Recent times have certainly highlighted just how valuable our outdoor spaces are. That’s why it’s even more important we look after these vital spaces and everyone does their bit to help. Here’s a rundown of the key things we should all remember while enjoying The Outdoor City…
Sheffield is the perfect city from which to go canoeing, stand up paddle boarding (SUPing) or kayaking. Rivers, canals and lakes around the city are all easily accessible and offer a whole range of different opportunities to get out on the water.
Explore Sheffield by seeking out The Outdoor City Run Routes. Over 30 routes are signposted and mapped across 15 locations in parks and woodland across the city.
Anne de Buck gives her view on visiting Sheffield for the first time and taking in some of the nature and culture that is on offer here.
With 20 years experience, DC Outdoors offer a wealth of adventure activities, including Rock Climbing, Canoeing and Stand Up Paddleboarding.
As the sun starts to shine we know that outdoors will once again become to the new indoors for meetings!
Peak District Outdoor Adventures offer free outdoor events (typically hikes and walks) in the Peak District national park.
Open Gates Outdoors and Coaching Limited is committed to widening participation in the outdoors in and around Sheffield.
Pure Outdoor Ltd provide outstanding outdoor experiences, skills courses and qualifications from their excellent training centre in Bamford. They regularly run Rock Climbing, Hillwalking, Caving and Mountain Biking Adventures for all abilities. With quick and easy rail connections to Sheffield station they are perfectly situated for all outdoor adventurers.
Lockerbrook Farm Outdoor Centre, built in 1756, provides a unique location for schools, groups, companies and individuals to experience first-hand the richness and diversity of the national park landscape.
A list of accessible greenspaces in and around the city, so that everyone can feel able to enjoy the natural surroundings.
Hathersage Swimming pool is an open air pool with water heated to 82°F (28°c), hot poolside showers, lawns and views of Stanage Edge, Hathersage Church and the surrounding hills.
Parson House Outdoor Pursuit Centre is dedicated to providing a safe environment for outdoor activities to take place in. Their instructors are fully qualified and have a combined excellence in a number of outdoor activities with a great amount of practical experience in each of them. The outdoors can be dangerous, which is part of the attraction, so safety aspects are always emphasised.
Whether it's in the city on the canals or on the edges in the reservoirs of the Peak District, there are numerous activity providers who can guide you, instruct you, lead you and hire you everything you'll need to make the most of The Outdoor City.
Kicking off the outdoor season with a bang! Each March, Festival of the Outdoors offers a full month of events and activities celebrating Sheffield's great outdoors and communities. With a really wide variety of events there's something for everyone!
Get ready for an interactive, puzzle-filled tour with this Outdoor Escape Game in Sheffield – Murder on the Don.
Taking over the Concourse outside Sheffield University Students’ Union, Under The Bridge will run 12pm - 8pm with a FREE outdoor live music, art and street food.
TV presenter and Co-Founder of The Outdoor Guide, Julia Bradbury grew up in Sheffield and learnt to love walking right here in the city. Like many Sheffielders, she used to spend her weekends out in the Peak District with her Dad, just a stone’s throw away from the city limits, so she knows a lot about the beauty that exists right here in The Outdoor City.
Few cities can boast a public space like Sheffield’s Winter Garden and its outdoor companion the Peace Gardens.
If you climb outdoors you will always have one eye on the weather. A little local knowledge can help you find the right crag in and around Sheffield, and get a good day’s climbing whatever the weather.
From outdoor adventures with egg hunts and trails to hands-on activities, see our rundown of family fun events happening across Sheffield this Easter holidays.
From outdoor adventures with egg hunts and trails to hands-on activities, see our rundown of family fun events happening across Sheffield this Easter holidays.
2024 promises another huge line-up of exciting events and festivals happening across Sheffield, from large music festivals and international sporting events to food & drink celebrations, outdoor markets and lots of family fun.
Sheffield Theatres will once again hold a weekend of outdoor performance in Tudor Square.
There are two things Sheffield is world famous for: our greenspace, and our beer. We thought it was worth celebrating this by giving you some top places to run, walk or ride AND find a proper pub to start, end, or break up your adventure.
Whilst originally made famous for its traditional climbs, the boulders that sit beneath Stanage Edge are packed with a quality and history all of their own.
The UK's greenest city, where nature and culture intertwine. The historic Peak District National Park and spiritual home of the country's climbing scene, with downhill mountain biking, road cycling and a hive of activity for kayakers, walkers and runners of all ability.
2025 promises another huge line-up of exciting events and festivals happening across Sheffield, from large music festivals and international sporting events to food & drink celebrations, outdoor markets and lots of family fun. Get planning your adventures in Sheffield with our event guide.
2026 promises another huge line-up of exciting events and festivals happening across Sheffield, from large music festivals and international sporting events to outdoor markets and lots of family fun. Get planning your adventures in Sheffield with our event guide.
Sheffield City Council is working with the team from Steel Yard Kelham to create the hub which will be made out of shipping containers and feature food vendors, shops, toilets, living walls, outdoor seating and a big screen.
Sheffield actually has more than 800 managed green spaces across 4,000 hectares within the city boundary. With so much on offer, we wanted to create something to help demonstrate how accessible greenspaces are in The Outdoor City and so we commissioned a ‘Greenground Map’ from designer Helen Ilus.
With 154 contemporary and airy guest rooms, a rooftop speakeasy-style Indian restaurant concept and bar, six flexible meeting and event spaces with an outdoor terrace, a fully equipped fitness center, and a convenient location, the hotel is the perfect base for any stay, whether traveling on business or leisure.
Adventure Expertise offer exclusively tailored and low-ratio outdoor courses, delivered by the UK's highest qualified instructors, and they are committed to providing the highest standard outdoor skills courses and guiding for you.
The newest chapter in Sheffield’s story as a thriving food destination – this venue is way more than just another food hall, complete with dedicated BBQ, sushi and counter-top dining spaces, four vibrant bars, AR Darts, children's play area and outdoor rooftop terraces, while also incorporating a cookery school and community kitchen.
Lithosphere Expeditions is a UK-based outdoor adventure company specialising in professionally guided experiences across the Peak District.
Peak Mountaineering is a long established provider of the highest quality mountain training, group events, outdoor adventures and overseas expeditions.
Measuring 483.69 square metres in total, the artwork will be painted across 6 facades of the brown-brick NCP building on Wellington Street, paying homage to the natural topography which has defined Sheffield since the 12th century, as a city built on hills and rivers.
TRIBE is a Bushcraft and Outdoor Skills centre located in ancient woodland on the South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire border within easy reach of Sheffield.
Wortley Golf Club is a picturesque parkland course set in the tranquil, natural woodland surrounds of the historic Wharncliffe Estate. The club was founded in 1894 and to this day remains a unique oasis of peace, set against a backdrop of the pleasant sights and sounds of nature. Wortley is undoubtedly a hidden gem amongst the golf courses of South Yorkshire. Here you will find a traditional golf club with a truly modern outlook.
Try out the “Total Wipeout” style Aqua Park (inflatable outdoor water assault course) in Rother Valley Country Park. Complete with huge inflatable slides, trampoline, inflatable climbing wall, runways and of course the blast bag.
Gritstone Adventure Activities was founded in the Peak District in 2013 to empower people wishing to improve their outdoor skills or simply to allow people to escape into Britain’s spectacular countryside for fun and adventure. They provide high quality, expertly staffed outdoor activities in rock climbing, caving, abseiling, trekking, mountain biking, gorge scrambling, Canoeing, Water Sports and more.
Set in the extensive and beautiful Ecclesall Woods, the J.G Graves Woodland Discovery Centre is named after the Sheffield philanthropist who helped purchase the woodland in 1927 and is the perfect indoor/outdoor venue for a wide variety of events.
When the British weather behaves, there’s nothing better than a cold, crisp pint in the sunshine and Sheffield delivers plenty of brilliant places to enjoy it. From tucked‑away courtyards to sprawling outdoor terraces, the city has no shortage of spots perfect for al fresco drinking.
Twenty minutes' drive from Sheffield city centre, between the trees of Storrs Wood, lies Stoneface Creative - a hidden outdoor art gallery.
If you're looking for a great family outing or you're just an absolute animal lover, Sheffield has some fantastic farms in and around the city, where you can visit and meet a host of furry friends.
Ideal for the novice or the budding mountaineer Sheffield-based company Will4Adventure provide adventures, activities and courses for individuals, groups and families in the Peak District and beyond. Guided walks and Free Walking Weekends, Rock Climbing, Map and Compass Skills courses, Scrambling Weekends and Courses in Snowdonia and the Lake District, plus Outdoor First Aid training, and a niche selection of overseas Trekking Holidays. Also, they offer their very own unique and powerful…
Sheffield is spoilt for choice when it comes to walking groups. Here are a few of them.
Our outdoor city is inspiring other major cities across the world, in the inclusion and development of outdoors as part of their identities, while also striving to solve climate, sustainability and nature challenges faced by the world.
Peaks of Colour is a walking club created by Sheffield journalist and activist Evie Muir, providing a safe space for people of colour to access Sheffield’s green spaces.
We have 61% greenspace within our borders, we have more trees per person than any other city in Europe, we have over 800 managed greenspaces across 4,000 hectares of land, and it’s recently coming to light that we have more peatland bog than any other city too (which tops the charts for carbon capture). These facts are a source of great pride, but come with a duty to look after what we have.
In the words of Sheffield’s mountain bike legend Steve Peat, "it’s an awesome ride!"
Dolomite Training are an activity provider based in Bakewell in the very heart of the Peak District and have been running for 12 years. They provide exciting and adventurous outdoor activities for a wide range of groups. This includes schools, youth groups, families, corporate team building or stag and hen groups. In this time their positive reputation has spread and the feedback they get from clients is just great. They also provide specialist 1:1 training courses for climbing, caving and…
There are 70 managed ancient woodlands in Sheffield, where you'll walk through trees that have seen the transformation of the city through the industrial years.
What better way to find the top trails than from inside knowledge from Ride Sheffield. Check them off your list.
An unexpected slice of wilderness on the western fringes of Sheffield, Wyming Brook’s babbling streams, mossy crags and sweet smelling pines are protected as a valuable home to wildlife.
Skateboarding has a long, rich history in Sheffield. The city boasts an impressive roll call of pro and skate industry sponsored skaters, and punches above its weight on the UK scene with a solid skateboarding community.
It might come as a surprise to know that The Burbage Valley is technically part of the city of Sheffield (this is one of the many reasons we call ourselves The Outdoor City!). Accessible by bus from Sheffield city centre, Burbage offers a diverse range of gritstone climbing – from friendly routes to boulder problems, and powerful challenging climbs to classic routes.
Over 4 miles, the breathtaking gritstone edge of Stanage is home to some of the most famous traditional or ‘trad’ routes in the world - and it literally forms the boundary edge of Sheffield. If you wanted a single venue to capture the full gritstone climbing experience then Stanage is your place.
Kelham Island has long been at the forefront of Sheffield's brewing reputation and has become a mecca for renowned real ale pubs and microbreweries. This guide gives you a rundown of the best beery places to visit on a day/evening out.
This particular walk is a superb short stroll, suitable for families with young children (although bear in mind that it’s not pushchair friendly) or for those who are looking for a leisurely amble with a café stop en-route. It also works well as a trail run and, if you’re looking for something more challenging, it’s easy to add extra miles via exploring the myriad of paths around the Burbage moors.
Several purpose-built climbing boulders have popped up all over the city in recent years. Built to closely mimic the natural boulders and slabs found out in the Peak District, these public facilities offer a convenient and fun opportunity for novices and experts alike to work on their technique – all for free.
With its scenic hills to climb – and free-wheel back down again – and its roads leading straight out to the Peak District, Sheffield is heaven-sent to the road cyclist.
Sheffield street artist Peachzz has completed a new large-scale wildlife mural on the side of the Cubo building, overlooking Pound’s Park in Sheffield City Centre.
Taking place Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September 2026 in Sheffield's stunning Botanical Gardens, Art in the Gardens is one of the largest outdoor art markets in the North of England, with artists, craft makers and visitors coming from across the UK.
From world-class theatre and family-friendly museums to great outdoor adventures, there’s so much to do and see in Sheffield.
The stunning mural, which adorns the side of the Cubo building, overlooking Pound's Park in Sheffield City Centre, was unveiled last month and has been praised by Sheffielders and will now be entered into Street Art Cities' Best Global Street Art of Year, for 2024.
Summer 2025 is looking like a busy one for Sheffield, with major music festivals, sporting events, vibrant outdoor markets and family entertainment.
Following the recent extensive archaeological research, including unearthing evidence of former steel works dating back to the 19th century and the remains of Sheffield Castle itself, the project is now moving into Phase 2 which will see redevelopment of the park and events space.
The vibrant mural painted by artist Peachzz overlooks Pound's Park in Sheffield City Centre and was unveiled back in June last year to much praise by Sheffielders. It has now been ranked as 2nd Best in the World by online street art community, Street Art Cities.
Sheffield has loads of great options to help you make the most of cosy season in the city. Whether you're pairing it with a brisk walk in our great outdoors or sipping a cheeky cocktail in a hidden bar, we've rounded up some of the city's cosiest corners for you to enjoy.
Airing on German Breakfast show programme, ZDF’s Volle Kanne, the 13-minute city piece was broadcast in two segments and took German viewers on a whistle-stop tour or Sheffield’s key attractions, vibrant places and green spaces.
2025 marked the start of an exciting new era for Sheffield's acclaimed restaurant JÖRO, as they opened a new destination where world-class dining, hospitality and innovation unite.
2023 is set to be a landmark year in the city’s music history, as some of Sheffield’s best-known exports return to play historic headlining shows. Meanwhile a Sheffield-made musical has just won two Oliver awards and Sheffield's DIY music scene is also making waves in national press...
Sheffield’s Kelham Island has been named one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world by TimeOut magazine, as they featured the popular urban district at No. 35 in their rundown of the most exciting districts of global cities.
Held in Sheffield's Botanical Gardens each September, Art in the Gardens is one the largest outdoor art market events in northern England, with artists, craft makers and visitors coming from across the UK.
With scenic viewpoints, lush valleys, weaving waterways and ancient woodland, plus the Peak District on the doorstep, there's so much natural beauty to enjoy in Sheffield: The Outdoor City and often the best way to do this is on foot.
Whether it's a special romantic occasion or you just simply want to explore somewhere new, there's lots to enjoy with your favourite person in Sheffield, The Outdoor City.
Is Sheffield the UK’s most exciting food city? Quite possibly, as an increasing number of the city’s restaurants and bars have been popping up in national listings and awards. Here we take a look at those attracting the attention...
From the largest urban glass house in Europe to the largest theatre complex outside of London, there's lots to experience in Sheffield, The Outdoor City.
From suntrap terraces to cobbled courtyards in former cutlery workshops and even the odd rooftop, explore our guide of great places to enjoy outdoor drinks and fantastic food in Sheffield.
Housing an exciting variety of inspiring world food vendors under one roof, Cambridge Street Collective promises a truly unique food hall experience in Sheffield, with 20 independent food partners.
Opening in the beautiful Grade II listed Bethel Sunday School building, Güs is set to bring a new luxury wellness hub complete with Scandi saunas, ice baths, vanity station and café, to Sheffield's Heart of the City development on Cambridge Street.
Whether you're a beginner looking to get into the sport from scratch or a budding enthusiast looking to move here to get a bit more work/life balance, here's some inspiration to whet your appetite whilst you're in The Outdoor City.
From guided tours led by friendly local experts and adventures in our great outdoors, to tasting your way around the city or even getting hands-on with a masterclass/workshop, Sheffield is full of fantastic unique experiences for visitors.
An accelerator programme, TwinklHive opened its doors in 2019 and provides space, investment, and support to accelerate the growth of innovative like-minded start-ups that are looking to solve a real problem for their customer.
A brilliant city for that long-needed weekend away with your mates, Sheffield's size means there's loads to go at, but it's not so big that getting around becomes a mission - plus as The Outdoor City there's tonnes of adventure to be had.
In a lot of cities you have to chuck your bike on a roof rack or get on a train to get some decent cycling in. The fact that 1/3 of our city is in the Peak District means that you just clip in out the front door - so for those looking for a weekend away where you can make the most of city life and the outdoors, it doesn't come much better than Sheffield.
Where's good to eat, drink, relax, catch some culture or discover some nature? We thought we'd save you the hassle of lots of internet searches by giving you some suggestions for inclusive, family friendly ways of spending your time in Sheffield, The Outdoor City.
Where's good to eat, drink, relax, catch some culture or discover some nature? We thought we'd save you the hassle of lots of internet searches by giving you some suggestions for inclusive, family friendly ways of spending your time in Sheffield, The Outdoor City.
Sheffield’s freshest beer festival is back, as the team behind the award-winning Peddler Market present Neepsend Craft Beer Festival, taking place 27 - 28 February.
Holly Hagg are famous for their regular guided alpaca treks . You can take one of their gorgeous alpacas or llamas for a walk, amidst the woodland and beautiful scenery of Sheffield's Rivelin Valley, all under the supervision of their experienced guides.
Right at the heart of England… 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.
The Rivelin Valley Trail stretches two and a half miles, linking Sheffield to the Peak District, and is punctuated with fascinating reminders of the city’s industrial past
The Sheffield Innovation Spine is about essential growth, through increasing capability for existing businesses, and encouraging domestic and foreign direct investment to take up the opportunities the Spine will present in the heart of the iconic and unique Outdoor City of Sheffield.
Sheffield Museums’ Metalwork Collection is one of the finest in the world. It contains the cutlery, flatware and tableware that have made Sheffield famous, as well as beautiful objects collected from every continent.
Sheffield Beer Week is an annual citywide celebration spread across multiple venues throughout the city. For 2026, a whole load of beery events will be taking place once again, 9 - 15 March.