Why Sheffield? You may well ask. It’s simple, we needs a weekend away, we got a Groupon voucher and a friend of ours has opened a new bakery over there so we thought we would take a look. In the past I have only visited Sheffield for gigs at the Leadmill and to the amazing soul night Brighton Beach that used to be held in the splendour that was the town hall.  
We weren’t sure what to expect…

There are two Sheffield’s, at least two. We started off in Sheffield one. If anyone has ever seen the film “Threads”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads   then you will be familiar with where we we’re staying. Mile after mile of concrete wasteland, boarded up buildings, scrub land…this is where we were pitched up for the weekend. All the hotels seem to be grouped together ( probably huddling together to feel safe) in this oppressively ugly part of town. To actually get into the city you have to wander through Castle market, which although it is a fabulous example of the kind of concrete brutalism you would expect to find in an Eastern European, ex-communist state, it doesn’t endear you to the city at all. We stayed at the Park Inn which has a wonderful abandoned petrol station right next to the front door, which is blocked off with concrete rings full of rubble, giving it the feel of a secure compound in a war torn city. The park inn is a hotel, we ate there and it served food. No more, no less. The staff were very friendly and the place was fine. 

There are some lovely parts of the city, the Graves gallery was a high point with a fantastic collection as well as two excellent temporary exhibitions. Easy photo policy too, “in these rooms you can, in those rooms you can’t” simple. (the picture above was one of my favourites) The gardens next to the town hall were lovely too, it was great to see people out in the sunshine enjoying a free, open city space. I imagine this is what Piccadilly gardens would be like if it wasn’t so seedy and grim. Just sayin…
Later we visited the other Sheffield, Sheffield 2: This time it’s beautiful. I was lucky to have been given an alternative guide to Sheffield by the lovely Claire from design company Eleven http://www.elevendesign.co.uk   at the first Creative Tourist  www.creativetourist.com    #blognorth event which pointed us in the direction of the wonderland that is Sharrow Vale road. http://sheffieldblog.com/2010/05/13/sheffield-our-favourite-places-book  (picture of the gudie at the top of this post)
 If you know Manchester, think of it as a mix of the northern Qtr and Chorlton just sans hipsters. We also went up there because our good friend Laura is doing a grand job of establishing a wonderful artisan bakery called “7 Hills Bakery” http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seven-Hills-Bakery/310468188968495 

Specialising in freshly made bread as well as a great selection of brioche and cakes, it’s truly divine. We walked out with armfuls of some of the best tasting bread I have ever had and the constant stream of visitors is a testament to their success. We explored the rest of Sharrow Vale Road, little antique and boutique shops as well as a wide range of independent retailers. What an antidote to the oppressive sameness of the usual high street, and of the endless boarded up wasteland of the town centre. We went to a burger place called Relish which was aces (one between two and a side of onion rings is more than enough) and then popped for pint in a great pub called The Lescar . http://www.thelescarhuntersbar.co.uk   Grilling the locals it was clear that there are other great bits of Sheffield but they are spread out all over and that you have to trek from decent pub to decent pub or restaurant. We strolled back to the apocalypse and decided that if we were to return to Sheffield it would be for a day trip and that we would keep our visits to the parts of the city which are welcoming and warm.

Note: Can i just say Posterous has been particularly difficult today, there would be more pictures but it took nearly 2hours just to get this post to actually post, non of my links worked and it re-arranged the text a few times. I dont often blame my tools but in this case I feel entirely justified