NottingTram - The Sequel

Back in July 2016, Nick and I did an outing based on the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) system complete with visits to Hucknall, Clifton and Wilford Village. We'd always intended to do a follow up and now fully three years later we can finally stage our much anticipated sequel...

- The Malt Cross Caveman? -

Hold on a minute! Looking back through my blog archives I realise I never actually posted about the original 'NottingTram' trip so I'd better set the scene a little. Nick had picked up an ale trail leaflet based on the Nottingham tram network so we did a little tour, sampling ales and seeing where the two lines might take us. Probably the most memorable pub was the Malt Cross, a Victorian music hall building with sandstone caves down below, while the Newshouse enticed us as a Castle Rock outlet not far from the Broadmarsh Centre.

- Hucknall Terminus -

As for the trams, we rode out to Clifton South initially before venturing north of the city to the terminus at Hucknall - the stop there is located next door to the local railway station as served by the Robin Hood Line (Nottingham - Mansfield - Worksop). The Beer Shack supplied us with a Hucknall micropub interlude, after which we took to the tracks again Beeston-bound to finish off at the Star and the Cross, two Good Beer Guide boozers that met with a definite thumbs up. NET-wise we were impressed with the frequency of the service and the ability of the trams to negotiate tight corners!

- Class 170 train at Nottingham -

Bringing the story up to date, the 2019 instalment is all set for Friday 5th July. Nick and I reconvene aboard the 10:49 train from Birmingham New Street, but only after Nick has battled Banbury signalling problems that threatened to strand him at Warwick Parkway. Arriving at Nottingham by quarter past twelve, we purchase our £4 NET day tickets and take a short hop to the Lace Market. The old lacemaking quarter around St Mary's Church is where we happen upon the Kean's Head, named after a 19th century Shakespearean actor and setting for our opening half of Wylam's Macchiato Hazelnut Praline Coffee Porter - very moreish!

- Shipstone's Star Brewery -

Where next? How about Basford for some proper Nottingham brewing heritage. The former Shipstone's Star Brewery stands tall on the skyline off Radford Road and is nowadays partially used as the head office for John Pye Auctions. Close at hand is the Lion Inn, a New Basford landmark in its own right and an entry in the 2019 Good Beer Guide. Here we partake of Blue Monkey's Guerrilla Chocolate Amaretto Stout (another taste sensation) and take a peek into an old well which allows views of the cavernous cellars beneath our feet. 

- Poised at Phoenix Park -

The Shipstones name has latterly been revived so we hunt down some of their wares at the Fox & Crown, Old Basford. Nut Brown proves a nice drop while watching some ladies tennis from Wimbledon (Stephen would not approve); other discoveries in the area are the parish church of St Leodegarius, the White Swan Inn (alas converted to offices but the handsome tiled frontage has been retained) and a disused branch of Midland Bank. A quick jaunt to Phoenix Park gives us the third location in our tram terminus collection, this being a park and ride site next to a plumbing supplies compound.

- Bulwell Market -

Mid-afternoon sees us making tracks to Bulwell, a small market town on the River Leen. As with Hucknall, the rail and tram facilities are side by side for convenient interchange potential. Nick grapples with a wiry bull sculpture before we cross over to the Town Square where the market is starting to wind down after 4pm. A Wetherspoons tea comes courtesy of the William Peverel (taking its title from a Norman knight, hence the heraldic theme inside) and we check out the Bull's Well micropub to try the Millstone Hammerhead Stout - "golly that's powerful" being Nick's expert analysis!

- Toton Lane Terminus -

We've been keen throughout to visit the absolute extremities of the network whereby the only one still outstanding is Toton Lane. Getting there requires a cross-city jaunt so we break the journey at Gregory Street, seeking out the Johnson Arms as a traditional local serving the Lenton district of Nottingham. A long single file queue snaking out to the doorstep suggests this is a popular haunt (the Queen's Medical Centre and University of Nottingham are both nearby) but we get our halves of Lincoln Green's Fountain Dale eventually. The final tram stretch towards Toton Lane then carries us beyond Beeston via Chilwell Road and Eskdale Drive; the terminus isn't especially exciting but at least we can say we've done the whole system now.

- Papa Jangles Voodoo Stout -

Given the absence of any obvious pub possibilities in the immediate vicinity (the Magpie approaching Stapleford has apparently shut down), we reboard the tram back to Chilwell Road in anticipation of a Beeston-based nightcap. Totally Tapped does the trick as a micropub and bottle shop operated by Totally Brewed - their Papa Jangles Voodoo Stout is spot on with its coffee, raisin and biscuit flavours. As an added bonus we squeeze in a very swift half at the Victoria Hotel, a classic terracotta inn adjoining the northbound platform at Beeston railway station, with the 20:45 train bringing down the curtain on an epic East Midlands excursion. Cheers!