Sheffield

map
map

ROUGH GUIDE to

Sheffields Hidden Gems

with our
compliments

there are guides,

and there are
rough guides...
fun this way

Explore for less

In front of you is one of the most interesting, inspiring
and downright insightful destination guides there is.
Its part of our Rough Guide series, and it will help you
swap the beaten track for an unbelievable trip.
Youll discover hidden gems and best-kept secrets. Its
like having your own local tour guide, right there in your
pocket. It even comes with your very own map. Get out
there, explore and share your ndings on Facebook or
Twitter on your glorious return.
Theres a full set of these Rough Guides, covering
lots of amazing places across the north of England
and Scotland. Book your next adventures online at
tpexpress.co.uk and collect the whole set.

download
our free
train times
app

check out our

mobile website

Sheffield
Formerly the heart of Englands heavy and specialist steel production,
by the 1980s the downturn in the industry had tipped parts of
Sheffield into dispiriting decline. The subsequent revival has been
rapid, however, with the centre utterly transformed by flagship
architectural projects and vibrant music and cultural scenes thrive
year-round in this energetic, youthful city.

APG
1620 Sidney Street S1 4RH Gmap T 0114 263 4493
W www.apgworks.co.uk H MonFri 9.30am5.30pm, Sat 11am4pm
P free to browse

In a once-gloomy part of the city

where graffiti and street art now
brighten up long stretches of faded
brickwork, this small, privately run
gallery formerly the Archipelago
Gallery offers a chance to meet
some of Sheffields most creative
artists, and view their work in
regularly updated exhibitions. If
you dont see anyone around in
the courtyard, just ring the bell by
the door and youll be invited in
to look around the studios, which

4 A

Rough Guide

are housed in an old silver-plating

factory thats been painted and
puttied to give it a new lease of life.
Inside the higgledy-piggledy
rooms are original screen prints by
local artists, plus t-shirts and bags
that have been custom printed
with logos. The main theme is
affordability (framed, handmade
screen prints by respected local
illustrators go for around 100)
although there also seems to be a
preference for vivid, comic-book

style designs. Everything is for sale,

and its likely youll see artists at
work during your visit, so its worth
taking time to browse the different
parts of the gallery. As you browse

you might notice the friendly black

dog, Sapper, following you from
room to room. The artists here
also offer a framing service for
works purchased elsewhere.

Bungalows and Bears

The Old Fire Station, 50 Division St S1 1RU Gmap
T 0114 279 2901 W www.bungalowsandbears.com H MonThurs noon
midnight, FriSat noon1.30am, Sun noonmidnight

Bungalows and Bears makes the

most of its location in an old fire
station, whose glass doors face
out onto Division Street, one of
the most student-friendly parts
of the city. With a big, sweeping bar
and a selection of squidgy sofas
arranged where the fire engines
were once kept, its a good spot
for a cheap, early evening drink.
On Tuesdays, the kitchen runs
two-for-one burger deals.
Drinks and food aside, its the
events that really make Bungalows
and Bears an interesting place to
hang out. As well as fairly typical
Friday nights that see DJs keeping
the young crowd of drinkers
happy, this bar-club also hosts live
bands, movie nights, quizzes and
Sunday evening swing sessions.

If you get peckish check out the

menu, inspired by an American
diner, which includes fried
chicken, sliders and a chocolate
brownie sundae topped with
marshmallows (3.75).

Sheffield

Kelham Island Brewery

La Mama

23 Alma Street S3 8SA Gmap T 0114 249 4804

W www.kelhambrewery.co.uk H Standard tours MonSat, pre-booking
required (minimum 10 people per group) P standard tours 15 per person;
tours including food (pie and peas) 20 per person

238 Abbeydale Road S7 1FL Gmap T 0114 327 9597

W www.lamama-sheffield.blogspot.co.uk H MonSat 6pmlate

Small, independently run breweries

are one of Sheffield's star attractions,
and there are a couple of places that
invite visitors to look around and
find out how the production process
works. One of the best, the Kelham
Island Brewery, sits on an islet that
was created 800 years ago when
water was diverted from the River
Don to drive a corn mill further
downstream.
Book in advance and join a short
tour that starts with a pint of one of
the brewerys real ales in a modern
bar, purpose-built for the tours, and

6 A

Rough Guide

continues with a walk around the

small brewing operation. At the end
of the tour (usually lasting between
45 and 60 minutes, the group
returns to the bar, where a couple
more beers are waiting to be swilled.
Theres a fair selection too the
brewery turns out five main beers
plus two specials every month.
Close by is the Kelham Island
Museum (simt.co.uk; adults 4.50),
which focuses on Sheffields
industrial past. The most popular
exhibit here is the River Don Engine,
a colossal beast of a steam engine
that helped Sheffield produce
armour plating for dreadnought
ships. It still works, and is fired
up twice a day for visitors,
costing the museum around
150 a time. Many other items
of heritage machinery at the
museum are still in operation
too, and craftspeople show
how they were used in their
period workshops.

When the Valeria family moved

from Chile to Sheffield in 1976,
there wasnt a single Latin
American restaurant in the city.
Now there are around half a
dozen. La Mama, the restaurant
that the Valeria family founded,
is still the most authentic place
around, serving up more than
25 hot and cold tapas dishes
(most items 46) in relaxed,
surroundings. If you dont want
the hassle of ordering lots of small

dishes, go for one of the fiesta

set meals.
Terracotta walls filled with
photos of vivid landscapes give the
place a warm feeling, even when
its chilly outside. If you want to
feel even more sunshine, head
to one of the regular live music
nights the focus is on Latin
American beats; check website for
for thcoming events and drink in
the atmosphere with some friends
and a jug of sangria.

Sheffield

The Leadmill

The Rude Shipyard

6 Leadmill Road S1 4SE Gmap T 0114 221 2828 W www.leadmill.co.uk

H Generally 11am3am, see event schedule for exact times; closed Sun

89 Abbeydale Rd, S7 1FE Gmap T 0114 258 9653

W www.therudeshipyard.com H ThursTues 10am4pm

Venues and clubs come and go, but

the Leadmill, founded in 1980, is
still the go-to nightspot for any act
wanting to play live in Sheffield. It has,
after all, hosted some of the most
successful British bands of the last
thirty years, including Coldplay, Oasis,
Muse and the Manic Street Preachers.
Keep an eye on the website and
you might catch a big-name artist or
promising up-and-comer.

8 A

Rough Guide

The crowd varies depending on

whos playing, but the club nights
held here after the bands have
finished are a big hit with students,
who come for the cheap shots, free
sweets and gig-ticket giveaways.
Dont expect rock and indie every
night of the week, though; different
parts of the 1,150-capacity venue
are often filled with the sounds of
soul, Motown, and pop.

Abbeydale Road is an eclectic part

of Sheffield, home to Italian delis,
Indian restaurants and Caribbean
fast-food joints. So its fitting that
The Rude Shipyard, a carefully
curated caf-cum-bookshop that
encourages people to meet and
integrate, is at the centre of a lot
of the goings-on.
One of the nicest things about
the caf is its layout; there are
three small rooms, separated by
a creaky staircase, which have

a cosy, lounge-like feel to them.

Theres a good selection of books,
both used and new, and at the
counter downstairs youll find
freshly baked cakes being sold
by the slice. With strong coffee
brewing and vinyl crackling on the
record player, its a good place
to start the day. At lunchtime,
sandwiches stuffed with tasty
veggie fillings like goats cheese,
beetroot and rocket cost just
3.50 to take away.

Sheffield Round Walk

Tamper Coffee

To get to Endcliffe Park

9 Westfield Terrace S1 4GH

Gmap take bus #81 from Furnival Gate (a 5-minute

walk from the station) towards Greystones/Bents Green. Maps (3.95) are
available from the council offices at Meersbrook Park, 2.5 miles south of the
city centre, or through the website. T 0114 250 0500 W www.sheffield.gov.uk
(small charge for postage applies)

If the hustle and bustle of the centre

gets too much, try walking some (or
all) of the Sheffield Round Walk, a
fourteen-mile route through some
of the greenest sections of the city.
Starting at Endcliffe Park, a couple of
miles southwest of the railway station,
and looping south via Ringinglow and
Meadowhead, the circular route takes
ramblers through woodlands, parks
and gardens.
The main attraction is being in
green space so near to the city, but
there are plenty of things worth

10 A

Rough Guide

stopping off for along the way.

Near the southernmost stretch, for
instance, its possible to look around
a medieval abbey built in 1176, or
wander through an industrial hamlet
which, in the eighteenth century,
was alive with the clanging sounds
of the toolmakers trade. If you have
the legs for it, its possible to walk
the entire fourteen miles in one a
day. Do take a map though (available
through the council website here);
local pranksters have a habit of
pinching the signs that point the way.

Gmap

T 0114 327 1080

W www.tampercoffee.co.uk H Mon
Fri 8am4:30pm, Sat 9am4pm, Sun
10am4pm. Kitchen closes at 3pm.

Started by a New Zealander who

moved to the UK in 2011, Tamper
Coffee aims to serve top-notch
drinks in the kind of relaxed caf
environment that wouldnt look
out of place in Wellington or
Christchurch. Dont come expecting
to see New Zealand flags all over
the place; references to Kiwi culture
are subtle and unexpected, like the
New Zealand-style steak pies on the
menu, which sell for 3.95 each.
The caf itself is a small and
simple space, with bench seats
covered in burlap coffee sacks
and metal-framed stools that
look as though theyve been
borrowed from a school
science laboratory. Lunchtimes
are popular, as people queue
for the ever-changing soup
of the day (prices vary).
Occasional evening events that
run from 5pm10.30pm are
also popular, providing a nice

first
transPennine Tip
Head to the Devonshire
Quarter for a mix of
independent music
stores, coffee shops, bars
and fabulous fashion
boutiques.
booze-free alternative to the pub.
If you get a taste for the coffee
(and it is very good, with just
the right amount of chocolaty
bitterness) then 3.50 will
buy you a 100g bag of ground
beans to take away.

Sheffield

11

The Winter Garden and

Millennium Galleries
Winter Garden: Surrey St Gmap H MonSat 8am8pm, Sun 8am6pm
Millennium Galleries: Arundel Gate W www.museums-sheffield.org.uk
H MonSat 10am5pm, Sun 11am4pm P free

The unexpected, striking architecture

of the Winter Garden just a
minutes walk from the town hall
and Peace Gardens is a potent
symbol of Sheffields regeneration. At

12 A

Rough Guide

230ft long and 70ft high and wide,

its essentially a twenty-first-century
version of a Victorian conservatory
on a grand scale. Its created from
unvarnished, slowly weathering
wood and polished glass and
is filled with more than 2000
seasonally changing plants and
towering trees.
Backing onto this vast
glasshouse, the Millennium
galleries consist of the Metalwork
Gallery, devoted to the citys
world-famous cutlery industry
including an introduction to
the processes involved and
a collection of fine silver and
stainless steel cutlery, and the
diverting Ruskin Gallery. Based on
the cultrural collection founded
by John Ruskin in 1875 to
improve the working people of
Sheffield, this includes manuscripts,
minerals, watercolours and
drawings all relating in some way
to the natural world.

Credits
Author: Steve Vickers
Editing and Picture research: Ian Blenkinsop
Design & layout: Anthony Limerick and Ann
Cannings
Project manager: Ian Blenkinsop
Account manager (First TransPennine):
Caroline Anchor
Account manager (Rough Guides): Michael
Stanfield
For this edition:
Factcheckers: Keith Munro, Steve Vickers
Senior editor: Ros Walford
Senior prepress designer: Daniel May
Senior digital producer Sean Daly
First published 2013
This second edition published May 2014 by
Rough Guides Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R
0RL
Rough Guides Ltd, 2013
ISBN 978-0-2411-8328-1

The publishers and authors have done their

best to ensure the accuracy and currency of
all the information contained in Rough Guides
Hidden Gems: Sheffield, however, they can
accept no responsibility for any loss, injury
or inconvenience sustained as a result of
information or advice contained in the guide.

Picture credits
All illustrations are First TransPennine
Express.
All photography is Rough Guides except for
the following:
Bungalows and bears Katie Dane /
Bungalows and Bears; Kelham Island
cooldudeandy01 / Wikimedia Commons;
La Mama La Mama Latin Tapas Bar and
Restaurant; Leadmill Redferns via Getty
Images; Rude Shipyard Marek Payne / Rude
Shipyard; Sheffield Walk Brzi/iStockphoto;
Tamper Coffee Tamper Coffee; Winter
Gardens Sheena Woodhead/iStockphoto.

Sheffield

13