Victoria Embankment Memorial Garden

WHAT IT’S LIKE

Green Flag award-winning riverside park with memorial garden, play area, playing fields and paddling pool.

This Green Flag award-winning park beside the River Trent is one of Nottingham's most popular green spaces, combining a formal Memorial Garden with a big playing field, a play area, a scooter/bike agility course with its own mini traffic lights, and a paddling pool that's due to reopen for the season. The park opened in 1927 on land donated by Sir Jesse Boot and is Grade II listed, so you'll find original plant beds, footpaths and mature trees alongside the war memorial, Queen Victoria statue, ornamental pond and fountains, and a bandstand, plenty to explore even before the kids hit the play equipment. There's a wildlife garden too, and dogs are welcome on leads in designated areas. Getting there is easy without a car: the NET tram runs along Queen's Walk and stops close to the entrance, plus there are regular buses and cycle access. If you do drive, there's a car park on Green Street, on-street and disabled parking on Victoria Embankment itself, and a disabled-access route via the footpath next to the Playing Fields, useful for buggies too. The 1881 café on site does toilets (and presumably food and drink) from 10am-4pm daily, while the football pavilion toilets are open weekdays 9am-2pm only, so time bathroom breaks accordingly. There's also an ice cream concession for warmer days. The paddling pool is seasonal, running 2 May to 31 August, 10am-6pm (dates subject to change), so worth checking before you pack swimwear. A downloadable Tree Trail lets you turn a walk into a spot-the-species game with older children, and the park hosts a busy events programme through the year including the Riverside Festival. A friends' group, the Memorial Garden Association (MeGA), runs volunteer gardening and fundraising events if you fancy getting more involved locally.