The One Where She Mainly Sits on a Bus (Part Two): Nottingham

The bus from Snowdonia got back to the university at around 10:30. By the time I got back and situated in my room, took a shower, got ready for bed, and then actually fell asleep? More like 12. I did stay up talking to friends and family on FaceBook. I probably could have managed to got to bed at 11 if I really tried. But I was quite slow to get ready after that long trip.

The next morning I had to wake up at 5:30 in order to get ready, pack, and catch the coach on time. When telling my dad about this journey and complaining about having two big trips in one weekend, he told me, "What are you, 20 or 200? You can go without some sleep." His words rang through my ears that morning as I wished I could just go back to sleep, not make peanut butter and jelly for breakfast and lunch (because eggs that morning took too much effort).

Daylight savings took place that night, which did give me an extra hour of sleep. It also meant that although it was dark when I woke up, walking to the bus allowed me to see a sunrise. Even through the sleepiness, the beauty of a sunrise is never lost on me.

I don't remember much of the ride over as I slept the entire time. Going in and out of sleep, reality and the dream world started to mingle together a little. For example, in my dream I was on the bus and various things were happening (like people getting up for the first stop), and I couldn't tell if it was a dream or real, even when I regained semi-consciousness before falling back into the dream. An extremely odd experience, but when I fully woke up we were almost to Sherwood Forest.

 

It was almost a little shocking as to how normally it was presented. Walking in, it looked no different than the entrance to a state park or perhaps a campground in California. But this was the land of Robin Hood, so surely it deserved a bit more glitz and glamour?  

There was more of that on the inside, but you wouldn't know that where you were going was anywhere special unless you walked into the main area.

Some Halloween pumpkins and cats on the top.

 

Robin Hood fighting Little John on a bridge

 We wouldn't be doing much exploring of the forest, which was disappointing. Just the 20 minute walk to see Robin Hood's tree. Still, a little bit of the forest was better than none. And that was the main thing I wanted to see.

As I walked through the forest, a boy from Africa introduced himself to me. He too was studying at Swansea University. I told him that I had met a surprising amount of people from Africa here, especially people from Nigeria. All the other African he had met here were from Nigeria as well. Since I also know someone at Sonoma State from Nigeria, we concluded that they are the adventurous ones who go all around the world.

Meanwhile, I was able to spot all of the scenery around me and snap lots of pictures.

Not the thickest of forests, which allowed lots of beautiful sunshine in.

At the end of the path was Robin Hood's tree. This is where he supposedly gathered with his merry men in the forest. Now, it is so old and heavy that they need to hold it up with large sticks. People were gathering bulbs to plant their own oak tree from Robin Hood's. Sadly, I was unable to do this as it was a separate event and I wouldn't be able to bring it back through customs. 

Me and the guy from Africa (I think Kenya specifically) took turns taking pictures of each other in front of the tree. I walked around the area surrounding the tree as well and just imagined Robin Hood and his men running through the forest, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. My flatmate Natalia and I have been watching BBC's Robin Hood (part of why I was so excited about this), and so I pictured those characters in my head.

I took more pictures of the forest on the way back, and nearly everyone in the group took a picture in the trunk of an old tree. Of course I needed one too.

It reminded me of the drive-through redwood tree in California on the way to Oregon.

I picked up a couples souvenirs from the shop before heading back to the bus for our next stop. Since Sherwood Forest is actually an hour away from Nottingham, it was another nap for me. Wollaton Deer Park and Hall was the next destination. The hall was built in the late 1500's and was used as Wayne Manor in the new Batman movies. The park is a deer park and is where people go in order to see deer (funny for me to think as I see them all the time at home, especially living so close to a mountain).

To give an idea of size. This is only the front half.

Very beautiful in fall.

The Hall peeking out from behind the trees.

 I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought that we had a lot of time here to just walk around the park and look at the Hall. What I didn't know, is that we could go inside the Hall for free. It has been transformed into a natural history museum as the Willoughby family that owned it produced a large number of explorers.

 

I am always a fan of artistic architecture, which luckily is never too hard to find in the UK.  Everything is very old and architectural design centuries ago was far more beautiful than most of the things produced today.

Little details on every inch.

These were all around the Hall.

It was equally amazing on the inside. This was definitely a mansion fit for royalty. Details and art were everywhere. Large paintings, murals on the ceilings and walls, rustic fireplaces....astounding.

The ceiling in the entry room. There are many other details all around.

The lighting made it impossible to get a good photo, but you get the general idea.

Aside from the more stately rooms, there were also the many parts that belonged to the natural history museum (the majority, in fact). Taxonomy made up the majority of the museum, as well as many skeletons. There was one room dedicated just to birds with painted backgrounds so that the viewer could imagine them in their natural environment.

There were many rows and columns of these along the wall, while the middle was dedicated to displaying some larger birds.

It was a amazingly large collection of species. I noticed many children their with their parents exploring. A good way to spend the weekend. Both a park to run around in and a museum to educate them.

Me and my cousin. Chimpanzees and humans share a common ancestor.
I remember that much from my biological anthropology class.

After looking around the Hall, I went back outside to meet with the group. Some guy had a sleek black car with the license plate "Batman" on it. The Batmobile outside Wayne Manor! How perfect! This really made my day.

Quite a crowd gathered around it.

After the owner of the vehicle drove away, I checked out the back of the park with the rest of the group. It was even more gorgeous than the front. And perhaps even larger. I could easily see why this was such a popular weekend destination.

The back of the Hall.

A separate building behind the Hall.

I very chill buck that didn't mind pictures at all. Some people got too close
to the point of putting themselves in danger. It noticed, but did not attack.

Nonetheless, I kept my distance.

After that, we headed back to the bus in order to get to the main part of the city. This was easier said than done, as the path the tour guide picked involved crossing a swampy pool of water. There were logs on top that one had to strategically balance on and cross. This was the preferable situation as all around the area was mud.

 

On the other side was a large fenced in area where more deer where. There were about thirty of them, but since they are so fair in color (compared to what I see in California), they were harder to see. They camouflaged in very well with their environment.

I made it larger so that you can kind of see the ones in the very back as well.

The next stop was Nottingham Castle. I personally would have loved to go in and explore, but unfortunately there just was not enough time in the day. I settled for looking at the outside, although I was able to hear that something interesting was happening inside. Another day, perhaps.

Around on the right side is where some demonstration was occurring.

 Mainly what people wanted to do was take a picture in front of the Robin Hood Statue. I, of course, was no exception to this. To be honest, this was one of the things I was most looking forward to. Not many people can say they posed with Robin Hood in front of Nottingham castle. Most definitely a touristy thing...but being a tourist is so much fun!

There were many interesting statues all around. In the background of the photo above, you can see some. There is a statue to the left of Robin Hood and little squares along the back wall. In those squares are actually some little 3D pictures.

A close up look at the statue.

Robin Hood! One of the 3D pictures.

Right next to the castle was the oldest pub (and inn) in England. We didn't get the chance to go inside as at this point we were mainly sightseeing in the last couple of hours we had remaining in Nottingham. The sun was starting to set and we still had a 4+ hour drive back to Swansea University. Still I enjoyed being able to see it.

Afterwards, we had free roam of the city. This was a lot of fun to explore, though after living in the UK and exploring some British cities, they begin to look more and more similar. Which is why you have to look for the things that make them unique. Sure a majority of the stores will be the same, but is there some cool local boutique you can only find here? There probably was, but things here close at around 4 on Sundays (compared to the later 5 or 6 the rest of the week), and so I didn't get to do much of that. Instead, I just wandered around, trusting that google maps would lead me safely back to the meeting spot in the end.

 

I went to Old Market Square and saw the Nottingham City Council House. It was build in the early 1900s, so a very recent building by UK standards. Especially compared to the oldest pub in England that I had just visited.

 

It was built in the Neo-Baroque style, which is characterized by having some features of the Baroque style art, but not being created during that time period. The baraque is characterized by a lot of movement, twists, and turns as far as the art goes. When translated to architecture, it seems this is the result:

 

I wish I could remember more about the architecture from my art history class. As it was, I already had to look up what Neo-Baroque style was since I only remember Baroque. But perhaps it's okay as long as I instead provide a picture of me with the lion statue at the front of the building.

I just walked around the city, taking in the sights and enjoying the general atmosphere. There was a full ensemble with a chorus, which was fun to watch. I think they were a church chorus as the songs they sung were religious ones. A large crowd was gathered around them and we were given papers with the lyrics in order to sing along.

Since I had not yet had dinner, I was a little hungry. There would be a stop on the bus, but not for a couple hours. In the meantime, I went for a "whipped" ice cream. Apparently this is traditional British street ice cream. Traditionally it is also bought with a chocolate "flake" on the side, but I was too cheap for that and just stuck with the ice cream.

It was almost as if someone took whipped cream (the fresh stuff, not canned) and froze it. Heck, I wouldn't even be surprised if that legitimately is the process. It was very thick, yet light tasting at the same time. It was good, but I do think I prefer the soft serve I am used to. A delicious experience nonetheless!

I walked around, ice cream in hand, pretty much loving life. The sad part about these day trips is that they ultimately must come to an end. And although that is true of everything in life, these come to a far quicker end than some.

I almost did not go on this trip. Same thing goes to Snowdonia. I booked Snowdonia on impulse deciding that it is a key feature of Wales and I may never have the chance to see it again. I wanted to go on the original Nottingham trip (before it was moved), but was unable to as it booked quicker than expected. When it reopened, I almost did not go on it due to the fact that it was right after Snowdonia. But I did it anyways despite knowing I would be tired and accepted the fact that I would sleep on the bus.

I am so thankful I went on both as they turned out to be one of my favorite weekends here. They reminded me how much fun it is to travel and explore. After all, I'm only here for a year. Might as well make the most of it. I likely will never be within (long) driving distance of Sherwood Forest again.