Skip to content

Nottingham travel

With our central location, an international airport less than 14 miles away from Nottingham's city centre, and Purple Flag status for our night-time economy and student safety, NTU lets you live the full student experience – with the reassurance that friends and family are within easy reach.

Getting to Nottingham

Whether you want a great night out in a new city, or to visit friends and family at home, it's important that you can get where you need to be easily from your new home.

Here's how easy it is to get to Nottingham:

If you’re planning on travelling to Nottingham by train, timetable information is available from National Rail. 16–25 Railcards are available for only £30 a year and offer 1/3 off rail travel.

Nottingham Train Station is just a short walk from the city centre, or you can catch the tram – follow the signs from your platform, and head north on the Phoenix Park or Hucknall lines. The city centre tram stop is less than 10 minutes away and there’s a Nottingham Trent University stop right on our City Campus.

  • Prices: Please see the NET site for more information on ticket prices.
  • Frequency: Trams leave from Nottingham Station every 7-10 minutes.

Here’s how quick it is to visit Nottingham from some of the UK's other major cities by rail:

  • Sheffield – 51 minutes
  • London – 100 minutes
  • Leeds – 103 minutes
  • Manchester – 110 minutes

Travelling to Nottingham by car couldn’t be easier.

You can use the park and ride services to avoid parking in the city centre. We recommend that you use one of the following sites and board any tram serving Toton Lane or Clifton South:

  • The Forest (NG7 6AQ) – journey time: approximately 5 minutes.
  • Wilkinson Street (NG7 7NW) – journey time: approximately 10 minutes.
  • Phoenix Park (NG8 6AS) – journey time: approximately 20 minutes.

Make sure you buy a ticket before you board the tram and alight at the Nottingham Trent University stop.

Visit the NET site for more information.

If you’re intending to park in the city centre, here's a few car parks we recommend:

  • Trinity Square (NG1 4BH)*
  • Talbot Street (NG1 5GG)*
  • The Victoria Centre (NG1 3PR)*

* Has electric charging facilities.

More information on city centre parking can be found on the Nottingham City Council website.

Nottingham's closest airport is East Midlands Airport, which is a hub for lots of low-cost airlines. From here, you can fly to – Alicante, Amsterdam, Barbados, Barcelona, Berlin, Cancun, Corfu, Dublin, Edinburgh, Faro, Fuerteventura, Glasgow, Ibiza, Krakow, Malaga, Milan, New York.

And that’s just a taste of almost 90 destinations around the world.

I love how many different things there are to do and how easy they are to get to - you could have a woodland walk in the morning, then be shopping in the city in the afternoon, and then go to an ice hockey match at night!

Savannah Storm, MRes Endangered Species Recovery and Conservation

Easy travel

One of the things people love most about Nottingham is how easy it is to get here… and then how easy it is to get everywhere else.

Our efficient transport networks were one of the reasons Nottingham is a top 3 UK student city (StudentCrowd user reviews 2021). Choosing NTU as your place of study makes things easy.

 

Hidden gems of Nottingham

Explore Nottingham with final year student Rakshith using a 24-hour unlimited bus ticket.

Getting around Nottingham

This compact city has everything you need – all the shops, restaurants and bars you'd expect from a major city, packed into a city centre that's easy to navigate. Nottingham has an excellent bus and tram network with a range of travel deals and discounts for students.

Nottingham's award-winning public transport services are a great way to explore everything our city has to offer. Nottingham is also the third best city in the UK for sustainable travel (USwitch Sustainable Mobility Index), boasting the largest fleet of double decker biogas-powered buses in the world.

Most of our student accommodation is on-campus, a quick bus journey away, or within easy walking distance of the city centre, so a good time is never far away. Here's everything you need to know about getting around Nottingham.

Nottingham tram network serves the city centre and many of the outlying suburbs and villages. You'll find stops in key locations around the city, including right outside our City Campus and just a short walk from our Clifton Campus.

  • City Campus: board a tram heading for Hucknall, Phoenix Park, Toton Lane and Clifton South and get off at the Nottingham Trent University stop.
  • Clifton Campus: board a tram heading to Clifton South and get off at the Rivergreen stop, which is around a 15-minute walk to the campus.

You must purchase a ticket before boarding a tram. These can be purchased at the tram stop or via the NETGO! ticketing app. Failure to do so can result in a penalty fare. Discounted tickets are available for students, including passes for the Academic Year. Visit the NET website for the latest information on tickets and fares.

Nottingham has an extensive and sustainable bus network, with fast and regular services throughout the city and beyond.

Nottingham City Transport (NCT) offer discounted bus travel for students, with options for both the academic and calendar year and tickets can be purchased on the NCTX Buses app.

  • Clifton Campus: the number 4 bus is a frequent service during term time departing from the Burton Street bus stop (Cornerhouse T7) in the city centre to Clifton Campus and back in around 30 minutes each way. The number 1 bus departs from Beastmarket Hill (B2) in the city centre and will drop you and pick you up just outside the main entrance to Clifton Campus. Visit the NCT website for more information on bus services.
  • Brackenhurst Campus: the purple ‘Path Finder’ number 26 runs every 30 minutes from the King Street bus stop in the city centre to Brackenhurst Campus in around 45 minutes each way. More information on fares and timetables can be found on the NCT website.
  • NTU in Mansfield: use the Stagecoach Pronto service (56-minute journey). All students will receive 30% off travel between Nottingham and NTU Mansfield with a valid NTU ID card.

The cheapest (not to mention healthiest) way to get around is, of course, by bike. There's plenty of cycle routes and quiet roads across the city that make cycling to-and-from campus safe and simple.

No bike? No worries. We have a bike hire scheme available to all of our students, and a hub on City Campus offering expert advice and repairs.

Visit our Cycling at NTU page for more information.

One of the most enjoyable ways to get around Nottingham is by electric scooter. Pick up one of the 1,000 scooters available across Nottingham and go on an affordable and exciting adventure with your friends.

Don't just take our word for it – explore Nottingham and our stunning campuses at one of our open days. One short walk around Nottingham and you'll fall in love.

Book an open day.

You might also be interested in...

Campuses

We’ve got campuses across Nottinghamshire, each uniquely developed to the needs of our NTU community.

Parks and green spaces

Nottingham is known for its beautiful green spaces. From stunning nature reserves to rolling hills, here’s our pick of the best places to chill – in and immediately outside of the city.