There are seven walks on Thursdays, five in the morning and two in the afternoon.
For lots more details about the walk you are interested in simply click on the name of that walk in the panel below.
The eight Step Out Sheffield health walks on Thursdays include the leafy suburbs of Grenoside, the ancient woodland of Ecclesall, Hillsborough Park in the shadow of Sheffield Wednesday football ground, a walk in Greenhill Park, Lowedges, on the very boundary of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, a walk over Wisewood and Wadsley commons, a walk in the green spaces in Firshill, a stroll beside the picturesque river Porter from Forge Dam and a chance to explore the local greenspaces around Owlthorpe and Hackenthorpe.
Grenoside is located on the outskirts of the city and benefits from its close proximity to both Grenoside and Wheata Woods.The woodland paths are numerous and many are fairly well surfaced providing lots of options for varying the routes.
The ancient woodlands of Ecclesall Woods are carefully managed by the Friends of Ecclesall Woods who keep the paths clear and the drainage channels open. At 140 hectares (350 acres), the woods provide ample opportunity for nature study. They also hide evidence of Sheffield’s industrial past including white charcoal pits and ganister pits. Going back further in time there are the remains of pack-horse trails and going right back to stone-age times, rock-art in the form of a very rare ring and cup stone.
Hillsborough Arena and Hillsborough Park are located within a stone’s throw of Hillsborough Football stadium in the heart of the city. This area is one of Sheffield city’s ‘lungs’ and incorporates a small lake, bowling greens and large children’s playground. All the paths are well surfaced and, unusually for Sheffield, the park is reasonably flat. The 20-hectare park was acquired from the Dixon family in 1897 and still has the building that was Hillsborough Hall (now the library) and the original kitchen gardens (now a delightful walled garden). Other facilities include a modern pavilion and three greens for crown green bowling, a children’s play area, a fishing lake and Hillsborough Arena (The Old Running Track). This walk is wheel chair friendly.
Greenhill park lies on the very boundary of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. In the post-war years the Lowedges estate was built on land belonging to Greenhill Hall and the park, although on the southern outskirts of the estate, was named after it. The Lowedges walk is wheels friendly with well surfaced and pretty much flat pathways.
The Wisewood/Wadsley walkers have a wide choice of routes to choose from – all with glorious views across the city. Wisewood and Wadsley commons, with their historic grazing rights, are crossed by pack-horse trails and packed with wild-life. This walk, like the ones in Stannington and Forge Dam, is located on the outskirts of the city.
Firshill lies between Burngreave and the Northern General Hospital on the NNE side of the city centre. The accessible greenspaces nearby include Roe Woods, Parkhill Springs b and Burngrave Cemeterys
Forge Dam is the meeting point for a walk on the outskirts of the city. The up-hill route affords view across the beautiful Mayfield valley. The downhill route through Whiteley woods towards Shepherd’s wheel in Bingham Park is, by contrast, leafy and sheltered. The facilities at Forge dam include a children’s playground, public toilets and a café.
Owlthorpe walkers meet at Christchurch on the junction of Sheffield Road Hackenthorpe and Donetsk Way. They have easy access in every direction to access the local greenspaces. Walks routes include the Shirebrook valley nature reserve, Birley Spa, Ridgeway, the outskirts of Mosborough and the Westfield Plantation.
Before the pandemic we also had walks at Frecheville and Firshill. We hope to reinstate these walks as and when we've recruited and trained volunteer walk leaders to support them.