7 landmarks and amazing places in Sheffield you have to visit

If you’re born and bred in a place it is often easy to overlook the amazing things we have right on our doorstep.

And if you’re new to the city, you should hopefully be feeling a need to get out and explore.

Either way we have pulled together this handy list of landmarks, parks and other gems that are well worth a visit while you’re in Sheffield.

1. Endcliffe Park

The park was opened in 1887 to commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria and there is a huge statue of the former monarch close to the entrance.

There is an abundance of walking trails through the park and a number of interesting features, such as the memorial to the Mi Amigo disaster in which ten US airmen died when their bomber crashed into the park in February 1944.

You can also take a look at the large weeping birch tree close to the main entrance, which Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker highlighted as his favourite tree and nicknamed it ‘the bowl cut’ because ‘it looks like bad hair’.

2. Botanical Gardens

Located just off Ecclesall Road, the beautiful park boasts 5000 species of plants spread across 19 acres of land.

The gardens were designed by Robert Marnock and first opened in 1836. One of the most notable feature of the gardens are the Grade II* listed glass pavilions, restored and reopened in 2003.

There is also the remnants of an old bear pit, which apparently used to contain live bears during the Victorian-era, containing an 8' tall steel statue of an American Black Bear called Robert the Bear.

There is a well-known myth that states the bears were removed after one of them snatched a baby that was being held up by a nursemaid to it could take a look at the animals.

3. Shepherd Wheel

A working museum in a former water-powered grinding workshop on the Porter Brook based within Bingham Park. This scheduled ancient monument is a 5.5m diameter overshot water wheel that is powered from a large dam stocked with water diverted from the Porter Brook. The site is Grade II listed and is a popular stop off point for walkers winding their way through Whiteley Woods.

4. Damflask Reservoir

There is an easy going trial that goes all around the reservoir and offers stunning views over the water and the rolling green hills above.

The 5.3km walk takes about an hour to complete and you can also nip into Low Bradfield halfway to The Plough pub for some refreshments and a bite to eat.

There is also an information point detailing the Dam’s history and the ‘sunken village’ that was washed away in the Great Sheffield flood of 11 March 1864 that left 240 people dead when the embankment of the nearby Dale Dyke Dam collapsed and released 114 million cubic feet of water into the valley.

The village stood near the site of the current dam wall and had a public house (Barrell Inn), corn mill, paper mill, wire mill, blacksmith's shop and a few dwellings.

5. Manor Lodge

Sheffield Manor Lodge, also known as Sheffield Manor or locally as Manor Castle, is a lodge built about 1516 in what then was a large deer park southeast of the city to provide a country retreat and further accommodate George Talbot, the 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, and his large family. Mary, Queen of Scots, was held prisoner by the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury at both Sheffield Manor Lodge and Sheffield Castle (her ghost is said by some to haunt the Turret House building) in the 16th century.

6. Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is an industrial museum that forms part of a former steel-working site on the River Sheaf, with a history going back to at least the 13th century. It consists of a number of dwellings and workshops that were formerly the Abbeydale Works, including a scythe-making plant that was in operation until the 1930s. The site is a scheduled monument and the works are Grade I listed. Meanwhile, the workers' cottages, counting house, and manager's house are Grade II* listed.

7. Sheffield Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul stands right in the heart of the city and offers a quiet place to go for contemplation. Construction of the earliest section of the cathedral dates back to 1200 and there are many stunning architectural features you can marvel at both inside and out.