East Midlands

The East Midlands guide is compiled by Mark Patterson


Airport Information


  • The Skylink goes to all three cities every 30 minutes. Tickets: Derby £3; Nottingham £5; and Leicester £6.

  • Holiday Taxis (easyjet.holidaytaxis.com) take you from home to the airport, then city or destination.

  • Visit the Europcar desk on arrival for special easyJet inflight rates.

  • The fare to Derby is about £26, Nottingham £28 and Leicester £37.

  • Take the Railink bus (every 30 minutes) to the new Parkway train station to connect with the train. Tickets: £2.

Bon Appetit

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    (17 Broad Street, Nottingham. Tel. 0115 959 8890)
    This strangely old-fashioned, non-alcoholic café in Nottingham's Lace Market mixes the old and new, serving up WiFi with dozens varieties of loose-leaf tea.
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    (2 Kings Walk, Nottingham. Tel. 0115 947 3767)
    An informal restaurant, up a steep staircase, that dishes up consistently great food. It's the first choice for lovers of French cuisine in the city centre.
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    (1 Market Street, Bottesford, Nottingham. Tel. 01949 842 375)
    Serves fine modern British cuisine and also provides an informal wine lounge - although the prices on the 'mesmerising' wine list shouldn't scare anybody off. Try the roast pavé of venison on creamy wild mushroom and smoked bacon casserole.
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    (Calver Road, Baslow. Tel. 01246 583 259)
    This ivy-fronted Edwardian pile, near the Chatsworth Estate, doesn't disappoint as a classic country-house hotel retreat. The Michelin-starred restaurant, with Rupert Rowley at the helm, provides a six-course tasting menu at £63 per head.

After Dark

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    (2 Stratford Road, West Bridgford. Tel. 0115 982 5981)
    A plastic music-free, real-ale haven, the 'Strat' serves well-kept beer and good food within spitting distance of Trent Bridge cricket ground and two football stadiums.
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    (St James Street, Nottingham. Tel. 0115 941 1048)
    This restored Victorian music hall in the city centre does do live gigs - but you're just as likely to see exhibitions and multimedia 'art experiences'.
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    (27 Colyear Street, Derby. Tel. 01332 332 565)
    A frothy, full-on club experience with dancers, stage shows, drink promos, the usual. It hosted the Miss Derby beauty contest… you get the idea. Open from 10am-3pm.

This month...

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  • French Living, with its Gallic cheeses, wines and other tasty and tasteful bits and pieces, appeals to Francophiles. You can eat and drink in the attached café and restaurant (27 King Street, Nottingham. Tel. 0115 958 5885).
  • July is a great time to visit the Derbyshire Peak District and not just because 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the law that created the UK's national parks. This month the Peak District - established in 1951 - is alive with guided walks from short, fun events to strenuous moorland hikes (www.peakdistrict.gov.uk).
  • High summer is not complete without a vintage steam show… and the annual Rempstone Steam and Country Show, outside the village of Rempstone, on the Leicestershire/Nottinghamshire border, is among the best (11-12 July. www.rempstonesteam.org).
  • As one of only two National Trust properties in Nottinghamshire, the 1,500-hectare Clumber Park, one of the old Dukeries estates, is a must for summer rural/historic days out. This month, the restored Victorian walled garden, with its large fruit glasshouses, should be at its best. It's about 45 minutes away by car from Nottingham.

Tips

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  • The Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray is famed for its pork pies. It is also said to be where the expression 'paint the town red' originated, after 19th-century fox hunters marked their day's hunting success by splashing red paint on local houses.

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