City Tourist Guide To Sheffield
By Leisha Greenfield
Sheffield's significance as the steel manufacturing centre of the UK
declined dramatically over the decades leading up to the 80s, but the
city has been rejuvenated and now stands as the fourth largest in the
country, with a bustling creative industry and affectionately dubbed as
'the biggest village in the country'.

The city centre is separated into four sections: Cultural Quarter, the
Shopping Quarter, the Business Quarter and the Devonshire Quarter. Each
of the city's sections offers a different slice of city life, and comes
equipped with shops, cafés, and bars that befit the
quarter's unique atmosphere.

Home to the World Student Games of 1991, and officially named the
National City of Sport, Sheffield has all the sporting facilities one
could wish for! And with 150 woodland areas, 50 public parks, and the
Peak District minutes away, Sheffield has much to offer for a weekend
break.

History

A market town has existed in the area now Sheffield since the ninth
century. In the seven centuries that followed, the area pioneered
developments in the steel industry and Sheffield became known as the UK
centre of steel production.

The collapse of the British mining and manufacturing industries had a
devastating effect on the city, but the area has recovered well and
been officially named the National City of Sport.

Weston Park Museum features exhibits and displays documenting
Sheffield's long and significant history and is located across the road
from the Sheffield Children's Hospital. Important historical buildings
include Bishops' House, boasting many of its original fifteenth and
sixteenth century fixtures, and The Old Queen’s Head, a fifteenth
century pub in the city centre.

Art Galleries

There are two art galleries in Sheffield city centre: The
Graves Art Gallery and the Millenium Galleries.

The Graves Art Gallery is based inside the 1930s central library, and
houses an extensive collection of nineteenth and twentieth century art
from around Britain and Europe. The permanent displays include works by
Picasso and Pierre Bonnard, and attempt to document the significant art
movements of the period.

The Millenium Galleries is a complex comprising four separate
galleries: The Special Exhibition Gallery, home to temporary
exhibitions; the Metalwork Gallery, displaying Sheffield's historical
steel products; the Craft and Design Gallery, home to craft and design
works; and the Ruskin Gallery, a donation of art from the nineteenth
century artist and writer John Ruskin.

Theatres

The Sheffield Theatres complex is the largest of its kind outside of
the capital, and comprises three separate theatres: the Crucible, the
Lyceum and the Studio Theatre.

The Crucible is the main producing theatre in the complex, and plays
host to the annual World Snooker Championships. The auditorium is
large, seating just less than a thousand people, and stages an
impressive variety of drama, musicals and amateur theatre.

The Lyceum is the main receiving venue for large-scale touring
productions in Sheffield, and seats more than eleven hundred people.
Located in a listed building, the theatre hosts a range of productions,
including opera, ballet and dance.

The Studio Theatre is the newest and smallest of the Sheffield Theatres
venues, and tends to stage critically acclaimed, small-scale
performances by touring companies and local groups.

Restaurants

Restaurants in Sheffield are plentiful, and the majority of these restaurants
and cafés can be found located around the west of the city, in
West:One and on West Street, and further out in the south, on London
Road.

West:One is a complex in the city centre, comprising a number of
stylish and modern restaurants. Las Iguanas is one of these; serving
authentic Latin American cuisine and a range of cocktails.

Alaturka, regarded as Sheffield's finest Turkish restaurant, is based
on London Road. Further along is Vietnamese Noodle Bar, a cheap and
high quality establishment with an incredibly varied clientele.

For fine dining, Thyme has two in the city and Nether Green
is home to a Rafters restaurant.

Pubs/Bars

Pubs popular with the large student population in Sheffield include The
Cavendish on West Street, a 'Scream' pub, and Walkabout, an
Australian-themed bar just around the corner. The Sheffield University
union pub, Bar One, is one of the most successful union bars in the
country and is only open to students and their friends in the evenings.
Hubs in the Sheffield Hallam University bar and located in the building
that was once the National Centre for Popular Music.

Sheffield has plenty to offer real ale drinkers, and the largest range
can be found in The Devonshire Cat in the city centre. The Sheaf View
Inn in Heeley is incredibly popular with real ale connoisseurs, and is
listed in The Good Beer Guide.

The Showroom is based in the Cultural Quarter, and is frequented by
many of the media professionals who work in the area.

Nightclubs

Corporation nightclub is a rock club, rated highly by Kerrang!. The
club is open four nights a week and offers a variety of ska-punk,
metal, indie, hardcore, punk and emo sounds.

The Leadmill has been open since the 80s, and functions as a nightclub
and live music venue. There are gigs most evenings, and those attending
the gigs are usually admitted to the club free of charge.

Gatecrasher One is one of the north's most popular clubs, and is open
five nights a week, offering house, hip-hop, r'n'b, classic pop, and
more.

Kingdom nightclub comprises four rooms, including a private members'
bar, and plays pop, disco anthems and r'n'b. The Plug, also in the city
centre, presents live music, rave and techno; and is located around the
corner from Niche, a speed garage and funky house venue.

Shopping

Sheffield City Centre is separated into four clearly labelled zones, and is
gradually being pedestrianised, making city centre shopping a more
enjoyable and rewarding experience.

The Devonshire Quarter, in the west, is home to a range of designer
boutiques and unusual or bohemian retailers, and a small shopping
centre known as The Forum. Budget stores and supermarkets are located
on the Moor, in the south, along with fresh fruit and vegetable outdoor
markets. The city's indoor market is based in the north of

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the city
centre, Castle Market, and comprises hundreds of units.

Meadowhall Shopping Centre is located a short drive from the city
centre, and is home to nearly three hundred retailers. Unlike many
shopping centres, Meadowhall is home to both major chain stores and
independent retailers, offering a range to suit everybody. There is a
large multi-kiosk food court, a crèche and twelve thousand free
parking spaces.

Sports

Sheffield hosted the World Student Games in 1991 and has been
officially named as the National City of Sport.

The primary leisure centre, of the thirteen in the city, is Ponds Forge
International Sports Centre. Ponds Forge comprises a regional size
leisure pool, the Great Britain Diving Squad's diving pool and the
Olympic swimming pool. There are also three fully equipped gyms, a
large sports hall and numerous sports coaching facilities.

Don Valley Stadium, the largest athletics stadium in the UK, boasts an
eight-lane all-weather track, six long-jump pits, an eighty-five-metre
indoor track, and much more.

Ice Sheffield is an Olympic-sized ice rink, with lessons and
development sessions for skaters of all abilities. Climbing facilities
are available at The Edge, in the city centre; and there are numerous
golf courses located around the city.

Author: Leisha Greenfield
Having spent 10 years working as a visitor guide at various top Londontourist attractions, Leisha Greenfield has now writes articles on UK tourism. www.ukcityguide.info.