Exploring on our Doorstep: Church Laneham, Nottinghamshire

13.08.22 – This particular Saturday fell in the middle of another sweltering heatwave, and when the weather is hot I like to be at two places: at the beach, or by the water. We decided it would be the perfect day to visit our first ‘Adventure Jar’ pick, the village of Church Laneham, as it sits by the River Trent.

Let me pause briefly to explain the ‘Adventure Jar’. My partner and I were finding we were getting stuck thinking of new places to visit on our doorstep. We also kept finding ourselves returning to the same two or three places in the local area. So we decided to put the names of lots of local places into a jar, and wherever we picked out we would then go and visit. Church Laneham was the first place we pulled out of the jar!

Why did we put Church Laneham in the jar? Given how local it is to us, Church Laneham is one of those places we’ve driven through plenty of times, but we’ve never stopped at. One reality of adult life is finding places you like, but never having the time to visit them😂. Putting it in the jar gave us an excuse to finally visit for more than a drive through.

What’s there? The main attraction at Church Laneham is the Trent. Nearby Laneham has some the highly-regarded Bee’s Knees🐝 pub, whilst Church Laneham has The Ferryboat. We spent an hour walking by the river and alongside the nearby defunct Cottom Power Station (before it is sadly eventually demolished), and another hour at the Ferryboat.

Would I go back one day? Definitely. We really enjoyed the walk down the river and by the power station, and the atmosphere at the Ferryboat was lovely. A place doesn’t have to be brimming with things to do, to make it worth going to. Next time I’d love to go back during an evening, and watch a live act at the Ferryboat.

Where’s next? We’ve pulled out a couple of local places, and a couple of UK adventures. At the time of writing (August 2022) a lot of these places are too busy to go to as it’s the height of the summer holidays… but keep your eyes peeled for more adventures in the coming months!