Neighbours on what is rumoured to be the longest cul-de-sac in Europe have spoken of the 'nice and quiet' life on their road. Residents on Charlbury Road in Wollaton would have to walk a kilometre to reach the end of the massive street - which for a relaxed walker would take around 15 minutes.
There are more than 250 houses on the street, for which the only exits are back out through the Radford Bridge Road entrance or on-foot through down the Woodyard Walkway. Locals have a long-held belief the road is or was at some point the longest cul-de-sac in Europe - with most citing a rumoured entry in The Guinness Book of Records and others saying it was stated on the back of old Walkers Crisp packets.
Because of distance from end of end of the road, its community bus does not have a dedicated stop, instead picking up and dropping people on their own drive, according to residents. Retiree Bob Barks, 87, who moved onto the road in 1961, said: "It is a nice road and in the past everybody knew each other, that's changed a bit with older people going and new people moving in - I think there were about half a dozen cars here when I came! I've heard of it being in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest cul-de-sac in Europe too.
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"It's a very pleasant place, the only issue would maybe be how many cars are parked up now. But the people here are pretty good and don't block your drive, I think because we live in a cul-de-sac its nice and quiet and you know of the people walking about."
Jenny Domansky, 50, who has lived on the road for most of her life, said: "I have lived here since I was born in 1972. I moved to Clifton at one point and then moved back, my dad still lives down here too.
"The good thing is that near the end of the cul-de-sac we are all very friendly and look out for each other. The area is great - the schools nearby are amazing and the Co-op is near here as well now.
"I know it used to be in the Guinness Book of Records for being the longest. It's interesting because from what I know half of the houses are pre-war and the other half were built post-war."
Retirees Bob Davis, 82, and Jean Davis, 76, said the road was also stated to be the longest on the back of an old crisps packet. "I saw first that it was the longest cul-de-sac on an old packet of Walker's Crisps - many years ago. It's a fair old walk," Mr Davis added.
"It's a nice place to live, we have lived here for 50 years. We used to know everybody down here and still know a lot of people who have stayed, but you also have new families and renters moving in."
"The street is so long that the community bus that comes round will just stop at your house number, and they will pick you up off your drive - it's a tiring walk for older people," Mrs Davis explained.
When contacted by Nottinghamshire Live, Guinness World Records could not find any mention of Charlbury Road in their database, and added they only monitor record titles on a global level, not for Europe specifically. Despite this fact, the rumour has become part of life even for those that have moved to the road more recently.
Raj Khambay, 53, who works as a draftsman and has lived at the end of the cul-de-sac since 2003, said: "It's about a mile long to the roundabout and I've been told before about the rumoured world record. I like living here, it's a nice street, everyone gets on.
"Unlike most places there's no issues with parking or people driving through here at all. The only people that come up here usually live here, so they're familiar faces."
Abdul Hussain, 18, who is a student and grew up on the road, said: "It is a nice place to be, everyone knows everybody else. The neighbours told us about the claim it was the longest cul-de-sac in Europe when we moved here.
"A did a run of it and it took ages, there's loads of houses on this one road. The bus will just stop right outside people's houses because it's so long."
Ben Harris, 25, who works as a painter and routinely visits his partner on the road, said: "I've heard that it is the longest in Europe many times from her parents. The only place you can get to is through the alleyway that goes to Wollaton Park.
"I think the people are quite friendly here. And only people who live here or are walking dogs come down here. so it's probably safer and quieter than most places."
Hilary Silvester, executive chair of the Nottingham Civic Society, thought there was some merit to the claims. "It was built in the 1930s, and I certainly think it is fair to call it the longest cul-de-sac in the country, and it has said to have been the longest in Europe," Ms Silvester said.
"I don't know at all why they built it like that. Part of the road's housing was constructed in the 1930s and then the others were built after the war.
"It's a mile long, 1072m is quite a walk for people at the end. I know there's a community bus that comes all the way down and then has to do a 360 degree turn at the end."
