My Favourite Spots in Nottinghamshire by Ezekial Bone

This week we asked resident ghost and local tour guide Ezekial Bone to share his favourite places in Nottinghamshire with us.  If you would like to share your ‘favourites’ with us, email us at social@experiencenottinghamshire.com or use the comment section below. You may feature on our blog and our various social media platforms.   "My favourite haunts in Nottinghamshire are places seemingly caught between times. A place held dear in many Nottingham hearts is the monument to the arts that is the Theatre Royal. Built and re-built by the greatest Victorian architects, it breathed life into a derelict part of old Nottingham and transformed the area in the middle of the 19th century into a new and elegant quarter of the town. In the 20th century, as the development of the town continued, an ugly underpass encroached on the Royal space and threatened to undermine it. But, common sense prevailed and the theatre stands today, a focal point for the re-birth of the city in the 21st century in the centre of the revamped Theatre Square. The Theatre Royal is royal, proud and defiant, a ‘glorious survivor’ and a reminder of a bygone era. To walk through the natural wonder that is Sherwood Forest among the living monuments of ancient oaks is to be nurtured by Mother Nature. Different times of the year cast different lights on this special place and life can be seen through different eyes. A timeless place that lies at the heart of this great country, its story is entwined over the centuries with the rise and fall of the British Empire and the very foundations of the English nation. To understand this place, is to be humbled to it. A very relaxing place is the Arboretum, the ‘green lungs’ of a Victorian industrial town, gifted to us by the great men who were building a city. As the seasons turn, the landscape becomes a constantly changing canvas of colours, a man-made natural wonder which expressed the wonders of God’s creation to the Victorian mind.  On the hilly pathways snaking past exotic trees, rockeries on a lake, statues of Nottingham notables and monuments to distant Empire wars, the modern city is occasionally glimpsed through the greenery. It is in reality little more than a stone's throw away, but somehow it seems a whole world away. A true ‘Neverland’, the Arboretum is a feast for the imagination and the perfect place to muse.  A town full of contradictions and ironies, another favourite haunt is alongside Nottingham Castle. Walking in the shadow of its great walls, on a dreary winter's night, the grey post-war world of Arthur Seaton (from Alan Sillitoe's Saturday Night, Sunday Morning) spins into mind, with people working their fingers to the bone, wishing for a better life.  When the wonderful new future arrived, it was reflected in buildings like People’s College, and what has been described as ‘the ugliest road in Europe’, Maid Marian Way. But, scratch beneath the concrete surface of the modern town and an amazing story is being told. The Trip to Jerusalem is the perfect place to reflect upon this life as the wheels of history revolve… and the city, around us, evolves." Find more information on Ezekial Bone and how to venture on one of his tours at www.facebook.com/Ezekial.Bone or by visiting one of the following links: Guts & Gore Tours  Magic Lantern Tours  Ezekial Bone Tours of Nottingham