Wollaton Wanderings
A day out in Nottingham, and for once I wasn’t sprinting around the place at 9am with a barcode in my pocket. Today was strictly geocaching. A day for leaving the house at 10am and pretending that counts as “making an early start”. So why the title “Where’s Batman?” Well, Wollaton Hall was used as Wayne Manor in the 2012 film “The Dark Knight Rises” – a Batman-based bonanza starring Christian Bale.
Back at the plot, Batman might have used Wollaton Hall as Wayne Manor, but I doubt he ever had to deal with a damp logbook.
Parking Up
The sat nav sent me on the classic M1-to-J25 manoeuvre, followed by the A52 glide into Nottingham. That’s the well-named Brian Clough Way, in honour of the man who managed (literally) to take two adjacent provincial football clubs to the very pinnacle of the English League. And in the case of one of them, to the top of Europe too. You can’t argue with that.
I parked in the same spot I used for parkrun a few weeks ago — partly because it’s convenient, partly because I’m a creature of habit, and partly because I couldn’t be bothered to find anywhere else. Parking was open until 6pm, which is more than enough time for me to get lost, get muddy, and get confused.
Eastward Ho!
I began by wandering across to the east side of Wollaton Park, where the deer were doing their usual impression of aloof aristocrats. The caches here were… well… damp. Very damp. The sort of damp where you open the container and wonder whether you’ve accidentally discovered a new species of aquatic logbook.
Still, the park was looking good in the morning light, and it was a pleasant warm‑up before the uphill bit.
Up to the Hall
Next came the trudge up the hill to Wollaton Hall, which continues to look like it’s auditioning for every period drama ever made. It’s also, of course, the building that played Wayne Manor in The Dark Knight Rises. Sadly, Batman was nowhere to be seen. Probably off doing something less muddy.
The view from the top was worth the climb. Up top here I found a virtual cache and a couple of labs.
Crossing to the QMC
From the Hall I headed east again, out of the park and towards the Queens Medical Centre. The plan was to pick up a few lab caches before continuing into the University.
However, when I reached the hospital, I had a moment of clarity. It turns out the lab caches were mainly inside. Walking around a major medical facility in boots that looked like they’d recently lost a fight with a swamp felt… inappropriate. I might be weird, but I’m not “tracking mud through a hospital” weird. So I skipped those and carried on.
Into the University
The University of Nottingham campus is always a treat — elegant buildings, sweeping lawns, and an ornamental lake that looks like it was designed by someone who really wanted to impress the brochure photographers.
The caches here continued the theme of “moist disappointment”, but the surroundings made up for it. At least the architecture wasn’t soggy. And in any case, there were two sets of lab caches, one of which had a bonus puzzle cache. I found everything I tried on the Uni campus apart from one supposedly easy trad-on-a-bench. I don’t think it was there.
Lunch With a View
Speaking of which, the bench in question had a great view overlooking southern Nottingham. So I took a break and had a drink and a snack. Lunch tastes better when you’ve earned it, and even better when you can sit smugly on a hill pretending you’re surveying your kingdom. If Wollaton Hall is good enough for Batman, then this was good enough for me.
Round the Uni Lake
After lunch I looped around the University lake, which was looking very photogenic. Ducks and geese were doing duck and goose things. Students were doing studenting. And because the park is open to the public, the public were doing public things, publicly. I was doing geocacher things, which mostly involved finding bits of information. There wasn’t a lot of rummaging in bushes or hoping nobody called security.
Back Up Into Wollaton
From the Uni grounds I climbed back up into Wollaton Park, legs beginning to question my life choices. The afternoon light was definitely on the turn, but there was still plenty of time for one last loop.
Lake Loop & Bench Behaviour
I finished the day with a wander around Wollaton’s own lake, which is a pleasant circuit. One of the final caches was on a bench already occupied by two girls. There’s no normal way to say “Excuse me, I need to rummage around the seat you’re sitting on” but I gave it my best shot.
To their credit, they didn’t run away or call the police. In fact, they seemed intrigued. Maybe they thought I was part of some elaborate spy ring. Maybe not. Maybe they were just bored. Either way, they let me poke around like a strange park‑dwelling goblin. The cache was a quick spot from the back of the bench. Sufficiently so that it amazes me the thing is still there, but clearly the two girls hadn’t spotted it, so I’m assuming it’s not as obvious as I might think.
Stats and Satisfaction
By the time I got back to the car, I’d clocked up 44 finds — roughly half “real” caches and half labs. Not bad for a day that involved soggy containers, hospital avoidance, and bench‑based social awkwardness.
A good wander, a good haul, and no need for Batman to intervene.
