FOUR days of events to celebrate the county's heritage begin today.
Libraries, museums, Nottingham Castle and 21st-century eco-homes are among 89 sites that will open their doors for Heritage Open Days.
Also among the events is a chance to find out what archaeological gems have been uncovered during the tram extension.
Dr Gareth Davies, of Trent and Peak Archaeology, is giving a talk on finds uncovered at Lenton Priory and the Clifton park-and-ride.
He said: "We have bits of the priory itself and some medieval pottery. Then we have pre-historic flints and pottery from excavations in Clifton."
Dr Davies will talk guests through his team's findings at Barton House, in High Road, Chilwell, from 1pm on Saturday, with an exhibition starting at 11am.
"Before these finds, it was not known to what extent Lenton Priory survived below ground because it was later demolished," he said.
"In Clifton, it's no surprise to find there were prehistoric settlements because the A453 was a Roman road. But we can now show that someone was living here in the Bronze and Iron ages."
Heritage Open Days is a European scheme designed to encourage buildings and monuments with historic relevance to open their doors to the public.
While the tramworks have offered inspiration for some, Barton's of Chilwell says the firm's historical bus tours have had to be cancelled due to the ongoing construction.
But an exhibition of buses is still going ahead between 10am and 4pm on Saturday at the 106-year-old company's base in High Road, Chilwell.
Managing director Simon Barton said the rise of buses led to the end of the Nottingham Corporation Tramway in 1936.
"I am truly embarrassed to have to cancel these very popular trips," he said. "Beeston, Chilwell and Nottingham are reeling from horrendous disruption.
"That they converted their obsolete tram system to buses, copying us but nearly 30 years late, shows how far behind the curve the authorities can sometimes be."
Mo Cooper, heritage officer at St Ann's Allotments, said the weekend was a great chance to admire the range of heritage sites in Nottinghamshire.
Guests can visit the 75-acre allotment site, which contain 670 plots and is the largest Victorian Allotment site in the country, today.
The visitor centre is open all day and walks to the heritage garden in the afternoon and an illustrated talk on the site's history takes place from 6.30pm.
"You can see from the list how many interesting things are going on in Nottinghamshire," said Mo.
"It's about celebrating, even showing off the range of heritage destinations in the area.
"Normally, we do talks for history groups but this is an interesting opportunity for everyone."
Joyce Brown, of Beeston and District Civic Society, helped organise some of the events in the area.
She said: "It's easier to be proud of where you are from if you understand about it.
"We are so pleased and proud that we've got all these places open and encourage people to come and join us to show off what Nottinghamshire has got."
Joyce is looking forward to seeing the unveiling of a blue plaque to commemorate the Ten Bell in Beeston, which will ring in the heritage weekend at 11am today.
"It's a great way to kick off the weekend," she said. "We have over 30 blue plaques in Beeston, which shows how much history we have here." (See Page 29).
Tomorrow, Debbie Bryan Studio and Shop, in Saint Mary's Gate, in the Lace Market, has invited Boots lace expert Judith Wright to showcase examples of the fabric that put Nottingham on the industrial map.
Joanne Strutt, of the shop, said: "The Lace Market has changed so much to what you see today, with all its restaurants, bars and shops. Its important to get a sense of how hard people worked in those days."
