We know what it’s like; you have moved to a new city, it seems huge, and you don’t know where to go first, or what part of the city has what. Wouldn’t it be helpful if you had some sort of written guide, to explain (some of) the different areas in Sheffield?  

Well, aren’t you in luck?! 

Below I have broken down some of the main areas in Sheffield, what you can expect to find there, and to get there from the City Centre. 

City Centre 

The city centre is pretty self-explanatory, right? Whilst Sheffield’s city centre is smaller than, say, Birmingham or Manchester, it is still packed to the brim with cool stuff for you to do, and see. If you’re focused on shopping, they you’ll find plenty of shops on The Moor or in Fargate, with Division Street being home to the more independent, vintage places. Division Street is also home to some fantastic bars and restaurants like Gatsby, Rudy’s, and Lucky Fox. You can find a whole host of great food and drink places in the city, such as The Washington and Rutland Arms, with areas like Orchard Square and Leopold Square playing host to all manner of cocktails bars, pubs, food halls and a wide array of food stops, like one of Sheffield’s best food halls Sheffield Plate, or the Vietnamese-inspired Pho. The city centre is easy to get too, and easy to navigate. All in all, it's pretty great! 

Ecclesall Road/Sharrow Vale 

Ah, Eccey Road. What a place. One of the major roads in Sheffield, Eccey Road is definitely one of Sheffield’s more student-y areas, and that means it is perfect for all your aspiring WaterBear students. With some absolutely amazing pubs & bars like The Nursery Tavern (which has a massive beer garden and huge TV screens for all your sports fans), Portland House, and Porter Brook, Eccey Road is ideal for a bar crawl; literally, it's all just one long road! Eccey Road is also home to some of Sheffield’s best restaurants, where you can sample some of the best Greek, Thai, Italian, and Japanese food in the city. Eccey road is blessed with some great clothes shops and vintage stores as well, meaning you can generally do one whole day on the road. Just 5 minutes from Eccey Road you get Sharrow Vale. Think less students and more hipsters. With some really interesting bars, including The Lescar, which is home to Sheffield’s Jazz scene, as well as some great vintage stores, and some really cosy coffee shops. What more could you want? 

To get to Eccey Road from the city centre, you can easily walk there in 20 minutes, or you can get the 81, 82, 83, or 88 buses.  

Broomhill 

As student-y as Eccey Road, Broomhill is crammed full of shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. And when I say crammed, I mean crammed. Broomhill is small but it is always bustling with activity. It has seven charity shops (yes, seven!) within a ten minute walk of eachother, including an Oxfam that has a whole room just for books. There’s also Record Collector, one of Sheffield’s oldest and most historic record stores. In terms of food you are blessed with a variety of the typical fast food places, as well as some really lovely restaurants, including a Catalan tapas bar and a Thai restaurant. There’s also The Nottingham House, a pub famous in Sheffield for its incredible pies, and The Fox and Duck, a regular student haunt. Broomhill is also home to Nam Song, a famous Vietnamese-inspired coffee house, and the kid on the block Bon. And, as if it couldn’t get any more convenient, Broomhill is also home to a post office, three supermarkets, and a hardware shop. It’s a student's dream! 

To get to Broomhill from the city centre, you can easily walk there in 15/20 minutes, or you can get the 51, 52, or 120 buses. 

Kelham Island 

The trendy part of Sheffield. Or, as one magazine declared, one of the coolest places in the world. Kelham is genuiely really great. It Sheffield’s answer to the Northern Quarter. Cool bars, great pubs, fantastic food. What more could you want? In the heart of Sheffield’s old industrial centre, you’ll find a vegetarian food place owned by Ollie Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon, a massive food hall called Cutlery Works, a brewery with a burger place inside (Heist), a hip-hop themed cocktail bar (The Parrot Club), a 70s-style social club (Neepsend Social Club), and a gorgeous café (Grind). Genuienly, Kelham is the place to go for a night out in Sheffield. It is also home to the Get Together festival and Peddler Market, as well as one of the best venues in Sheffield, Yellow Arch Studios.  

To get to Kelham Island from the city centre, you can easily walk there in 15 minutes, or you can get the 95 bus. 

Sheffield may be smaller than other cities, but it is still large and varied. These are just some of the amazing places Sheffield has to offer. If you’re an aspiring student considering coming to WaterBear, our Sheffield campus means you’ll be right at the door to some of these fantastic places. 

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WaterBear is a College of Falmouth University, a pioneer in creative industries education, entrepreneurship and innovation. Run by musicians, for musicians we are about smaller class sizes, flexible course delivery, bespoke one-to-one mentoring and exclusive work experience and career development opportunities.