Things to do Sheffield: We visited free family attraction with rides, giant sandpit and water play

Sheffield by the Seaside has been keeping children entertained during the school holidays for years and has proved a big hit once again this summer.

The Peace Gardens have been transformed into a miniature beach resort, with a giant sandpit, rides and games, free children’s entertainment, snack huts and, of course, the fountains where youngsters can keep themselves amused while cooling off.

It’s open seven days a week, from 10am to 6pm each day, until Monday, August 26.

We visited to check out this year’s offering, including the rides, the food, the prices and the entertainment.

The place was buzzing on the sunny Tuesday afternoon when we headed down, with giggles and squeals of delight from a large group of youngsters in thrall to the children’s entertainer.

The fountains were also teeming with children weaving in and out of the jets, while the sandpit was busy too.

Not all the rides were quite so popular, however.

The bouncy castle, priced £3 for five minutes, was doing a steady trade, but there weren’t many takers for the helter skelter, costing £2.50 a ride, or for the traditional seaside swings, at the same price.

There were a few takers for the hook a duck stall, which cost £4 a pop, with prizes including cuddly toys, model cars and action figures.

Beyond the Peace Gardens, there is a selection of other rides outside the town hall, at the top of Fargate, and on Pinstone Street.

These include bungee trampolines, priced £4.50 a go, a Cars-themed carousel, and planes, hot air balloons and trains to ride as well.

Slushies, with flavours including pineapple, blue raspberry and strawberry, cost £2.50 for a small cup or £5 for a larger ‘novelty cup’, and a range of lollies and other sweets were also on sale.

At the neighbouring stall, a small hotdog will set you back £3, with a jumbo sausage priced £4.50 and a quarter-pounder burger costing the same. A pork bap there is £6.50, you can get a fishfinger butty for £4, and candy floss is priced £2.50.

Next door is a waffle van, with ‘speciality’ waffles priced £6.50 and speciality doughnuts costing the same. A standard waffle with chocolate sauce costs £5 and doughnuts with chocolate sauce are priced £5.50.

There is free entertainment every day, with a live DJ and children’s entertainer from 11am to 3pm each day.

There are also visiting dinosaurs and TV/film characters on certain days.

The entertainer we saw was certainly a big hit with the youngsters.

There was a great atmosphere when we visited, with lots of families enjoying their day out beside the fountains or on the grass, many having brought their own food.

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As many people have pointed out, Sheffield by the Seaside is a cheaper alternative to the Summer Beach Club at Meadowhall, though that does feature pools and water slides, plus a rollercoaster.

Sheffield by the Seaside is also close to the popular Pound’s Park and to the new Cambridge Street Collective food hall, which has an indoor children’s play area.

It’s definitely worth a visit if you haven’t popped along there already.