The leader of the city council says Nottingham Castle's future is now in the hands of the public as people 'flooded through the doors' on its reopening day. Nottingham's official Robin Hood led pupils from the Edna G Olds Academy in Lenton through the gates of the Castle on Monday (June 26) as people queued to enter the historic site for the first time since November.
The grounds of the Castle were open for several screening events in May, including for the King's Coronation and Eurovision, but Monday marked the first time people were able to enter the ducal palace itself. Those waiting to enter the site included Julie and Greg Sydenham, both 53, who are from New South Wales in Australia.
They were visiting Nottingham Castle as part of their tour around the UK. Mrs Sydenham said: "We've been in Nottingham for the last few days and we had hoped to visit the Castle yesterday, but we arrived to find it closed and then discovered it was reopening today. We started in London, did a hot lap around Ireland and Scotland, and we're back in London this afternoon, so our timing is perfect and we feel quite privileged to be here for this."
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One person particularly pleased to get back inside Nottingham Castle was the city's official Robin Hood, Tim Pollard, who said it felt like "being home again." Mr Pollard led school pupils through the Castle gates at 10am after giving a rousing address alongside the Sheriff of Nottingham, joking that the pair had declared a "temporary truce" for the day.
Mr Pollard said: "The site has been closed for a while, the council have taken it back again and it's joyous. Nottingham is obviously not defined by the Castle, but the Castle is a really important part of its history. For it to be shut is to cut everybody from a really important part of the community."
The pupils who were first to enter the Castle included Georgia Corsi, nine, who said: "I really liked seeing Robin Hood and I like coming to the Castle to learn about the history of Nottingham." Kyle Musteyami, nine, added: "I was very excited because I really like the Castle and I was looking forward to seeing Robin Hood."
Councillor Shuguftah Quddoos, who serves as the Sheriff of Nottingham, and also represents the Berridge ward for Labour, spoke about the importance of the Castle by saying: "The Castle is the jewel in the crown of the city, because it's right in the heart of the centre. It's so easy to get to on the bus and the tram, most castles you have to trek up a hill or drive out to the middle of nowhere.
"The Castle for Nottingham is such an integral part of its identity because of its location and being so accessible. To see so many people here of all ages, of all backgrounds, makes my heart flutter."
The site had been run since 1878 by Nottingham City Council until 2018, when it closed for a £31 million transformation. Control was then handed over to the Nottingham Castle Trust in May 2019, with the venue reopening in the summer of 2021. But the Trust went into liquidation last November and the council decided to take on the site again.
Key figures behind the preparations for reopening previously said getting Nottingham Castle ready in 13 weeks has been a "tremendous undertaking." Nottingham City Council's Leader, Councillor David Mellen, was asked whether the public could now be assured of the Castle's future.
Councillor Mellen said: "It's in their hands really. If they visit this castle and manage to meet our costs through paying the reasonable ticket price and spending lots of time here, I don't think the future of the Castle is in any doubt.
"Clearly it was difficult when the Trust opened because it was in the middle of covid, we haven't got those restrictions now. Hopefully, the signs we see this morning are that people want to be here and are glad to be coming through those gates again."
A new ticketing arrangement means adults who pay £12 once will be able to visit all year, with the price also including access to the Brewhouse Yard Cottages, Robin Hood Adventures and Rebellion Galleries. Two cave tours, Mortimer's Hole and King David's Dungeon, will be running at a cost of £5 per person whilst the new Land Train, which first launched last summer, will return at weekends and in the peak holiday season.
A brand new exhibition to mark the 75th anniversary of Windrush Day will also be at the site, as well as several art pieces by Jemisha Maadhavji and Tim Fowler. Councillor Mellen added: "It's great that we've got people flooding through the doors.
"This is a Monday morning in the school term and yet we've got lots of people here, some from Nottingham and some from further afield. We want our historic site to be a place people want to come to and with the new ticket pricing, I hope these grounds will be full of people everyday."
