The castle, Wollaton and the Lace Market are familiar Nottingham shoot locations, but the wider county has woodland, heritage buildings and other settings to consider. This list combines county options with city locations such as the Exchange Arcade and Castle Wharf. Check access before choosing your route.
Before you go: permits, access and timing in Nottinghamshire
Commercial photography on Nottingham City Council land, including Victoria Embankment, the Arboretum and most city parks, goes through Filming in Nottingham. The application requires a risk assessment and proof of public liability insurance, with a target response of three working days.
For wedding and engagement photography at a National Trust property, contact the site directly to agree access and any fee. Other commercial work requires a signed contract through the Trust’s Filming and Locations Office. Its published policy bans indoor flash and tripods and prohibits drones. Ask which process applies to your session.
Canal & River Trust towpaths have a separate filming and photography permit scheme. It requires an online application, risk assessment and at least five million pounds of public liability insurance. Allow a minimum of five working days and pay the quoted location fee before the shoot.
Sunset shifts by almost six hours between midsummer and midwinter. A 5pm session can catch good light in September but will be after dark in December, so check daylight for the date as well as your availability.
Ten locations in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
Use the postcodes to plan the journey, then check each location’s permission and access requirements.
1. Clumber Park, Worksop (S80 3AZ)
Clumber Park is a National Trust property. Agree engagement or wedding photography and the fee directly; non-members also pay for parking. Lime Tree Avenue is two miles of double lime planting, described as the longest avenue of its kind in Europe. Its east-west direction lets late light run along the trees. The Gothic Revival chapel provides a spire against the sky, with a serpentine lake for wider pictures. Clumber is a 30-mile journey from the city, so I would make it a session on its own. The avenue is a live road; keep clear of traffic.
2. Rufford Abbey Country Park, Ollerton (NG22 9DF)
Rufford Abbey Country Park is owned by Nottinghamshire County Council and run by Parkwood Outdoors. Parking is paid, visitor access follows the park’s terms, and a commercial session needs agreement from the team. The Cistercian undercroft has stone vaulting and even light from one side, useful on a bright day. The formal gardens and lake give you three backgrounds within ten minutes’ walk. Weekend crowds build from about eleven, so try opening time or a weekday.
3. Sherwood Forest and the Major Oak, Edwinstowe (NG21 9RN)
Sherwood Forest’s 450 acres are managed by an RSPB-led consortium with the county council. Check admission terms, paid parking and commercial photography with the visitor centre. The Major Oak is fenced and viewed from a boardwalk, so it works as part of a wider scene. Other ancient oaks along the main path offer bare limbs and textured trunks. Under the canopy you lose about two stops of light; try the clearings. Allow a fifteen-minute walk each way and wear flat shoes.
4. Papplewick Pumping Station, Ravenshead (NG15 9AJ)
Papplewick Pumping Station is a Grade II* listed Victorian waterworks. Its photography and filming policy requires a paid booking; full wedding hire includes three hours’ exclusive use of the grounds and Engine House for photographs. Inside are polished brass, wrought iron, stained glass and painted columns. The Par Terre lawn and cooling pond give outdoor options. The Engine House is dark with mixed light sources, so plan additional lighting. Reflected light from the brass is warm; account for that when exposing and grading darker skin tones.
5. Southwell Minster, Southwell (NG25 0HD)
Check Southwell Minster’s visitor terms and donation arrangements. An organised shoot needs permission, and interior access is at the Minster’s discretion. At this East Midlands minster, the Norman nave has substantial Romanesque pillars, while the Chapter House contains the carvings known as the Leaves of Southwell. Outside, the green gives a view of the twin pyramidal spires. It is a working building seven days a week, with services and weddings taking priority. Ring before travelling.
6. Green’s Windmill, Sneinton (NG2 4QB)
Green’s Windmill is a restored working tower mill run as a museum. Check admission terms and arrange a booked session directly. A low viewpoint can put the turning sail diagonally across the frame, with the city beyond Sneinton hill. Space is limited: the garden comfortably holds about eight people, so it suits a couple more readily than a large bridal party.
7. The Exchange Arcade, Old Market Square (NG1 2DD)
The Exchange Arcade is privately managed inside the Council House. Clear a booked shoot with centre management. Its glazed dome, painted ceiling panels and marble give an indoor architectural setting, with symmetry along the arcade’s length. The overhead light is soft, and the roughly north-south orientation limits raking sun. Aim for the first half hour after opening, before shoppers make wide photographs harder.
8. Victoria Embankment and the Memorial Gardens (NG2 2JY)
Victoria Embankment and the Memorial Gardens are on Nottingham City Council land. Personal photography is free, while commercial sessions go through FilmApp. The rose gardens and Portland stone memorial arch sit beside roughly a mile of flat, walkable Trent riverside. Wilford Suspension Bridge at the western end provides a converging view and faces south-west over the water, making evening useful for light. Check Nottingham Forest and Notts County fixtures: both grounds are within a few hundred metres, and match days affect roads and paths.
9. Castle Wharf and the Nottingham Canal (NG1 7EH)
Castle Wharf is on a Canal & River Trust towpath. Commercial photography requires the online application, five million pounds of liability insurance and at least five working days’ notice. Brick warehouses, narrowboats and iron bridges sit by still water about five minutes from the station. Try blue hour, roughly forty minutes after sunset, when bar lights reflect against the darker canal. The towpath is narrow and shared with cyclists and runners; keep it clear and choose viewpoints from the edge.
10. Jubilee Campus, University of Nottingham (NG8 1BB)
Jubilee Campus is university land, so arrange shoot permission with the University of Nottingham. Curved cedar-clad blocks sit beside an artificial lake. Aspire is a sixty-metre steel sculpture, described as the UK’s tallest free-standing public artwork, and gives wide photographs a sense of scale. First light can provide still water and reflections. Term time is busy and parking is permit controlled; August and Sunday mornings are quieter options.
Planning your Nottingham shoot
I would plan two locations and pair them by geography. Castle Wharf and the Exchange Arcade combine canal brick and indoor architecture in ninety minutes without moving the car. Rufford pairs with Sherwood, and Southwell with Papplewick. Leave Clumber as a separate session because of the journey.
Between November and March, check an indoor option when you book. Papplewick and the Exchange Arcade can anchor a session in steady rain, with outdoor photographs fitted around the weather.
Arrange access before settling the route. Applying three weeks ahead gives more room to resolve questions than arriving at nine on a Saturday morning without permission.
Working with Cameraboss in Nottingham
Nottingham is around half an hour from our Leicester base and falls within our Midlands coverage alongside Derby, Leicester and Birmingham. The city-centre options are also covered in ten outdoor photography locations in Nottingham. For ceremony rooms, see our photographer’s view of Nottingham wedding venues.
Cameraboss is a British Nigerian studio working in luxury and documentary wedding photography, named Creative Photographer of the Year at the Creative Industry Awards 2024. If you book photography and film, confirm the staffing and shared timeline. We plan around Yoruba, Nigerian, Asian and multicultural ceremonies so we can be in position for the next moment.
Browse our editorial and pre-wedding sessions or check the areas we cover across the UK.
Common questions
Q: Do we need a permit for a pre-wedding shoot in Nottingham?A: A booked commercial session on council park or city centre land goes through Nottingham City Council’s filming platform. National Trust, Canal & River Trust and university locations have separate processes. Agree who will make each application, check the current requirements and confirm any fees and responsibilities in your written booking arrangements.
Q: Do you charge travel to Nottingham?A: Nottingham is around half an hour from our Leicester base and within our Midlands coverage. Share your date, locations and start time so we can discuss the journey and any overnight stay. Confirm the arrangements and full cost in your written quote.
Q: Which Nottingham location actually works in the rain?A: Papplewick Pumping Station and the Exchange Arcade are useful indoor options. Both need advance permission or booking, and their light suits overcast weather.
Q: Do you cover Mansfield, Newark and West Bridgford?A: Yes. We also cover Beeston, Arnold, Hucknall and Worksop, with locations across Nottinghamshire included in our planning.
Q: How far ahead should we book a summer Saturday in Nottingham?A: Allow eighteen months for a peak summer Saturday. We are taking 2027 and 2028 bookings. Autumn and winter dates may be available six to nine months ahead.
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