The Knowhere Guide

Other Stuff in Sheffield, South Yorkshire*

Sheffield, South Yorkshire Stuff You Don't Get Anywhere Else

The Stuff We Can't Fit In Somewhere Else

• the best body piercers in sheffield is the one just inside the Forum on Devonshire street. the piercers (usually Tara or Maxine) are really friendly and the prices are very reasonable.
• heroin addiction has reached epademic proportions and the clinics have had long waiting lists. there is now a new methadone clinic (guernsey? house) which has bought down waiting lists slightly. If you have any drug related problems then The Rockingham Drug Project is your best starting point. They wont script you but they proberbly know a man who can. (+ free needle exchange etc. Be safe!
• people referring to `Townies` here are not talking about you who have lived and worked in the city or using the term because you come from a town. it`s regional slang (if a little inaccurate) used to describe the kind of people who make hassle for students/alternatives purely for the way they look and 90% of the time fall into the same social group.. I`f that`s you then perhaps Narrow Minded Idiot is a better description. if you`re open minded, and live and let live, then the comments are not aimed at you i`m sure.
• I just wanted to clarify the Townie thing. I have been living in Sheffield 3 and a half years now since i started at Sheffield Uni. I graduated this summer and now live and work here cause i love the place. There seems to be confusion over the meaning of townie. It does not mean (not to me and people I know anyway) local people. You'll notice that one of the most common comments is about how friendly and nice the locals are, and I agree. A townie is some sh**ty kid who "hangs around" all night in a big puffa jacket causing trouble and shouting abuse at people as they walk by. They drop litter and vandalise anything they can get there hands on. They command respect from their mates because they act like ars*holes. Pretty much everyone hates them. Now, i'm sure we can all agree that there are too many of THEM in this great city! Hope that helps reduce the Student v. Local feeling a little.
• trendy gift shop enchanted wood next door to forum very eclectic kitch and high camp tack the only stockist in yorkshire of 'HELLO KITTY' merchandise, sells other chilhood memorabillia like rainbow button moon bagpuss and camp tacky soft furnisings. also a few bits of occult stuff like tarot cards and readings.sells cheap hippy clothes and other indian imported stuff. many unusual things you wont see anywhere else!!!!!!!!!!
• don`t come to sheffield it must be the worst place on the earth after living here for 26 years born and bead in sheffield it make mongolia look a wonderfull place top tip don`t come ..........
• Where did the fish out of the hole go? I worry about them.
• Greasy vera's.....the only late night stop ...is it still going?
• Meadowhall is not even the second biggest shopping centre in Europe... someone said the Metro Centre is bigger well so is Lakeside in Essex.
• I was born and raised in California, and a little worried about going to University in Sheffield. Once I got there however, I had an incredible time! I live in Los Angeles before going to Uni there, and LA is pretty cosmopolitan, and Sheffield proved to be as splendid a place as LA! Those knocking it for being a backwater don't know what they're talking about! Drinking wine in the botanical gardens on bank holidays with mates, seeing great films, meeting new people, everyone was warm and accepting and I deeply miss Sheffield now that I've returned. As for the "Townies" vs. "students" thing, I never figured out what that was about, and I never had any problems as an American (and a Californian to boot!) or as a student. The whole experience was priceless and despite the grim weather and the even worse food, I still sorely miss Sheffield and its people!
• True, Meadowhall is an American style monstrosity but it is bigger than the Metro Centre. They did it on purpose when it was built - out-did it I mean by a couple of square feet. However, the architects were obviously useless because to look at it you'd think it was half the size of the Gateshead centre. Be careful with chain store prices in Meadowhall. I have paid more in certain high street stores in Meadowhall than in Sheffield centre on a couple of occasions.
• I studied at the uni from 1977 to 1980 and found Sheffield a brilliant place to live. It was full of great pubs & clubs, and the (punk) music scene was great (especially in the students union and The Limit - how could they knock it down?!). The maximum bus fare was 5 pence (until bloody Thatcher put a stop to that) and there were some great (but very basic) curry houses, including the Kashmir Curry House at Spital Hill....I can't believe it's still open! The pyjama jump was great (if you could avoid being raped by students or beaten up by the locals), and there were some weird pubs, like the one in the centre that looked like a medieval courtyard. Rare & Racy was a good 2nd hand book & record shop (I believe it's still going?), and a lot of the pubs & clubs mentioned were great places to go 20 years ago, you just had to be careful how you looked (a punk in the heavy Wappentake would not have lasted long). But the most amazing thing about this web site is the fact that ELTON the hairdresser is still ploughing his trade. He hung around the Students Union in 1978, and even cut my hair once or twice! I took my wife to Sheffield a couple of years ago and she found it great, much better than my home town of Manchester (which she finds a real dump). It comes as no surprise that Sheffield's Knowhere site has 3 times as many pages as Mancheter's.
• Meadowhall is not the biggest shopping mall in Europe - The Metro Centre is much bigger, and has a funfair under its roof. However, Sheffield is great and I love living here.
• Okay, I'm a student and I'm originally from Sheffield, okay some people don't like students but tell me a city that is supposed to like students. Also all the under 20's don't have silly goatee beards and baseball caps, unfortunalty they tend to be the ones that people notice because they're prats. I wish I could be there all my life living in one of the silly villages, and not going to Meadowhall.
• Sheffield is great, I couldn't live there permenantly, as in the summer without 30,000 of its inhabitants it is a ghost town, but it's a great student town. ENDCLIFFE PARK is the best thing, in the sun or in the snow it's beautiful and the BUSINESS SCHOOL (Dyson House also!) at SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY is the worst thing. They have excellent degree programmes but mess it up as they care more about money and image than their students... the person who made the comment about life being better without students, almost certainly must be a tutor! It makes me sad to see such good facilites and even one or two good tutors ruined by a bunch of *******. However I have yet to graduate out of their clutches so please don't print my name!
• The concerts at the City Hall & The Gaumont were fantastic in the 60's, all the great stars & pop groups performed at these places. Getting an autograph was possible if you were willing to stand outside for a few hours. Even The Beatles unloaded all their own gear from the lorry at the back entrance of the City Hall. I've heard the arena has taken over as the main venue, but due to its size it will never have the atmosphere & history those two places had. And why were the misguided, untalented architects allowed to replace the Gaumont with that ugly red girder type construction site that houses Mothercare?
• I have come to the conclusion though that Sheffielders do the five S's shopping, supping, sex, sleeping and showering themselves with every aromatherapy lotion going. There are more people shopping on any given day in Sheffield than there ever are in New York City the day after Thanksgiving (which is the biggest Christmas shopping day in the US). Where do they get the money? The time? The patience? It is like a social gathering. Going to Meadowhall looked more like a pilgrimage to Lourdes with all the wheelchairs waiting for a pickup. Loads of folks, I just could not believe it. It boggles the mind. Everyone was in a good mood and the feeling is contagious, just enjoyed it all the more, the more people the better. I wish it were like it here in US.
• Yes Roxy's is shit. As to the bloke who wrote 'Why bother with this place when Leeds is only 30 miles away!!!" I have but one thing to say: Leeds is a hell hole. Sheffield has TWO football teams and the best nightlife outside London and Manchester. Possibly even better than Manch land. Sod Leeds and come to Sheffield. Do your self a favour.
• Okay, so it isn't Disney World, thank God, but it is home. I miss Sheffield and always will. My roots are there, my parents and two sisters are there. I would probably visit Sheffield on a trip to England because that is where one goes to town. I live in Connecticut and we have to drive everywhere, no such thing as hopping on the bus on Barnsley Road, and five minutes later being in town. Lots of malls here but you park, you walk in, and you don't see fresh air until you are finished. No veg shops, no butcher shops, no newsagents with a few sweets at the edge of the counter, just supermarket shopping. If you did not have the option to nip into Boots, Marks and Spencers, and then go catch the bus you would MISS it. Don't knock Sheffield, there are worst places and to those who lived there who have moved, there are things that you miss. Oh I do think it is dreary on a cold November day, and I do wonder if I could live there again, but you know what, it is always home, and so much simpler than America.
• Sheffield is THE place to be young free and single, no question aboout it.I have lived in Sheffield for all of my 18 years and lived in so-called "Loxleyville" for 11 of them. All the arses that say Sheffield is grey, boring, declining etc, etc are just talking bollocks and have obviously been misinformed by non-residents.
  I am presently studying at Newcastle University and after hearing rave reviews about the city's nightlife prepared myself for a real eye-opening experience. However this has not been the case and I have frequently found myself (when languishing in a townie club) longing for a quality house night such as those at RISE (highly underated,blinding atmosphere,wicked dj's ), LOVE TO BE (famous for being amazing), REPUBLIC (new club, great layout, kickin' tunes and relaxed atmosphere) and the regular "one-offs" held at The Arches and the Adelphi. As a result of my clubscene experience (Hacienda, Cream, Hard Times, Shindig, Wobble, MoS and Ibiza 95 and 96) I feel I have a qualified opinion on which clubs are good and which are not. I can honestly say apart from my Ibiza experience Sheffield has provided me with some of the best, most uplifting "hands in the air " nights of my life. So there.
  Now I have confirmed that Sheffield has one of the best clubscenes in the country (respect Manchester and London ) I will now dispell the myth that it isn't a student city. Firstly Sheffield has one of the largest student populations in the country (upwards of 35000 ) and therefore many places are geared towards student's tastes and pocket. Many of these places have been mentioned previously so I shall leave it at that and in turn attack all you muppets that say "student bashing" is commonplace. Whilst studying for my A levels I went out to pubs and clubs between 2 and 4 nights per week, ranging from Rise to Roxy's and Berlins to Beluga and can honestly say I saw no form of unprovoked violence towards students. Although some places such as Berlins can seem as though it is "one for the locals" I can assure you this is not the case. Admittedly there are residents of "lagerland" to be found and girls with IQ's lower than a winning score on Countdown but as long as you are prepared to join in and have a laugh without being pretentious or arrogant (this one's going out to you Southerners) there's a brilliant night to be had. This ends my defence of Sheffield, I hope after reading this all you misinformed nabobs will appreciate what it has to offer and to give this top city a break.
• It is still home no matter where I go. Left Sheffield in 1969, I return often, and still love to go to town. You can knock it all you want, but I remember going to town on a Friday or a Saturday, just to go into Redgates and look at the toys. Don't any of you ex-Sheffielders have any fond memories of being a kid and going to the grotto at Christma to see Father Christmas? Was it that tragic, did you care if there was litter, did you care if it were cold, damp and dreary? Put the memories where they belong, keep the ones worth keeping and oh well the other ones. I love Sheffield, could not live there, but love the memory of what once was.
• Just moved into Sheffield after seven years in Derby/Nottingham and can say with confidence that Sheffield is definetly BETTER. If you enjoy RUNNING/cycling I can think of no better place... nip out the door and 10 minutes later you're in the Peaks. As for hill sessions... just try running up and down between Hunters Bar and the Ringinglow Road... that'll put hairs on yer chest! As for Meadowhall: yes, it IS hell on Earth.
• Super Sheffield ! Super Owls! Wise Owls Follow Wednesday! We Hate Blades! Pleaty's Got Us Back On Track! No Rest 'til Wembley! Hurry Back Waddler! Brilliant Blinker!
• The bloke who reckons Leeds or Manchester is better than Sheffield needs a breadcake shoved up his backside. He is probably married to some Californian bird with plastic tits and a psychology degree that she bought from a one room university. Look at the Leeds or Manchester pages. Not really much to them is there? Did you leave or were you sent there? You probably left because you were the biggest dickhead in the city. I lived there for 19 years, and although I now live in Australia I am not ashamed of where I came from. Your experience is part of what you are, so you must think you are a real bollockhead. And if the impending earthquake doesn't finish you off please don't come to Australia.
• My wife and I left Sheffield in 1964 to live in Whyalla Australia, another steel town. We have returned three times the last being in 1995. The changes to the city have been very dramatic to point where we feel it is nothing like the city we knew. Most noticeable downer is the amount of litter and general filth on the streets. It probably is cleaner than in the 60's but compared to other cities in the world it is not good. It is now very hard to get a good feed of fish & chips and the beer is definitely not the same although I still enjoyed a pint of Stones. The new tram is very good to travel on but too expensive. I remember travelling on the last tram from Lane Top to town, in fact I still have the ticket. I have to agree Meadowhall is nothing much out of the ordinary, much the same as any shopping centre in any Australian city.
• I was born in Sheffield and lived there for twenty years. I now live in California. Go back to Sheffield? Yeah right! It's a horrible scruffy place. A decaying, moribund place full of thick, ignorant Northerners. Slowly destroyed by the totally inept city council who couldn't run a piss up in one of Sheffield's "famous" breweries. There are many superior cities nearby, Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester, all far better in general atmosphere and diversity. Sheffield? Bollocksfield more like.
• I am an American who lived in Sheffield just for the summer in 1992. As I prepared to move from Columbus, Ohio (blech) to Sheffield I found several friends (which astonished me) who had been to Sheffield before. Asked what I could expect to find in the city, they to a person replied: "Sheffield is, well, industrial." Industrial? I took that to mean ugly and uninviting. When I finally arrived on a gray, humid day I stepped out of the train station to find, well, industry. I was very disappointed at first and resignedly followed my directions to where I would be lodging. I am happy to say, however, that after a very short time I became acquainted with the many charms of Sheffield. Because it may carry the reputation of being an industrial, blue-collar city and not a glamorous historical tourist spot, Sheffield seemed to me to be genuine, a sincerely engaging spot with a great sense of itself. My favourite things: walking from the park in the center of town straight out into the moors, the Frog and Parrot pub (especially Reckless bitters), easy day trips to Eyam, Hathersage, and other villages, and salad sandwiches at a small shop on Glossop road. Sheffield definitely earns the reputation for being a lively, interesting, and satisfying place to live and is worth a several day stopover at the very least.
• My wife Wendy and I met at King Edwards School, and left Sheffield around 1984, to live (after being students) in Derby. Somehow we managed to stay in Derby (the pits!) for ten years, before deciding enough was enough, and emigrating to Australia, where we both now live. Sheffield was a great place to grow up, but appeared to go downhill for about a decade. Things at last look like there on the way up (there's still a looonnnng way to go), and we are certainly looking forward to the chance of having a holiday there in the not too distant future. Unfortunately it doesn't have any hope of tempting us back - Australia, and Perth in particular are just too wonderful. If there's anyone out there from King Edwards School, (whenever) we'd love to hear from you, just to know how things are going. Contact Robert & Wendy at robertg@iinet.net.au
• My girlfriend and I have travelled from the United States to Sheffield just to go to some of the pubs. A few of our favourites are the Wapentakake, the Old Rebel, Grindstone, Yorkshireman and the Frog and Parrott. We hate the Capitol, it's crap. Pubs need to stay open longer. We've made a ton of friends in Sheffield, it is a great place to visit.
• We love Sheffield! That's probably because we have loads of relatives there and can stay for free!! From Helen and Donald (age 7), who live in Canada but one of us was born in Sheffield.
• I have lived in Sheffield for three years now as a design student. I do not carry a sketch pad and I do not like the Smiths. To gain the best out of Sheffield you either need to live here or obtain some local knowledge. Go Sumo!
• Why bother with this place when Leeds is only 30 miles away!!!!
• Beaver Hill School was the worst school in the city. That's why it changed its name.

The Knowhere Guide started out as a list of places to skateboard in the UK. It is a compilation of (unedited) information and views supplied by users like yourself. It is not a conventional tourist guide!

In most cases, the information in each section has been submitted by more than one contributor (the credits at the bottom of the page list some, but not all, of the contributors) and some of it dates back to the 1970s.

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Last updated: 2008-06-23