“I can honestly say it’s the coolest city I’ve worked with,” said Estonian graphic designer Helen Ilus who created the Greenground Map in 2021. “I don’t know of any other city in the UK with so many open spaces and opportunities to get outside and be active.”
Eager to get out and explore myself, I took sections of the Sheffield Round Walk adding an extension to the city centre, hoping to discover both history and green innovations along the way.
My morning began with a steady, puff-inducing climb that the Don Engine River would have admired up to the verdant woods of Whiteley Woods, then a zigzag up the hillside to a trail alongside the flowing waters of Porter Brook , stopping at the Shepherd Wheel workshop.
Dating from the end of the 16th century, this water wheel powered grindstones to sharpen blades. Watching it fill and rotate, it was evident how Sheffield’s natural resources are inextricably linked to its industrial past with weirs, dams and man-made canals visible along the rivers.
I then followed the long path winding through Endcliffe Park, a family favorite with its duck ponds, stepping stones and sports fields, before walking to the immaculate Sheffield Botanic Gardens, a Grade-listed site. II with period pavilions and a variety of gardens. styles, from primitive and precise Victorian flower beds to Mediterranean and wild rockery gardens – not to mention a rare 19th century bear pit.
There I met Dr Laura Alston, education manager for the gardens, who confirmed: “It’s great to be able to explore so many green spaces, even in an urban environment. We are very lucky in Sheffield.”
Continuing north, I came to Weston Park, the city’s first municipal park opened around 1873. When Sheffield was teeming with factories, this groundbreaking park – an early state recognition of the need for green space – is said to have provided pockets of clean green space. air and sanctuary for the wealthiest residents.