My Favourite Things - from music to museums and parks to pubs

I first arrived in Sheffield in the autumn of 1969 to study at Sheffield Polytechnic, School of Art, the then Psalter Lane site.

I had only just been refused admission to the prestigious Royal College of Art (painting school) after having been invited for an interview there, the reason being that the Royal College of Art had received university status and as I was foundation student at the time (Grimsby School of Art) could not take up a place.

I was then advised to apply to Sheffield (School of Art) and was given a place therein.

The very first week, the students of the School of Art were taken out by minibus to Fox House, Derbyshire, to draw the la ndscape.

I had never seen such an impressive landscape before as, coming originally from Skegness, the Lincolnshire landscape tends to be flat and, quite frankly, boring.

I do believe Sheffield is the onlty city in Britain that has a national park within its boundary.

Park Spaces

Sheffield is blessed with marvellous parks and park spaces and I am lucky to live close to Millhouses Park, but there is also Endcliffe Park and its 15 mile crescent shaped walk, also with spectacular scenery.

Public Houses

Sheffield has an amazing infrastructure of public houses, my favourite being The Wagon and Horses, now owned by The True North Brewing Company, and The Frog and Parrot, The Devonshire Quarter with its bohemian style atmosphere is a must visit location.

Live Music

Sheffield is also blessed with a music scene second to none in my opinion, ie: blues, jazz, folk, rock, indie etc, and as I am a harmonica player myself, the blues scene is particularly attractive.

Galleries and Museums

Although the Millenium Galleries (The Tate Modern of the north) are the newest of the city’s galleries, both Weston Park, Mappin Art Gallery and the Graves Art Gallery, add greatly to Sheffield’s gallery scene.

(The galleries are currently closed in line with the latest Government restrictions.)

The Graves Gallery is currently closed for redisplay and refurbishment and is looking forward to welcoming visitors again when the gallery reopens in late spring 2021.

The programme of improvements in the gallery has been made possible through a generous five-year funding grant from the Ampersand Foundation. The £455,000 funding will also support annual redisplays of a third of the gallery’s collection displays, as well as work with artists, schools and more.

Weston Park Museum first opened to the public on September 6, 1875, displaying collections of natural history, metalwork, archaeology and oil paintings. The building was very different to the building that exists today. The original museum was formerly a private house known as Weston Hall, and the park was its extensive estate.

The Millennium Gallery is Sheffield’s premier destination for art, craft and design.

Opened in 2001 and featuring over 1,800 square metres of exhibition space, the gallery is the permanent home of Sheffield’s unique Metalwork Collection and Ruskin Collection of art and artefacts and plays host to major temporary exhibitions of art, craft, fashion and design. The building was designed as part of Sheffield’s Heart of the City regeneration project, linking the train station with the city centre. Set into a gentle slope, the glass and concrete exterior is quietly understated and elegant; part of a sleek new look for this old steel city. Inside, natural light creates a calming effect in the main ‘avenue’ of the building, from which the four exhibition spaces are accessed.

The Tramlines Music Festival

Need I say more? Europe’s largest inner city music festival.

Cinema

Being a film buff Sheffield is spoilt for choice. For film enthsiasts, The Showroom, the new Lightbox cinema complex, the Curzon Cinema, who could want for more?

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.