Where to stop close to Sheffield before we can check into hotel?

[EmeraldDreams73]

I'd love some advice from anyone familiar with Sheffield please!

I'm driving from Devon to Sheffield this weekend. Driving up on Saturday, but don't want to get to the hotel until at least 4-5pm because of parking restrictions (hoping to just pay for 24 hours)

I realise we may get stuck on the motorway and not arrive till midnight...but if all goes to plan, where's good and not too stressful traffic wise to kill a bit of time in the afternoon? Retail park/pub with large car park/nice service station on the south or east side of Sheffield ideally.

I'm shitting myself about the drive tbh so want to feel prepared somehow! Google isn't helping.

My (old) car died last week, so we've got another (old banger) - this will be my first long drive in it. I don't trust cars, had a bad run of unexpected bills lately and am very skint and just worried about not getting there at all/losing the hotel ££/etc. Plus got to take exh with us (thankfully he's staying elsewhere) and he can't share the driving - well, he drives like a twat so I've said no!

Thanks in advance 🤗

@EmeraldDreams73 the cost of parking at the hotel is £8.00 per overnight. Aren’t you worrying needlessly 🤷🏻‍♀️?

Try not to worry about the traffic, and use a sat nav to look ahead for any issues.
My son was at uni in Liverpool for 4 years, and during that time we only had one diversion to make off the M6, starting our journey from Berkshire. We went through some very posh villages which was better than the boring motorway!

I hope you have a good journey up, and that the uni visit is a success.

I agree now in just parking at the hotel and walking round the city. If the hotel is the one I'm thinking of it's by the canal and there are some interesting narrow boats. I know someone who used to live in one and used the hotel gym for showers (although you weren't actually supposed to live there full time).

I'll be in Sheffield next week so interested in some of the other suggestions (not mine, haha, it's my usual route through the town)

Even if you do use a car park in Sheffield (and beware of bus gates!) if you use the NCP app it's not THAT bad.

I would go to McArthur Glen. It’s only a couple of minutes from the M1/A38 junction which you will be passing, there are acres of free parking (although Saturdays are very busy) a newly revamped food court plus a few places to eat outside of that and not too bad shops for a teen (Levi’s, Nike) where you can kill some time. It will break the journey up a bit without you having to drive into the countryside. At Chatsworth you can walk on the estate without buying a ticket for the house or gardens and the parking charges away from the main house (next to the garden centre) are dependent on whether they’ve staffed the car park (which they do in busy days and don’t on quiet) and it’s absolutely lovely but you have just driven from Devon and the last thing you want to do is faff about getting through the Saturday traffic around there.

Having done the drive between Sheffield and Devon several times, I very much doubt that the OP is going to have time to visit Chatsworth, given that it is not that close to the M1.

Sheffield is not my favourite city to drive around, so I rarely drive into the middle. I prefer to use the Park and Ride either at Nunnerly Square or Middlewood or get the train in.

In this case I would be inclined to park at the car park at Victoria Quays. I would avoid Castlegate car park as there are often a lot of dodgy individuals that hang around there.

I went with my 27 year old son for a visit to the farm in Graves Park...

I would also not bother with the city centre, or ‘town’ as the locals call it. It is being done up but doesn’t have many interesting shops and there are a lot of homeless people, particularly down the Victoria Quays end. The student areas are along Ecclesall Road and at Broomhill but a lot of students go down West Street, which is in town, at night.

We don't go in the farmyard any more now the grandchildren are almost all grown up but DH and I always stop to look at the wallabies and rheas and the llamas as we walk past.

Maybe a daft question, but why don’t you just come into Sheffield? There’s absolutely loads to do in the city Centre! And unlike most cities the parking isn’t that it extravagantly expensive per hour (nothing like Leeds or Cambridge which are extortionate).

If it’s not a very nice day you can go to the winter garden and the millennium Gallery. If it is a nice day, there are lots of shops and cafés. There’s bowling at tenpin, there’s a new cute play park called Pound Park if you have small children.

Meadowhall is just an out of town shopping Centre and some of these other suggestions, like Bawtry, are miles away when you’ve already driven a really long way! So personally I would just carry on, and come into Sheffield city Centre. Sheffield is a very easy city to drive into particularly from the south.

DD is at uni in Sheffield and lives city centre where a load of the private halls are. Some of the roads by her don’t have parking restrictions so you could get lucky.

If you’re going for an open day then make the most of seeing more of Sheffield! Park on division street and explore.

It's free to walk around the huge grounds although you do have to pay for parking.
It's extra to go into the house and gardens and playground but the rest is freebajd beautiful
Although I don't think tomorrow will be a Chatsworth day as the forecast isn't great.

There are a lot of nice places in the centre
Leah's Yard
winter Gardens
Millennium Gallery
Graves gallery
Cambridge Street Collective
Independent shops inn Division Street/west street
The Art House
Site Gallery
If the weather is good.thete is Pound Park, the instruments at the back of the Light cinema etc.

Kelham Island is another place worth considering. Lots of students. Nice bars places to eat and an industrial museum

Daughter went to uni in Sheffield. She has stayed on and has a grad job there and lives in the city centre . Parking is an issue in Sheffield . She has to park her car in a car park and pays a monthly charge .

£8 for overnight parking is very cheap , I paid £15 per night and that was subsidised by the hotel.

I stayed 3 days during the hols as daughter had an operation . I had a brilliant time , went to botanical gardens, charity shopping on the eccleshall road , to division street, kelham island has a great outdoor food and drinks area. Everything is walkable .

its a great city, my brother went to the uni as did my best friend and both stayed on for a few years working at the big law firms and the council .

The only thing my daughter struggles with is the distance from home ( we’re Hertfordshire) and this is influencing DD2 uni choices as she is only considering midlands unis and London unis .

Depending which way you are coming, the weather and how much time you have, Pontefract Castle is just off the M62, free parking, free entry. Well signposted as you walk round the ruins. Richard 2nd was held prisoner and starved to death here, and until the Civil War it was a major part of the countries defences. It has a good children's centre, and a good cafe. It is mainly ruins, but a bit of imagination makes it a good stop.

Depending which way you are coming, the weather and how much time you have, Pontefract Castle is just off the M62,

@Lincslady53 The OP is travelling up from Devon. Pontefract is over 30 miles north of junction 33 (for Sheffield Parkway) on the M1.

It's somewhere I would be interested in looking around though.

Yeh Pontefract castle sounds great but a bit of a hike.

An unnecesary hike too! @EmeraldDreams73 just drive to the hotel Sheffield, park and walk to town to have a look round in whatever daylighht there is left (meant to be v rainy again)

Ask at the hotel about leaving the car there after you have checked out on Sunday but I can't imagine it will be an issue as long as you pay.

Hope your DD really likes the city and the uni. My DD is just starting a master's there :)

Victoria Quays is nice in itself, plus Kelham Island is walking distance, with nice wine bars and eateries

Local here! You can park at Meadowhall for free (literally just off j34) and get the tram into the centre but if your daughter likes shopping you’ll be fine staying there. Valley Centertainment has a cineworld, Hollywood bowl, mini golf, restaurants etc too if you like everything in one place!

But the OP has parking arranged at a hotel in Sheffield so she might just as well go straight there and look round the city with her daughter.

Apologies, I missed that she’d already sorted parking! Was just trying to be helpful …..

If you are going to drive through Sheffield just beware of something called a “Bus Gate”. I’d never heard of one before and apparently I drove through one, following my sat nav, and got a big fine.

There’s an IKEA opposite Meadowhall I think, you could pop in there, if it’s up your street, have a browse and sit in their cafe?

Wentworth Village there a stately home Wentworth Woodhouse and a lovely garden centre with a family farm cafés and a brilliant Christmas shop. Well worth a visit.

and you can get a lovely (expensive) afternoon tea at Wentworth Woodhouse