Bridgeford-on-the-Hill (Nottingham in General)

Member Name: helencb

Product:	Nottingham in General
Date:	26/01/08 (385 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Attractive place to live, easy to commute, lively village atmosphere, loads of communities

Disadvantages: none

I have moved about 20 times in my life, or once every two years on average and that includes my early years in England, most of my adult life in Scotland, apart from a couple of years in Australia, and for the last few years I have lived in the East Midlands in the village of East Bridgford, Notts.

Thanks to the plethora of programs on TV about the best and worse places to live in Britain, you could be forgiven for assuming that the whole of Nottinghamshire was rough, with modern day highwaymen brandishing knives and guns. In fact where I live now is the nicest place I have ever lived in my life, by far (including those two years having to stare at Sydney Harbour and Bridge every morning..!)

I moved into the village just two years ago now - having spent almost a year house-hunting - well deciding where to live when you are moving to an area you don't know is a challenge in itself. We needed to be within a commute of the city centre for my husband's job, although I had negotiated to work at home with my then employer, as I was road based, using Matlock Bath as a base, so we were able to look far and wide. In the event we looked as far north as Matlock Bath, as well as West Bridgford nr the City Centre, and as far apart as Grantham, Newark on Trent and even Melton Mowbray. We soon decided that one of the Eastern villages on the Nottingham - Grantham route would be most ideal for us. In fact, we could not have picked a better location, as I left that job after a year and had to commute to Grantham, then I left that and now commute 20 miles north of Lincoln (which itself is only 35 minutes away by car)

Anyway East Bridgford. The town itself is situated just off the A46 which is the old Roman Road, which is as straight as a poker and runs from Lincoln across country through Newark, Leicester and Cheltenham. In the late 17th century much of the parish belonged to Magdalen College, Oxford.

Our nearest town is the Market town of Bingham about three miles away, a pretty town with enough shops for every day living and on the Nottingham train line. In the other direction 3miles we have Lowdham, a village bigger than East Bridgford, which has an annual book fair and came under attack from the floods in 2007.

East Bridgford has two main roads which run through it - one connects the A46 to the Trent at Gunthorpe and the other links the B6097 Doncaster road back to the village of Kneeton and the A46 further up towards Newark. These roads cross in the village centre, and it is a pretty walk down to the Trent at Gunthorpe where several riverside pubs, a coffee shop and restaurants are vibrant during the summer months. There is still some industry alongside the river here, including chandlery, and the seams of gypsum are clearly visible in the rock. The water at the weir is recognised as a potential source of power generation, and we have a local committee who are actively pursuing opportunities to develop and distribute electricity to the local area and onto the national grid.

The houses on the Kneeton Road are predominantly of a medieval construction, with long thin plots on either side of the road, and the gable ends of the properties face the roadside. Much of the property and area is in fact a listed area, and it should be. As you wander down to the river you come across the site of the old motte and bailey castle that used to exist here. The water's edge is busy with walkers, fishermen and ramblers, as well as families and even bikers in the summer months.
East Bridgford is a village with a population of just 1800 people and there is a mixture of newer housing behind the older housing on the main streets. However despite its small size, there is a huge amount of activity going on!

The primary school is probably the best in Nottinghamshire and consistently achieves OFSTED excellent ratings. The Headmaster is very much involved in the local community particularly with the organisation of the annual East Bridgford Village Show which is part of "Feast Week", a week long program of local activity culminating in a celebration on the village's playing fields. There are frequent flyovers by the red arrows and other flights of mention as they head back to RAF Scampton near Lincoln. The school has other claims to fame however - one of its dinner ladies was fed up with serving junk food to children so she single handedly set about reforming the menu by sourcing local suppliers - indeed the original "Dinner Lady" years before Jamie Oliver's program although he has now endorsed her book. At school parents can join in with the kids and eat lunch there if they so wish. This is not however the only claim to fame for a small village, in fact the first video recorder was actually invented here (and evidence of this is in Wollaton Hall in Nottingham)

There are two pubs in the village, as well as the pubs and restaurants lower down on the banks of the Trent. The Reindeer Inn is the nicer pub in my opinion (but then it's too convenient for me), and it serves fantastic home cooked cuisine in its cosy restaurant. This pub follows the medieval structure of the other homes on Kneeton Road and adjoins the "reindeer fields" behind. The area is still very much used for local farming, and if you want fresh eggs then you can get them here. Last night they even had local "Gloucester Old Spot" pork roast on the menu....born in East Bridgford. The locals are very friendly, far more so than any other "local" pub I have been in - in fact I had a hard job keeping my Dad out at Christmas time, particularly as it is rather too close to my house for comfort. The Reindeer hosts an annual bonfire night celebration, which I have to confess I don't attend, as the view is better from my top bedroom across the street! During the summer the beer garden is fully occupied, and most weekends have an outdoor act providing entertainment.

There are no end of clubs and societies within the village, and there is no excuse to say there is nothing to do. The village magazine is delivered by hand once a month, and this is probably the easiest way to find out about what is going on. Active clubs include the Historical Society (who supervised a dig on Pancake Hill, the site of the old Castle), the Bridge club, Art Society, Drama groups, WI, lifeboat guild, and Men's society (although I find they have some of the most interesting talks about village life and society!). The historical society have produced a sizeable hardback book of the area.

There are two churches in the village, St Peter's CofE and the Methodist Church. St Peter's is at the crossroads in the village and it really is quite a special place, its graveyard spilling down the road towards the Trent.

In terms of facilities, as well as the two pubs and two churches and school there is the WI hut, a post office and general store, a hairdressers, the marina, a newsagent and a very well equipped and modern health centre including a pharmacy.

Perhaps surprisingly, as I guess I am in an industry which forces travel, some 25% of residents make their living here or within five miles (which can only include Bingham, Lowdham and perhaps Radcliffe on Trent). There are plenty of people who have their own business and work from home, and many residents have lived here for years and years, moving within the village as their circumstances changed. The last time my home changed hands before 2006 when I bought it was sometime in the 1950s I think!

The village is Nottinghamshire's representative in the 2008 Village of the Year competition and judges will visit the village in May.

When I first came to the village, to look externally at the house I now own, I did say to my husband that I would buy the house without even looking inside. Two years later and I would probably say the same thing - it really is a special place to live.

Summary: A relaxing, friendly and safe place to live.