Sheffield is an amazing place to grab a great photo. From the rolling hills of the nearby Peak District, to the flowers and vistas from parks in the suburbs, to the brutalist architecture style that dominates much of the city skyline, you are never far away from somewhere you can get a great shot. Here are some of Steel City’s best photo spots, in no particular order.
South Street Park
This first location is quite personal to me as this was the first view I got of the city when I visited for the first time in 2021. Located immediately behind the main railway station, this small hillside offers a great vista over the ever-changing skyline. The best views can be found (and the best photographs can be taken) from towards the top of the hill, accessible by a few flights of stairs or by a winding path.
Alternatively, you can also get good photographs from the tram stop itself, although you will have to hold your camera quite high up or crop your images so that the wall doesn’t obscure some of the view. This location is best enjoyed at sunset, where you can get a great view over the city centre, or when fireworks are going off, although if you want a good spot to watch and take photos of the fireworks you will have to arrive in plenty of time as it can get really busy!
The park was created in 2011, as part of the wider regeneration of the Park Hill flats area, a set of 1960s block of flats which fell into disrepair in the 1980s. Nowadays, Park Hill is much more colourful than its original design- but has kept some of the brutalist charm. This can be captured from the park, as well as the building’s iconic ‘I Love You Bridge’, which recently was elevated to national fame on the West End as part of the production Standing at the Sky’s Edge.
Bolehills
A favourite location for those who live in and around the popular student neighbourhood of Crookes, this recreation ground offers the potential to capture great photographs of the sun setting over the edge of the Peak District, and the far North-East of Sheffield, with the suburbs of Stannington and Loxley visible far below this viewpoint.
This spot is always popular at sunset, particularly on a long, clear summers day when you can see for miles and the orange and dark blue hues stretch across the horizon. On the rare occasion snow falls across the city, this can also be a great spot to take photos because of the increased elevation meaning more snow falls here than would in the city centre.
Rotary Club Viewpoint
Heading even further away from the centre of Sheffield for this third location, which can be reached by a four mile walk from Endcliffe Park, in the south-west of the city. This location, on the edge of the Peak District, offers the opportunity for great photos looking back towards Sheffield, especially on a sunny summers day.
Even on the walk up from Endcliffe Park, there is more opportunities for photos, whether that be of ducklings gliding across Forge Dam Park, or of the hidden waterfalls, walking up the Porter Clough. It’s quite a long walk to get here, but the reward of the views at the end is definitely worth it!
Cherry Blossom Trees, Netherthorpe Road
For the final location, somewhere you wouldn’t necessarily associate with beautiful photos is Sheffield’s ring road. Four lanes of traffic wide (six if you count the tram lines running through the middle), noisy and with quite narrow pavements in places- in the winter months the walk up the hill can be quite dull.
For a few precious weeks each year however, the pavement on the west side becomes alive with colour as the cherry blossom trees erupt into vibrant shade of pink. While Crookes Valley Park also has cherry blossom trees flowering at roughly the same time, the trees on Netherthorpe Road hang lower than those in the park, meaning it’s much easier to get a close up shot of the flowers.
