You're standing at one of the main gateways to modern Nottingham. The Boots Island site, so called because the Nottingham based pharmaceutical giant used to have a factory on this site. It's one of the busiest road networks in the city.

In 1885 Jesse Boot took out a lease on three rooms in Island Street and by 1892 he had taken over the whole building and further properties around Island Street and Parkinson Street. It was an ideal location for distribution because of it's closeness to the canal, railway and main roads.

Construction work is prominent in Nottingham in 2004

If you were travelling by car (or setting out on a more strenuous walk!) this would be a great start point. Depending on your destination you can head over the River Trent towards Lincolnshire, go left towards Derby, straight over for the city and Mansfield or right towards Southwell.

But you're on foot, so let's stick closer to home. You're next to BBC Nottingham, one of the newest buildings to grace the Nottingham skyline and one of the first (along with the East Midlands Development Agency) to be built on the Boots Island site. This reclaimed land will eventually be home to a host of businesses.

It's hard to believe that decades ago this area used to see hundreds of pied wagtails that would gather in the trees on the site. They'd been drawn to the city because of the warmth it offered.

Today this part of Nottingham is undergoing major regeneration. You will see more evidence of this at the conclusion of the walk.