Hucknall, United Kingdom

Hucknall is on the west bank of the Leen Valley, on land which rises from the Trent Valley in the south and extends northwards to Kirkby-in-Ashfield. The Whyburn Brook flows through the town centre. Farleys Brook marks its southern boundary. Due to the mass amount of housing and industrial estates along the southside of the town. Hucknall is contiguous with the wider City of Nottingham with the suburbs of Bulwell and Bestwood Village to the south and southeast.

The town's highest point is Long Hill, at 460 ft (140 m) above sea level, with views over the city and Trent Valley, which descends to 22–24 metres (72–79 ft) AOD, flowing just beyond most of the city centre.

The town is surrounded by farmland or parkland. To the north-west lie Misk Hills and Annesley. To the north-east of the town are the villages of Linby and Papplewick, and beyond these two, Newstead Abbey and its grounds, once the residence of Lord Byron. To the west lies Eastwood, birthplace of D. H. Lawrence and an inspiration for many of his novels and short stories. To the east of the town is Bestwood Country Park.

Hucknall's Tesco superstore opened in 2003, creating a number of jobs for the town. In 2008, the store was extended to convert it to Tesco Extra. A Tesco Express store was opened in early January 2009 in Annesley Road.

Other shop branches in Hucknall include Card Warehouse, Argos, B&M Bargains, Home Bargains, Bird's Bakery, Boots, Peacocks, Specsavers, Iceland, Aldi, Lidl, Co-Operative Food, and Sainsbury's. Independent local retailers include Branson's DIY store and Aquatic centre, Lawrence Severn and Son Ltd, butchers,, a garden centre with cafe Keycraft on Watnall Road and SP Electronics computer services.

Lloyds formally had a branch in the High Street; NatWest, HSBC and Yorkshire customers now have limited service via the Post Office.

Hucknall has a Friday Market in the newly pedestrianised High Street. Ashfield District Council has additionally more recently agreed to run a Saturday market.

When Costa Coffee opened a branch in Hucknall High Street in 2014, its local job advertisement attracted over 1,300 applicants. A new branch of McDonald's opened in November 2019, at a cost of £1,000,000, after the firm had appealed against a planning committee ban on grounds of noise, anti-social behaviour, smells and litter.

The Hucknall and Linby Mining Community Brass Band formed in late 2008 after players from the Newstead Abbey Brass Band sought autonomy. It is conducted by Paul Whyley. At the time, the town lacked a band after Hucknall and Linby Miners' Welfare Band moved out to become Newstead Brass. It plays a parish-church concert every Christmas, and around the local area throughout the year.

The Byron Cinema, an Art Deco building designed by the local architect Alfred J Thraves, opened on 2 November 1936. It originally boasted a sweeping, curved façade of Thraves' favoured sandstock bricks and Portland stone, with a vertical tower to the right of centre, faced in cream terracotta tiles. Much was also made in the cinema's publicity of a canopy "provided to protect our patrons during bad weather."

The National Academy was founded in 1788 by Frederick Ward and originally located at the southern end of Annesley Road. It relocated in the 1970s to a new build still on Annesley Road but at the north end of the town, near the roundabout of the B6011 road. The National School has a large science block with 10 labs and an astro-turf playing area, both opened in 2004 by Princess Anne. The school has an eco-friendly building.

The Holgate Academy is on Hillcrest Drive in Beauvale, to the west of the bypass.

Holy Cross Catholic Voluntary Academy is in Leen Mills Lane, next to Leen Mills Primary School. It is a feeder primary school to Christ The King Academy in Arnold. It was voted third best school in Nottinghamshire in 2014 and in 2015.

Hucknall Sixth Form Centre was on Portland Road, near the Byron Bingo Club (Now the Arc Cinema), and housed the sixth form provision for The National Academy The Holgate Academy and Queen Elizabeth's Academy. It was closed at the end of the 2025 academic year, with The Holgate Academy and The National Academy getting their own on-site Sixth Form. The building was previously home to New College Nottingham.