Sheffield: The Outdoor City – WALK

We made it! This is our final instalment on ‘The Outdoor City’, and we finish on my personal favourite – walking.

We are spoilt in Sheffield with green spaces, parks and a national park – that even the most novice walkers can find something to suit them (unfortunately it is hard to avoid a hill or two!).

The Outdoor City site is full of inspiring places on our doorstep that are perfect for a walk or ramble, and if that isn’t enough a couple of us have kindly shared their passion for walking with us…

Wendy Kay

Well it has been my first week back after two glorious weeks off. We spent 10 days in the Lake District overlooking the Derwent, mainly walking, drinking and eating. Over the time we were there we covered about 60 miles

Walking is a pastime we started over 15 years ago, we got our first dog Roly and along with a group of friends started camping and the walking came with it.

Overtime this time things have developed and we now have the luxury of a caravan and we now have our replacement dog Ruby. We usually visit local areas at the weekend mainly the Yorkshire Dales, and the Derbyshire Dales which are within an hour’s drive. One of my favourite areas is Dovedale.

Yorkshire Dales

Dovedale

We have also spent 3 weeks walking in Scotland where the scenery is amazing one of our favourite areas was Glencoe and we also tried walking some of Ben Nevis.

Glencoe, Scotland

Ben Nevis

During our recent visit to the Lake District our favourite walk was around Buttermere Lake where the scenery is beautiful.

Lake Buttermere

It’s an amazing hobby and there are some beautiful places and scenery on our doorstep, so get out there relax and enjoy it.

Andrew Howard

“My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety-seven now, and we don’t know where the heck she is.” – Ellen DeGeneres

“I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.” – Noel Coward

Once I had finished my accountancy exams I realised that I had spent years and years learning in classrooms and I wanted to do something completely new so I decided to take up running.

I was glad I did as running provided a real change on my perspective and I saw just how much you miss when you’re driving that you would only see, hear and feel when you are outside – one day I came across an old stone pillar in Sandygate that marked the way for the old trade road from Sheffield to Manchester. Also, getting up early to run gave me a lovely sense of having the world to myself for a bit before everyone else got up, though I did also see a lot of students who had been out all night.

It is seeing the world up close that I like best about walking, and the area around Sheffield is superb for getting out and about. Stanage Edge is only a twenty minute drive from my front door – I have been dozens of times and, like thousands of others, I am always knocked out by the landscape, the wildlife and the quiet.

Stanage Edge

But there are so many other great countryside walks within a half hour’s drive or train ride of Sheffield like seeing the alpacas in Porter Valley, the views from High Bradfield or the endless inspiring scenery on Kinder Scout (ironing board optional). Also there are dozens of parks to explore, my favourite walk being through Endcliffe Park and Whiteley Woods and back – about 6 miles.

Alpacas

Whiteley Woods

Sheffield itself is full of interesting places to walk to and through. A few months ago my wife and I walked up to the remains of the Iron Age hill fort in Wincobank and I appreciated what a different view to the factories, houses, and the M1 that the original occupants must have had.

And a couple of weeks ago we walked the 3 miles from the canal basin near the Park Square roundabout along the Five Weirs Walk to Meadowhall. Within 10 minutes of starting off we were away from the sound of cars and people and making our way along a quiet, calm towpath listening to the birds. We got an idea of where we were as we passed under the railway and road bridges and soon went past the site of the Advanced Health and Wellbeing Centre, which had been Don Valley Stadium – I have yet to find out who Donald Valley was and why he had a stadium named after him – before coming to a large canal basin and canal locks that I did not expect to find so close to the centre of Sheffield. Although we came back by tram that time I’m looking forward to the return leg and completing the full walk soon.

Five Weirs Walk

The city centre is packed with interesting buildings and history, like the rare sewer gas destructor lamp on Stewart Street or the cobblestones on Paradise Square where John Wesley had preached, so it’s easy enough to make up your own walks between them or there are many walks online. There are also regular guided walks through the General Cemetery, which is a fascinating insight in to sometimes tragic history of Sheffield. Even just to see all the public sculptures that we all go past every day and rarely notice is a walk in itself. I’ve also enjoyed using an old map showing what was there over 100 years ago and following the path of an old road; I’m sure you know there was a church on the site of the Peace Gardens, but did you know there was a huge goods yard on the site of the big Tesco’s on Saville Street?

Just getting out at lunchtime for some oxygen is a great way to clear your head and notice something new, just yesterday I noticed the engraved “Prudential Assurance” sign above the Costa Café on Pinstone Street and during the recent Finance away day it came in handy to know where the Jeffie Bembridge Children’s Home had been.

So I would recommend a cheap day out really seeing our Outdoor City.

Paul Manchester

I would say the that my favourite walks are Froggatt/Curbar edges, and the fairly unknown Chrome Hill. Chrome hill has a fantastic ridge with a stunning 360 degrees of panoramic views. I usually start and finish in the Earl Sterndale with its quirky pub the Quiet Woman. Definitely a local pub for local people!

Further afield I would recommend the Yorkshire 3 peaks to anyone who fancies a challenge. All three can be done in a day (around 26-30miles) and you even get a stamped time card and a tie pin if you complete it under 12hrs. I completed the walk a couple of years ago raising money for the Sheffield Childrens Hopsital.

For all those thrill seekers out there, you can venture to Matlock to test your nerve on the aptly named ‘Giddy Edge’. I would pack two pairs of spare pants if your tackling this route…

Anyone looking for a leisurely and informative walk there are plenty of groups out there. The Norfolk Arms at Ringinglow run guided walks throughout the summer, and it’s certainly not a bad little place to end the day!

http://www.norfolkarms.com/ringinglow-walks.php