I went to an outdoor cinema at Nottingham Maze and had a magical date night

Dinner and a movie is a classic date night activity. It’s been tried and tested by generations of couples across the globe.

But sometimes, especially if you’ve been dating for a while, you want to kick things up a notch.

In recent years we have seen a surge in outdoor cinemas. During Covid, drive-in movies were all the rage but they seem to have dropped off a bit now.

Read more: What’s On in Nottingham?

Over the weekend, I visited an outdoor cinema at Notts Maze and concluded it was a super cute way to spend a Saturday night.

Armed with camping chairs and jumpers, we followed the fairy lights into the forest next to the maze.

Here we were greeted by a huge inflatable screen, chairs made out of pallets, and trees (lots of trees).

Beneath the treetop canopy sat dozens of people, families, couples, and friends who had turned up to enjoy an outdoor movie experience.

Saturday’s film of choice was Disney’s Cars.

Don’t hate me but I’ve never seen it before, and as the girlfriend of a bonafide car boy/journo/marketing expert extraordinaire, it was made quite clear this needed rectifying,

Other movies including Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Blair Witch Project, Encanto, and Back to the Future are also on the line-up this summer.

Once we’d picked our spot beneath the trees, the boyfriend headed off in search of cinema snacks.

Some wily cinema-goers even packed a picnic, leading me to enviously eye-up their Percy Pigs.

Some minutes later, Lightning McQueen (otherwise known as the boyfriend), returned with popcorn, beer, and a Malibu with Coke.

In typical cinema style, we both consumed our popcorn cones during the adverts.

Shortly after 6pm, the movie began, with noise blaring through our headphones, which allowed us to immerse ourselves in the magical world of Disney - without disrupting the wildlife (or neighbours).

The film was very sweet and I can understand why it is so popular with parents and kids alike.

I loved the setting, it was fun to watch a film while leaves fell around us and birds flapped in the distance.

My only criticism is I’d have liked it to have been a bit darker outside, as the sun got in the way a bit (thankfully I had my prescription sunglasses.) I’d definitely recommend this as a date night with a twist if you’re in the local area.

Tickets cost £12.50 each for adults, which is only a couple of quid more than your normal indoor cinema experience.

I obviously stuck a photo on my Instagram story, which was met with envious replies from friends, who described it as looking ‘magical’ - and I’d whole-heartedly agree.