There’s amazing countryside within Sheffield

Steve has always had a passion for the outdoors, and in his own words, when the weather is nice, he would happily “spend every minute of the day outside” if he could.

Sheffield’s Countryside The Peak District is a fantastic part of the country, the finest in my opinion. However, I do feel that in Sheffield we are blessed with some amazing countryside within the city just waiting for people to explore. Wyming Brook for instance isn’t called Little Switzerland for no reason and is absolutely stunning. Then there are the valleys with all their history. Porter, Rivelin, Loxley and Limb Valleys are easily accessible for everyone, as is the Lower Don Valley where we walk along both the river and the canal. Also close to the city centre is Parkwood Springs which is right next to where I live; and where I spend a lot of time looking at the fine views of the city. A little further away from the city centre a walk round Langsett Dam is a joy, Blacka Moor nature reserve has its resident herd of deer, Ecclesall Woods and Greno Woods are magical places as is my favourite place of all, Wharncliffe Crags. Lots to choose from.

Live Music

My wife Andrea and I have a huge passion for live music, especially for people who play their own stuff. We especially enjoy the rock/folk/country music which is often called Americana. There are many places in town now to see all these genre’s and our favourite venues are The Greystones, The Shakespeare, The White Lion, The Gardeners Rest and best of all Café#9 at Nether Edge. What a fantastic place this is to watch live music, which my bulging CD cabinet will confirm! Local lads Fargo Railroad Company are worth mentioning at this point, who we try and see as often as we can.

Botanical Gardens

If there is a nicer, more enjoyable place to visit in Sheffield, I’ve yet to find it! Whatever time of year I visit the gardens I find something of interest that I’ve not seen before. As I spent a great deal of my earlier working life on London Road I would bomb up there in my dinner hour on nice days to get a bit of peace and quiet, and sit on the grass or a bench with my pack-up and flask of tea!

Kelham Island and Neepsend

Almost on the doorstep for us, we have watched keenly over the last decade or so as these areas have grown together and become such an exciting part of the city. The stunning new buildings by the river, along with the conversions of the old buildings has brought the area to life, and alongside the real ale pubs, the diverse range of new cafes and restaurants are creating a unique place for people to live, and to eat and drink. We love the Cutlery Works and Peddlers Market and await with interest the Extreme Sports Company’s plans for the old ski village, and the plans to regenerate the Lower Don Valley.

Make no Bones – Church Temple of Fun

If I had to choose anywhere in Sheffield to go out to for a quick bite then this would be it. Again, very local to us, Make no Bones is a vegan restaurant which serves amazing food at a very reasonable price. As a confirmed carnivore, it would appear to be a strange choice for me to make, but Andrea is a vegetarian although not vegan, and as most of the places we eat at (e.g. Spoons) don’t have very inspiring veggie menu’s, it was my idea to try this place and in doing so, it blew me away. Church Temple of Fun is situated in the old iconic Osborn Steels building next to the River Don and is worth visiting just to see what they’ve done to the interior, even if the food doesn’t take your fancy.

Ringinglow

Apart from the Norfolk Arms pub, Ringinglow consists of just a few cottages and the Alpaca Farm. What I love about the place though is where it is, and the walking possibilities there are in every direction. On the one side there’s the Mayfield Valley, Porter Valley, Brown Edge Quarry and just over the hill, Redmires, Fox Hagg and Wyming Brook. Then across the road, Houndkirk Road takes us to Burbage Rocks and Valley, Longshaw, Padley Gorge, Higgar Tor and Stanage Edge. Once again,nearly all these places are in Sheffield but then again, I might be a tad biased!