Some people prefer peace and quiet rather than a busier area like the city centre, where you can hear the constant hustle and bustle of people and the beeping of car horns. And that is exactly what neighbours in Beechdale say they love about their 'blissfully quiet' community.
The suburb is home to independent shops and, in more recent years, the Beechdale retail park and the Beechdale Pub on Beechdale Road. Off the main road, there are streets of people living in a mixture of semi-detached houses and bungalows.
Nottinghamshire Live went to Beechdale to see what residents think of the area and many people have praised the area, with hardly any criticisms. Kate Wilkinson, a 49-year-old nursery nurse, has lived in the area for 26 years.
She said: “The area has its moments but most of the time, it’s blissfully quiet. People are pleasant and nice and it’s an ideal place to raise a family I’d say.
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“I grew up in Nuthall but I honestly do prefer it here. We have great shops, everyone I know was so excited when the retail park opened and it’s just a nice area, hardly anything really kicks off.
“I know that we have a Greggs at the retail park and the butchers do some nice pastries but it would be lovely if the area had an independent bakery. The Beechdale Pub is great, especially in the summer. It's just nice to sit out on the benches and have a drink or two.”
Other people who live in the area also mentioned how great the butchers G.Kemp & Son on 431 Beechdale Road is, including 78-year-old Barry Louis Ambrose, a Beechdale resident now retired.
Barry said: “There’s a lot around here but we have the best butchers in England. I usually get lamb shank and Hock. I’m a Geordie but I moved here in 1944. I’ve never had a problem in the area.”
Barry, who has never gone for a drink in the Beechdale Pub, does occasionally go to the retail park. He used to live on Clarendon Street near the city centre years ago when he first moved to Nottingham.
Barry continued and said: “I do like the area, it’s quiet and there’s everything you need here.” Rex Rowe, who is 89 and also lives in the area, used to have his own bakery and still bakes.
He said: “The reason I bought this house is because I used to have a bakery in Radford and it was fine to get the bus from here up to Derby Road. There were some wonderful shops there.
“There’s been a wool shop - it was one of the best and there was a bike repair shop too. The butcher is great, I come here all the time and it gets busy especially at Christmas time, you should see the queues.”
After hearing wonderful reviews of G.Kemp & Son, Nottinghamshire Live went inside to speak with Ian Kemp who, 6 years ago, took over the business from his father. Ian said: “My dad was here since 1978.
“Our own baked stuff is very popular. We make 90% of everything our customers are excellent and we get a good age range of people coming in. Our customers are loyal and they’ve been supportive for many years.”
After very little persuasion, we tried one of G.Kemp and Son’s affordable, triple gold, award-winning pies and now, we understand what all this fuss is about.
For £3.69, we tried a pork pie that had a layer of both chicken and ham. It was glorious.
The pie smelt fresh and it tasted even better, no complaints whatsoever. Next time we’re in Beechdale, we’ll have to grab a sausage roll from G.Kemp & Son!
