flickr.com / Duncan~
Over the years Nottingham has held world recognition for the manufacturing of top class bicycles, lace, and textiles. All of these economic producers ceased profitability after World War II. Today modern buildings stand shoulder to shoulder with architectural structures that date back centuries. The stark distinct differences between these buildings seem only to serve to compliment each other. At the beginning on 2011 Nottingham continued to enjoy a better than average Gross Domestic Product, the third largest in Europe at £22,440 per capita and only second to London.
The tourist trade does a grand business with over 800,000 visitors annually. The main attractions are the legendary Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest, museums, Nottingham Castle, the shopping center built on the site of the railway’s Victoria Station, the Royal Concert Hall and numerous art galleries.
Nottingham is a mecca for many world wide corporation headquarters whose names are household words. Among the most well known firms are Experian, one of the three major credit reporting firms; Capital One’s European headquarters for its credit card services; Siemens, engineering and technologies; and Speedo sportswear.
Nottingham is an active community of sporting activities from soccer and tennis to sailing and rugby with many other games as well. The city has four major graduate institutions; Victoria College, the National College for School Leadership, Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham.
Nottingham is physically located 200 km (125 mi) North West of the capitol city of London and is easily accessible by road and rail travel.
