Nottingham first dates
Date Ideas in Nottingham: Caves, Lace, Late Trams
Nine easy first dates, from sandstone caves to a deer park, with trams running past midnight Monday to Saturday.
Look round Nottingham Contemporary in the Lace Market, walk across to the Old Market Square, then choose the City of Caves for a wet evening or Wollaton Park’s deer for a dry afternoon. Trams run until about half past midnight, Monday to Saturday.
Nottingham sits on low hills above the River Trent, and its middle is small enough to cross on foot, which suits a first date: a short walk, one thing to look at and a tram stop when you’ve both had enough. Nine ideas follow, sorted by mood, with more cities on the date ideas hub and the basics in our first date ideas guide.
Outdoors and easy
Walks with a natural ending
Old Market Square
About three acres of pedestrianised square, with two stone lions guarding the Council House. Meet by the lions: it is public, central and has a tram stop of its own.
The Lace Market
Red-brick warehouses, iron railings and red phone boxes in the old lace-trading quarter. Nottingham Contemporary and the National Justice Museum are both here, and the tram stops on Fletcher Gate.
The canal at Castle Lock
The canal runs close to the centre and the railway station, then rises through Castle Lock under the castle. Old industrial buildings along it now hold bars, should you fancy a drink.
Worth a proper look
Places with a story to tell
Nottingham Castle
Castle Rock has cliffs 130 feet high, and a Stuart mansion stands where a Norman castle began in 1068. An adult ticket is £18 plus a booking fee on the castle’s site, but it lasts a year, so call it a second-date plan.
Wollaton Hall and Park
An Elizabethan house of the 1580s on a hill in a 500-acre park, home to over 90 red deer and 120 fallow deer. The park asks you to keep 50 metres from them. The Hall’s adult ticket is £18.
Green’s Windmill
A working 19th-century tower windmill in Sneinton, where the mathematician George Green once milled. Entry carries no charge, but open days are set (Wednesday to Sunday when we checked), so look first.
Rain, cold or both
When the weather says stay in
Nottingham Contemporary
A contemporary art centre that opened in 2009, clad in lace-pattern panels. Entry carries no charge: you book a ticket and can leave a donation. It is closed on Mondays.
City of Caves
A network of caves cut into the sandstone, used as a tannery, pub cellars and an air-raid shelter. Nobody here will ask if you’ve seen the dessert menu. Check the entrance and price on the day.
National Justice Museum
Housed in the Georgian Shire Hall, once the city’s main court and prison. Plenty to look at, a roof overhead and a natural end when you’ve seen enough. Check the ticket price first.
Pick by the clock
How long have you got?
- An hour. Old Market Square to the Lace Market, then a gallery.
- Two hours. The canal at Castle Lock, a look up at the castle’s cliffs and a tram back.
- An afternoon. Wollaton Park and its deer, with the Hall’s natural history museum as the wet-weather plan.
- An evening. A stroll through the Lace Market, then a tram from its stop or Old Market Square.
After dark
Getting home from a Nottingham date
The trams do most of the work. The operator calls it a turn-up-and-go service, with a tram every 7 to 10 minutes from Monday to Saturday. Its timetable page lists the last trams from Old Market Square between about 12.21am and 12.39am, depending on your line, and an hour earlier on Sundays. The Lace Market and Nottingham Station stops finish in the same window.
Look up the last bus on your own route rather than assuming one. If you take a taxi, book through a licensed firm or use a rank, and send a friend the registration.
Before you go
Meeting someone from Forget Dinner
Forget Dinner has members in and around Nottingham. Say hello in the site’s chat, where a warning appears if someone tries to take you to another messaging app. Choose a public spot from this page, tell a friend where you’ll be and settle your own way home before you leave.
An hour is a fair first date: long enough to find out, short enough to stop. Read how the site looks after members, or see who is near you.
The UK mix leans towards the mid-thirties to mid-fifties, with around six in ten members aged 35 to 54, and women are nearly as numerous as men.
Members in the UK by age, as shares of everyone listed.
Nottingham date questions
What can we do in Nottingham on a first date besides dinner?
Look round Nottingham Contemporary and the Lace Market, walk from Old Market Square to the canal at Castle Lock, or spend an afternoon among the deer at Wollaton Park. For rain, the City of Caves and the National Justice Museum keep you dry.
Can I get the tram home after a date?
Yes, within limits. The tram operator’s timetable page shows the last trams from Old Market Square leaving between about 12.20am and 12.40am, Monday to Saturday, and around an hour earlier on Sundays. Check the live times before you order another round.
Are there any dates in Nottingham with no entry fee?
Nottingham Contemporary and Green’s Windmill both list entry with no charge; the gallery asks you to book, and the windmill keeps set open days. Walking round Old Market Square, the Lace Market and the canal costs nothing more than a tram fare. More in cheap date ideas.
Is Nottingham Castle a good first date?
It suits a second date better. An adult ticket is £18 plus a booking fee on the castle’s site, though that ticket lasts 12 months. For a first meeting, a shorter walk in the Lace Market keeps the stakes low.
Elsewhere in the Midlands and beyond
Someone near the Lace Market is up for a wander
Say what you’re after, see who’s nearby and suggest a first stop.
Start chatting