The town is sited on the Rivers Trent,and the lesser known River Devon. The Devon joins the Trent at the Marina and then they run below the greystone Walls of Newark Castle. It is probably of Roman origin as it lies on the Roman Fosseway. Transport links today include the A1, great north road and the East Coast Railway Line

This castle, where King John died in1216, was destroyed after withstanding 3 sieges in the Civil War for the Royalist cause. The west wall survives together with a fine gatehouse.

The town has a cobbled stone market-place lined with historic buildings. The Queens Sconce , on the southern outskirts, is the site of a fortification used in the Civil War; sconce means an earthwork.

Situated in the Trent Valley there is a mixture of good topography ideal for the ramblers with a good network of bridleways and footpaths through the rural areas on the Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire borders.