as together they cover the entire journey and one of the following applies:

 

(a) they are zonal tickets;

( the train you are on calls at the station where you change from one ticket to another; or

© one of the tickets is a season ticket, which for this purpose does not include season tickets or travel passes issued on behalf of a passenger transport executive or local authority, and the other ticket(s) is/are not. You must comply with any restriction of use to a particular Train Company's trains shown on the tickets (see Condition 10).

 

http://www.railsaver.co.uk/

 

Good luck

[DamnSaxon]

Another possibility would be if you can find a connecting flight to East Midlands Airport. There's a "Skylink" bus service from there to Nottingham city centre and railway station, then the usual range of buses and taxis to get you the last few miles.

 

As I'm in Nottingham, PM me if there's any other help I can give you (decent shops, areas best avoided at night, etc).

[khitajrah]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try shopping around to see what I can find (I do detest shopping around though!)

 

DS - thanks for the offer, but I fear there will be little if no time available for sight seeing and shopping with the workload I'll have to get through, unfortunately.

[Atomic]

Hi khitajrah

 

I did OU Summer Schools at Nottingham University for Chemistry courses a few years ago and it was really excellent. The lab facilities and camaraderie were great, but they do work you really hard! We had 12 hour days 7 days in a row, 9am - 9pm with breaks for meals.

 

I agree with jz about arriving a day early if you're coming from Shetland. They are absolutely accommodating about this, and I really benefitted from settling into a very quiet campus overnight before it all started in the morning!

 

As far as travel goes, it was an absolute breeze. I flew straight from Shetland via Aberdeen to East Midlands airport, then got a taxi from the airport right to the door of the campus office for about a fiver (8 years ago). So effortless! And cheap at the time, as I recall.

 

Oh! I do remember having one evening off, probably the last one, and going on lookabout with a few other students. We came across (if I mind right) the Robyn Hoode Pubbe, which was allegedly the oldest pub in England. All that real ale may have clouded my memory, maybe DamnSaxon could enlighten me? I do have photos of it somewhere, a gorgeous whitewashed little building with incredibly thick stone walls and solid flagstone floors. Well worth checking out. Happy days.

[DamnSaxon]

Not sure about the Robyn Hoode Pubbe, Atomic, though it might be the "Olde Trip to Jerusalem" you remember. It certainly has a claim to the oldest pub title, and it's in the Castle Rock - there used to be a sign up in there warning patrons they might get small bits of rock falling into their beer, tho' I never knew anyone it happened to. You really should call in for a drink there if you're visiting Nottingham.

 

There's also the "Royal Children", just up Maid Marian Way from the Trip, another fine old pub, with a whalebone hanging over one door (reason for this on the adjacent sign - come and patronise our old pubs if you want to know!). Many people also visit the "Vertical Drinking" establishments in the city centre, but that's a bit hardcore for me.

 

Khit, if you'll be at the Uni, there's a Buttery Bar, and a refectory for less alcoholic intake, in Portland Building (or used to be). Check nottingham.ac.uk for full details. If it's Trent, you're in the city centre anyway. Hope you have a good & productive trip.

[khitajrah]

Thanks for all the advice and well-wishes, and I do hope to be able to have a look around Nottingham. If I'm flying down the day before that will give me an evening free to do just that! However, I've just started having the occasional glass of wine recently, and have noticed that by the time I'm halfway through it I'm giggling like a schoolgirl - no alcohol tolerance whatsoever, so I don't know how advisable it would be to drink in public!