People living near the Arboretum say they love life their in the sun and only have positive things to say about living next to the popular walking and picnicking spot. Among the other favourite things mentioned to Nottinghamshire Live were the local Wetherspoons, the Gooseberry Bush, and the fact the Arboretum Park is only minutes away from all the shops in town.
Libby Davies, 21 currently lives near the Arboretum Park. Libby, who is originally from Leeds, lives with four other people. She said: “I love it around here. Last year, I lived in Lenton and I didn’t like it as much, it’s much calmer around here.
“It’s never completely quiet but it’s never noisy.” To Libby, the best thing about living in the area is the Arboretum Park.
She continued and said: “Like today when the sun's out, we all dropped what we were doing to go and sit in the sun. I’ve had the best memories at the Arboretum and when you’re there you get chatting to people too, you’ll leave the park with two new friends!
“I have a lot of sunset pictures of the park on my phone and a lot of photos with friends.”
There is however a downside to the park’s popularity. Libby said: “I hate it when I see that people have littered, it costs nothing to put something in the bin or just put it in your own bag if the bins are full but apart from that, it’s great, you’ll have the best time when the sun's out especially.”
George Walker, 22, has finished his studies in Nottingham. Originally from Hull, George has decided to stay in Nottingham.
After moving to the Arboretum in his second year of university, George decided to stay for his third year. He said: “It’s nice round here. I walk down to the Gooseberry Bush a lot, me and my friends like it there and living here, you’re just close to everything.
“I’ve had some good times on the Arboretum, I prefer it to the Forest. When the sun's out, it’s the first place people will pick to enjoy themselves.
“It's just something to do, have a chat with people, everyone puts in some money to buy snacks to share, play some music. Meeting up at the Arboretum is one of the cheapest social things to do.”
Similarly to Lenton and other areas close to the city centre, the Arboretum is home to many students. 46-year-old Kelly James lives in the area and has no problem with living amongst a large population of students.
The mortgage adviser said: “I have no problem living near so many students. There’s a group of lads just across the street from me and you never hear them.
“When they first moved in, they asked when bin day was. It’s not noisy around here and when you look out onto the park on a nice day just the amount of people there is wonderful to see - it was concerning over Covid when people weren’t socially distant but everything's [restrictions] are lifted now."
Kelly who has lived in the area for 4 years continued and said: “I no longer have a dog, but when I did I used to walk him there [at the Arboretum park] all the time. Wollaton park too has always been a good walking spot but the Arboretum is pretty much on my doorstep."
Oliver Birchnall, 19 doesn’t live in the area but knows people that do. Now training to be in the Army, Oliver has many good memories at the Arboretum.
The Newstead resident said: “It’s a nice little community and in the summer, you get the students having their parties. My favourite thing about this area is the Arboretum.
“Last summer, we had a socially distant BBQ. We went to Tesco, got an instant BBQ and sat out on here, we thought it was important for everyone's mental health, it was no good just texting people.”
