Hidden Sheffield Walks

09/01/2025

Two Substack posts on Friday evening - my first paid article (many thanks subscribers!) is about a Sheffield railway mystery - and for my free subscribers, a re-post of my first piece from last October about Crookes Valley.

Paid subscriptions start at just £3.99 a month :)

03/01/2025

Then and now: the oldest known photo of High Street, published in 1865, compared to now courtesy of street view...

02/01/2025

On Friday at 6pm my latest weekly Substack piece is about the Porter Brook and its 'now you see it, now you don't' route through the city centre :)

This will be a free post - on Jan 10th there will be the first article for paid subscribers only - many thanks to you all! Subscriptions start at just £3.99 a month.

31/12/2024

Christmas is over, time to start thinking about what you’d like to do in the New Year. We have 180 Activity/Interest groups. Art, Gardening, Walking, Croquet, History etc etc. Keep an eye on this page on the run up to New Year to see what’s available for your £8 pa membership.

29/12/2024

Excellent outing earlier around Lodge Moor and Redmires! Great way to spend a Sunday over the holidays - many thanks all :)

28/12/2024

This week's free Substack piece is a look along Infirmary Road to Hillsborough Barracks. From January 1st there will be both free and paid subscription options (which start from just £3.99 a month).

27/12/2024

It's looking pleasant for Sunday's tour at Lodge Moor/Redmires :)

The walk starts at the 51 bus terminus at 11am and will end by the Sportsman pub, where we will have the option of popping in for a drink etc. Full details in the event post below.

All tours are priced at £10 per adult payable either on the day, or in advance via PayPal. This price will remain throughout 2025. Booking is not usually necessary and people are more than welcome to turn up on the day :)

23/12/2024

Another 'then and now' just around the corner from the last one - Baker's Hill. An interesting little bit of road with a history, but very little there now...

21/12/2024

Great to be at the latest Sheffield Home of Football plaque unveiling this morning. The group continue to do a fantastic job for the city :)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1194176927380425

19/12/2024

Next Sunday the 29th I'll be running my popular tour around Lodge Moor and Redmires - an area that I enjoy looking at, loads to see and talk about (details in the comments) :)

Also tomorrow evening's Substack article will be a look at what we can see on the earliest town centre map of Sheffield :)

16/12/2024

An occasional 'then and now' series - Shude Hill next to Ponds Forge. The United Gas Company building in the background is the common denominator :)

New buildings and the different angle of the road meant this was as close as I could get...

12/12/2024

Tomorrow I'll be taking a look at Sheffield's surprising early aviation history on my Substack :)

I'm really enjoying writing about a different aspect of Sheffield history that interests me each week! Many thanks to all the subscribers and for the pledges - much appreciated. Doing walks and talks around the city makes for a varied experience with all the different people and groups, and writing about some of these stories makes for something different again. I intend to keep publishing a new article each Friday evening, and may expand to doing extra pieces as I go, depending on the interest.

I will switch on the paid subscriptions on January 1st, creating separate free and paid lists (priced at just £3.99 a month). Paid subscribers will receive a minimum of four posts a month (at least one a week), free subscribers a minimum of two posts a month. For the remainder of 2024 all posts will remain free.

Many thanks :)

10/12/2024

Last post before Xmas about my book 'Contumacious'. A personal account of my life in Sheffield and how I fell for a place enough to nearly go to prison to protect it's beauty - and then spend much of my life talking and writing about the city :)

Available at;

Next Chapter Books Sheffield
Kelham Island Books and Music
The Famous Sheffield Shop
Valleyside Garden Centre
Broomhill Post Office

and online here;

Contumacious – The Accidental Tree-Hugger£11.99 The long-running campaign by Sheffield citizens against the council tree felling policy included many untold personal journeys. Contumacious - The Accidental Tree-Hugger quantity Author: Calvin Payne Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Local History ...

09/12/2024

My latest Substack piece is about the two Totley brooks that form the River Sheaf :)

30/11/2024

29/11/2024

On Substack this week a look at Esperanto Place in the city centre...

29/11/2024

I've just returned from my first ever visit to Sandygate, home of Hallam FC, the world's second oldest football club. Being both historic and my local team it has been overlooked by me for far too long.

Many thanks to all the staff and volunteers who organized my visit and showed me round. They obviously all care about, and work hard for, a great community club and a piece of proper Sheffield heritage.

In the New Year the world's oldest derby, Hallam v Sheffield, will be played for the first time in over a decade and I'll be there :)