Known the world over as a Steel City, Sheffield was famed for its industry in the heyday of the 1900s and remains a city of innovation to this day. However the smoking chimney stacks are no more and instead you’ll find a green, modern cityscape set against the stunning backdrop of the Peak District National Park.
England’s fourth-largest city lies approximately 35 miles south of Leeds on the Don and Rivelin rivers at the foot of the Derbyshire Hills. An industrial city, Sheffield is a popular base from which to explore the Peak District, which is known for its bucolic vistas, manor homes, mining towns, and mineral springs. Sheffield also has many well-tended parks and a beautiful greenbelt area for plenty of outdoor fun. Also popular, particularly among gardeners, is the 19-acre Sheffield Botanical Gardens.
When you’re through enjoying the city’s many green spaces, it’s well worth visiting the center of this university town, where academic institutions have long worked closely with local industry, the most recent example being the Technology Park near the technical college. Sheffield is famous for knives, all types of cutting tools, guns, and high-grade steel production, a fact Chaucer refers to back in 1478 in his Canterbury Tales when he describes a “Sheffield thwitel,” the ancestor of the modern pocket knife. Once made in home workshops, Sheffield’s fine cutlery is still exported around the world.
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Sheffield Airport Taxi Transfers by Chauffeur Service
If you’ll be getting to Sheffield by way of an airport, your three best options are Manchester Airport, Leeds Bradford Airport, and East Midlands Airport — each is approximately 35 miles from the city. To travel from the airport to Sheffield (or back again to an airport from the city), you might consider going in style by hiring a chauffeur service such as Cars Exec. Such a service costs only slightly more than a traditional taxi, but the advantage of a Sheffield airport taxi transfer by chauffeur is a greatly enhanced quality of vehicle as well as a far more personal and professional driver.
Sheffield Cathedral – St Peter & St Paul
Whether you have come to pray, to search or to ponder; whether you are a lover of art, architecture or music; whether you need help or have come to look round, you are most welcome here. Come to one of Sheffield’s oldest buildings, the ancient heart of this great city. Stones from a Norman church (11th – 12th century) with their dog-tooth pattern, can be seen set in the east wall.
The Tudor monuments in the Shrewsbury Chapel are magnificent, especially the one commemorating the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, husband of Bess of Hardwick and guardian of Mary Queen of Scots during her fourteen years of imprisonment in Sheffield. Every window tells a story, not least the Lantern window in the west end which welcomes you in to this place.
The Church Burgesses gave the Resource Centre its opening feature, the 1554 Gallery. Its glass doors have an etched design featuring the crest of the Burgesses with the date 1554 and the appropriate words ‘Sigillum Villa de Sheffelde‘.
Tropical Butterfly House Wildlife & Falconry Centre
More than just butterflies, the Tropical Butterfly House is also home to meerkats, lemurs, farm animals, otters, owls, reptiles, free-flying birds of prey, and brightly-colored parrots. Animal lovers can experience close-up encounters with some of the more charismatic animals.You can pat a lemur, meet the meerkats, learn all about otters on a keeper’s talk, feed the farm animals, and spend hours photographing the butterflies up close. If you’re hungry after meeting all the animals, the cafe here serves lunch, snacks, and afternoon tea with homemade cakes.
Peak District National Park
The Peak District’s very special qualities are well known to the people who live in the towns and cities that surround the National Park but for visitors from further away, whether from Britain or abroad, the magic of the Peak District is just waiting to be discovered. A short break, or longer holiday, will allow you to explore some of England’s most spectacular scenery and in the towns, villages and hamlets — among the prettiest in the country — you will find a warm and genuine welcome wherever you go. Every taste is catered for and many exciting activities are available.
The Peak District also enjoys the most extensive public transport network of any national park giving you a unique chance to visit the countryside without having to worry about taking the car. Peak Connections publishes guides to visiting top attractions by bus or train. For a fun and informative day out try one of our ranger guided walks and events. For people who are less mobile, or have young families, Access for All provides you with information and ideas on how to get maximum enjoyment from your visit.
Sheffield Botanical Gardens
A Grade-II listed site, the beautiful 19-acre Sheffield Botanical Gardens were established in 1836 and showcase more than 5,000 species of plants. This is a lovely spot for a stroll — especially in the spring and summer, when many of the plants are in full bloom. Highlights include the glasshouses, also Grade II listed, with temperate plants from Australia, Asia, and South Africa; the Victorian Garden; and the Four Seasons Garden, which is colorful at any time of year.
