The Victorian avenues
Rows of lime and turkey oak from the park's original Victorian layout meet at the centre of the park like the nave of a roofless cathedral.
On the morning of 21 May 1897 some fifty thousand schoolchildren stood on this hillside and sang to Queen Victoria in her Diamond Jubilee year, with a crowd reported at two hundred thousand around them, close to half of Sheffield at the time. Today the same slope belongs to dog walkers and joggers, but the paths they filed along are still there: long straight avenues of lime and turkey oak that go back to the park's original Victorian layout, begun by the 12th Duke of Norfolk in 1841. It opened in 1848 as one of the first free public parks in England, and the Duke of the day handed it to the city outright in 1909-10. The park is 28 hectares of grass and old trees on a hill above the city centre, and it is listed Grade II* on the national Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Three things are worth your attention: the two tree-lined avenues that meet in the middle like the nave of a roofless cathedral, the Victorian stone gateways at the Norfolk Park Road and Granville Road entrances (1851 and 1876), and the view from the western edge, where the whole city opens out below you with its towers and the main station. On a clear day that view alone justifies the climb. Be honest with yourself, though: this is a handsome neighbourhood park, not a tourist attraction. There is no monument, museum or mansion. The only building is the Centre in the Park, opened in 2000 with Heritage Lottery money, with a reception desk, toilets and rooms for local groups; it keeps Monday-to-Friday hours only, so do not count on a cafe or any services there, least of all at the weekend. Families get two recently refurbished playgrounds, a picnic area with swings and a toddler bike track, and the main paths are surfaced and pushchair-friendly, though the approach from the station is a steady twenty-minute uphill walk along Norfolk Park Road. To skip the climb, take the Supertram from the city centre to Granville Road or Park Grange Croft; drivers will find free parking at the Guildford Avenue entrance. May to September is the time to come, when the avenues are in full leaf, and over the late-August bank-holiday weekend the park has traditionally hosted the free annual Sheffield Fayre, which draws upwards of 25,000 people for its horticulture shows and historical re-enactments; check it is running in the year you visit. In winter the park stays open around the clock but it is exposed to the wind and dark before four. Treat it as a quiet hour added to a Sheffield day, and pair it with the Cholera Monument on the walk up from the station or with the ruins of Manor Lodge to the east.
Rows of lime and turkey oak from the park's original Victorian layout meet at the centre of the park like the nave of a roofless cathedral.
From the western edge the whole city opens out below you, from the centre's towers to the main station; on a clear day it is the best part of the visit.
Fifty thousand schoolchildren sang here for the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee year, 1897, and the stone gateways (1851 and 1876) still stand from that era.
Guildford Avenue, Sheffield S2 2PL
No, it is not a priority. With limited time, the Sheffield Botanical Gardens and the Winter Garden in the centre are prettier and closer. Norfolk Heritage Park suits people spending several days in the city, or anyone wanting a free run-around with children and a view over the skyline; the ideal time is a clear summer afternoon.
Take the Supertram from the city centre or from the railway station one stop to Granville Road/The Sheffield College, or on to Park Grange Croft; both are a short walk from the park gates. Alternatively drive to the free car park off Guildford Avenue. Walking from the railway station up Norfolk Park Road is a steady twenty-minute climb.