Overnight in Nottingham

The 5 mile Beeston Canal bypasses an un-navigable section of the river Trent and takes us through central Nottingham. I thought this would be a treat, but the anticipation of a big shopping centre failed to excite me once I got out to explore. I morn the demise of a proper high street with independent shops selling goods they are proud of. But it’s not all bad, there has been some effort to take advantage of the canal and make it into an attractive community space.Fellows Morton and Clayton had a big warehouse and wharf here which is now a thriving bar selling craft beer.One good thing about town centre canals is that there’s often a supermarket close enough for me to surreptitiously take a full trolley right back to the boat.  And there was a super view of the castle from the retail park. Mooring was unrestricted by Sainsbury’s but we moved on around the corner to take advantage of an over hanging tree. Although there were a lot of people using the tow path and some rough sleepers, it was a quiet night. We set off the next day to complete the last two miles of this section.Quite a mix of old and new buildings to catch our attention. Nottingham is a tall city. This one particularly caught our eye.And some lovely bridges.although not every one agrees with CRT’s recent rebranding, spending goodness knows how much on promoting the canal network to a wider audience. Not sure how wide an audience this sign will reach being underneath the bridge.