We’ll be running tours and events from the Arrivals Zone for every day of the Festival of the Mind, to show you what makes our city so special. The tours are free*, but most are limited to around 20 people and are pretty much first come first served – send us an email if you’d like to reserve a place!
*Apart from the occasional bus ticket.
| DATE | EVENT | TIME | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 20th September | Skye Edge Viewpoint Tour | 2.00PM | Find out more… |
| Friday 21st September | Sheffield Friday Night Ride – This is Gleadless! | 6.30PM | Find out more… |
| Saturday 22nd September | Tree Rubbing Workshops | 11AM & 2PM | Find out more… |
| Sunday 23rd September | A Poetry Navigation | 2PM | Find out more… |
| Monday 24th September | Arbourthorne Viewpoint Tour | 11AM | Find out more… |
| Tuesday 25th September | Arts Towers and Architects | 11AM | Find out more… |
| Wednesday 26th September | Shalesmoor Tour | 10.30AM | Find out more… |
| Thursday 27th September | Abundance Fruit Day | 11AM & 2PM | Find out more… |
| Friday 28th September | Pye Bank Viewpoint Tour | 2PM | Find out more… |
| Saturday 29th September | A Trip to Ecclesall Woods | 11AM | Find out more… |
| Sunday 30th September | Blue Loop River Ride | 11AM | Find out more… |
SKYE EDGE VIEWPOINT
When: Tour leaves at 2.00pm, and takes approx 2 hours.
Literally the point where the sky meets the ground, Skye Edge is one of the greatest views of Sheffield. This walking tour, less than a mile and taking approximately two hours, will lead you there. This is the closest you’ll get to flying over Sheffield.
You’ll need: Walking shoes.
SHEFFIELD FRIDAY NIGHT RIDE
When: Assemble at the Arrivals Zone at 6.30pm.
Sheffield Friday Night Ride is a free, monthly bike peloton to Sheffield’s most interesting corners. This ride, titled ‘This is Gleadless’, will lead you uphill to the iconic housing estate, in search of the locations featured in the ‘This is England’ films, before freewheeling back down into the city.
You’ll need: A bike, lights, a lock and a degree of fitness!
TREE RUBBINGS WORKSHOPS
When: Workshops at 11AM and 2PM.
Sheffield has over two million trees: more than four for every person who lives here. This workshop will give you the chance to make your own DIY tree-rubbings poster in their honour! The workshop will take you up to Park Hill, will last around an hour, and is suitable for young children.
You’ll need: One of our tree-rubbings packs (sold separately).
A POETRY NAVIGATION
When: Meet at the Arrivals Zone at 2pm prompt.
Matthew Clegg, from Longbarrow Press, leads a walk around Sheffield’s canal basin, reading poems from his sequence ‘The Navigators’. The tour will lead you down the canal towpath, which is narrow and muddy, and will take approximately two hours.
You’ll need: Suitable footwear.
ARBOURTHORNE VIEWPOINT
When: Tour departs at 11AM.
Arbourthorne towers above the city like an Alpine ski resort. This walk, approximately two miles/two hours, will lead you up through Norfolk Park to one of the highest of the city views. Walk back down, or catch the furnicular railway (the tram).
You’ll need: A head for heights & walking shoes.
ARCHITECTURE UP THE ARTS TOWER
When: Assemble at the Arrivals Zone at 11AM.
Perched at the top of the Arts Tower is the University’s School of Architecture, where generations of students have sat, dreaming of ways to change our city. This tour will take you to the top of the tower, to see the view, before heading down to the ’50 Ideas for Sheffield’ exhibition at CADS, to find the ideas that such a vantage point inspires.
You’ll need: The guts to ride the Paternoster lift.
SHALESMOOR TOUR
When: Assemble at the Arrivals Zone at 10.30 AM.
Shalesmoor is a microcosm of Sheffield’s past, present and future. This tour, by SKINN, will take you into the heart of the area: into working scissor factories, through repurposed arts spaces, and perhaps via a pub or two aswell. Due to the industrial nature of this tour, places are limited to ten people.
You’ll need: Good footwear.
ABUNDANCE FRUIT DAY
When: Harvest group leaves at 11AM. Juicing from 2PM.
Abundance is a fruit-harvesting project, which aims to harvest and redistribute the fruit that goes to waste across Sheffield every year. On this tour, we’ll walk to local apple trees to hold a harvest; then return to the Arrivals Zone to juice the fruit.
You’ll Need: Good footwear.
PYE BANK VIEWPOINT
When: Meet at the Arrivals Zone at 1pm prompt.
Pye Bank is an immense, walk-in panorama of the city’s back side. A now demolished housing estate, Pye Bank’s steps, ramps and roads are still there, all leading you up to a perfect viewpoint. Under two miles from the station, this tour will take two hours.
You’ll need: Walking shoes.
A TRIP TO ECCLESALL WOODS
When: Tour leaves at 11AM.
Ecclesall Woods are incredible: magical, ancient, quiet. People have been using these woods for thousands of years. Today they’re still used: for wood, for peace and quiet, and even for the best model railway in Sheffield (true). This tour will take you for a walk in the woods, and will last around three hours.
You’ll need: money for the bus fare, good shoes.
BLUE LOOP RIVER RIDE
When: Tour leaves at 11AM.
The Blue Loop project leads a bike tour down the Five Weirs Walk: a flat, easy ride along the River Don for all the family. You’ll ride past herons, huge factories, wastelands and shopping centres. The ride is about 4 miles each way – we’ll take you there and back, or you can catch the train home from Meadowhall.
You’ll need: A bike and a packed lunch.