Guided Heritage Tour of St Ann's Allotments

St Ann's Allotments are running a guided heritage tour on Wednesday 28 October, starting at 13:30. It's a 90-minute walk covering about 1.3 miles, and you'll need to keep a few things in mind before you sign up: there are some steep hills along the way and the ground can be uneven, so it's worth thinking about your footwear.

To get why this is more than just a stroll through some plots, it helps to know what you're actually looking at. St Ann's are the oldest and largest Victorian detached town gardens in the world, Grade 2* Listed by Historic England and designated an Area of Importance for Nature Conservation. They've got a 700-year history behind them, and while they started out as Victorian pleasure gardens, they're still in use today.

The tour stops at two particular spots. One is the Heritage Display Garden, known as 'Oliver's', which is looked after by volunteers and holds mature heritage fruit trees, a pond, a glasshouse and a Victorian summer house. The other is The Nursery, part of a National Lottery Community Fund project that's building an accessible garden and running the Community Harvest project, which delivers fresh produce to local food banks and community cafes. Between the two, you get a sense of both the site's Victorian roots and what's happening there now.

Groups are capped at 15 people, so it stays a small affair rather than a crowd. Tickets are £11 and sold through Eventbrite. The tour sets off from St Ann's Allotments, 121 Ransom Road, Nottingham, NG3 3LH, at 13:30 on Wednesday 28 October.