Nottingham (4) Castle and Rock

 Nottingham Castle was built in William the Conqueror’s time, high on Castle Rock. The Norman castle is no longer there, but there is a 17th century ducal mansion built on the site of the original castle.  It is now the city's main museum and art gallery. We didn't visit, so on the list it goes!
The rock is formed of Nottingham Castle Sandstone, a pale brownish sandstone that is about 65 metres thick in the Nottingham area.  

It is soft and crumbly and easy to dig out.  Caves and tunnels in Castle Rock have been used as stables, tanneries, storage cellars for beer, and as homes. There are more caves in Nottingham than in any other British city, and all are man made. 

This is part of a restored Victorian fern garden

 I didn’t take a tour this time, but they take you from the Castle, down into King David’s dungeon and Mortimer’s Hole. The tour includes 300 steps.

Brewhouse Yard 

Nearby is the Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard.

Should museums be free?

Yes, ideally!

The first reason is that I'm quite incapable of absorbing pictures or exhibits for more than two or three hours without suffering from serious information overload. 

The second reason is that I need more than one look at a painting.  I really appreciated going back to see JayDubya's paintings for a second time at his exhibition in Ashby.  See this post from May

Now, I appreciate the Louvre is another ball game, and it's not at all  expensive at €11 for a day's entry, but if it were free I would probably have gone in for an hour today, and another hour or two later in the week.  And I'd be more inclined to buy merchandise, and overpriced cups of coffee as well.

A compromise - they could make you pay the first time, then allow you up to four more visits within a month.  Lots of people wouldn't be in a position to do that, I suppose, but for those who could, it would be wonderful.

To be fair the Louvre and many other museums do offer a free entry day on the first Sunday of each month.