Sheffield Midland Station to Shalesmoor Tram Stop
Length: 8.0 km/5.0 mi
Ascent/Descent: 144/146m
Net Walking Time: ca. 1 ¾ hours
Toughness: 2 out of 10
Meet at 18.30 on the indoor concourse of Sheffield Midland Station (City Centre Exit).
Return trams from Shalesmoor to the City Centre: xx.00, xx.14, xx.30, xx.44; to 00.30 hours, the only exception being the 23.24, which is also the last one continuing on to the train station.
This route leads through the centre of Sheffield – the self-proclaimed ‘Steel City’. It is the largest city in South Yorkshire, known both for its history at the heart of a steel and cutlery-based industrialisation and for being one of the greenest cities in the country, right on the fringes of – and partly in – the Peak District.
From the train station, you explore the civic centre with its historic buildings, two cathedrals and several new developments, part of the ongoing reinvention of this former industrial heavyweight.
Following, a short loop leads through the Cultural Industries Quarter, where former industrial buildings have been requisitioned for galleries, studios, colleges, apartments or student accommodation.
Through the railway station, you walk up Park Hill, one of the seven hills of Sheffield, to some splendid viewpoints overlooking Sheaf Valley and City Centre, before a short diversion through the controversial Park Hill Flats, towering over the city centre.
Pass a canal terminus and then the meeting of the Sheaf and Don rivers – the two most significant of the five rivers of Sheffield – and finish with a short exploration of the quickly gentrifying Kelham Island Quarter, formerly dominated by heavy industry, now filling up with new housing and atmospheric pubs and eateries.
Walk Options:
Bus and Tram stops are never far from the route to enable shorter walks.
A couple of Short Extensions in the Cultural Industries Quarter lead to or past several more galleries and artists’ studios, they are shown on the route map but not described in the directions.
An Extension from Clay Wood and the Cholera Monument up to and through the Norfolk Heritage Park and higher still to the Manor Fields Park leads to more elevated viewpoints. Return to the City Centre from the Spring Lane tram stop by Manor Fields Park. [to be researched and written]
Food and Drink: Numerous options are passed on or just off the route. They are highlighted in the text.
For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=city.6