Wardsend Cemetery

Buses 20 and 20A from stand H4 at Hillsborough Interchange

[1] Cross the zebra crossing and turn left over Crowder Road. Turn right down the steps after 150 yards into Longley Park (A). Descend the hill and bear right through an abandoned playground and between shallow hills to a junction. Turn left then take the right fork towards the play area, but step onto the grass and pass to the left of this. Join the tarmac path and exit the park through an A-frame alongside some houses.

Cross Longley Lane to the footpath sign almost opposite and follow the edge to enter Bagley Dike Wood (B). Keep straight on through the centre beside the tiny stream. The path gradually gains height. You eventually reach some steps descending alongside a wooden handrail. Descend the second set, pass through the gap and turn right into the grounds of the Northern General Hospital. Keep straight on over a mini roundabout with the grade II listed clock tower (C) on your left. Turn left at the end along the lower of the two roads and bear right along the exit drive to Herries Road.

[2] Cross at the lights and go straight on to Norwood Road (buses 20 and 20A). Cross to the footpath sign opposite to enter Roe Wood (D). Immediately turn right down some steps, cross a plank footbridge and follow the main path beside the stream up through the wood. Turn right at the top, cross the road and ascend to the left of the handrail. Turn left through the A-frame after 50 yards into Busk Meadow Park (E). Pass the play area to the junction. Turn left and exit the park at the strange assortment of lamps. Cross the road and turn right into Longley Avenue West. Turn first left into Musgrave Place. Follow the right-hand pavement, cross Miles Road and continue 50 yards to the footpath sign on the left, leading on to Parkwood Springs (F). Keep straight on along the main path to a junction after 50 yards and turn right. Keep left at a fork, go over a cross-path and down past the trees on your left. Cross the cinder track at the bottom and go straight on along the wide grassy path.

[3] Pass to the left of the barriers in the far corner and turn left down the tarmac path. Follow this to the end and continue down the hill on the natural path. Keep right at the fork and enter Wardsend Cemetery (G). The path descends to a railway bridge. Cross over and turn right. The path doubles back and descends through a plethora of gravestones. Before descending to the road, turn left at the cross-path and immediately left again to see the Hillsborough Barracks memorial. Turn right between boulders before the road bridge and follow the River Don. The factory across the river, now Cadbury’s, used to be Bassets, the home of liquorice allsorts. The path eventually leaves the river to a road. Turn left and left again along Herries Road South to the main Penistone Road, opposite the Sheffield Wednesday ground.

[4] Turn left and cross at the second set of lights, opposite Kwik Fit. Cross Parkside Road and turn right. Enter Hillsborough Park at the car park entrance and turn left across the grass or along the tarmac. Walk alongside the lakeshore, turn right and go straight on with the wall on your left. Turn left then right or cut straight across the grass. Turn left at the cross-path to the exit and go straight on along the main road to Hillsborough Park tram stop. Keep straight on to reach the Travel Interchange.

This linear walk from Loxley Park is varied, scenic and interesting, with parkland, ancient woodland and wild greenspace, though the high bracken and thick undergrowth of late summer is not the best time to explore the hidden delights of Wardsend Cemetery.

Loxley Park is served by frequent bus services 20 and 20A which depart from H4 in Hillsborough Interchange. Alight at the Church on the Corner at the junction of Southey Green Road and Crowder Road. 

(A) Longley Park was originally the grounds of the now demolished Crowder House, the main farmstead in the area. It belonged to the Wilkinson family from about 1400 until 1722. The park was donated to the public in 1929. The house, which stood where Crowland Road now is, was demolished in 1935 to make way for new housing. Much of the park was converted to allotments during the Second World War and until 1987 contained a popular outdoor swimming pool. 

(B) Bagley Dike is a long narrow strip of ancient woodland, which owes its survival to the steepness of its slope. 

(C) The Clock Tower was founded in 1878 as the Fir Vale Workhouse for the Homeless. Two hospitals grew up around the tower, the Fir Vale Infirmary and the City General Hospital, which merged in 1967 into the Northern General. Being a listed building the clock tower has survived a massive amount of rebuilding and modernisation over the last 30 years. 

(D) Roe Wood and its neighbour, Little Roe Wood are isolated pockets of protected ancient woodland which have been in existence for well over 400 years. They were bequeathed to the city by Sheffield's first Mayor, the Duke of Norfolk.

(E) There are seats to the right by a small wetland area with a dragonfly sculpture. The new building beyond was the site of Norwood Hall, which became the residence of the Bishop of Sheffield in 1918 and thus became Bishopsholme. Despite being a listed building it was abandoned in the 1940s and demolished in 1976, as it was deemed structurally unsafe. 

(F) Though it is the biggest greenspace in the city, only about half of Parkwood Springs is open to the public. This northern end is much less frequented than the southern area with its lowland heath and stunning views over the city, but this is a pretty path in summer when the flowers bloom and the grass is high. 

(G) Due to the risk of disease, the churchyard of the now demolished St Philip’s Church in Shalesmoor was closed in 1857. Outlying land at Wardsend was acquired as an extension cemetery. A mortuary chapel and sexton’s house were built and the land consecrated in 1859. The area was badly affected by the Sheffield Flood of 1864 and many of the victims were buried here. A monument to soldiers that died, not in battle, but in Hillsborough Barracks between 1866 and 1869 can be seen. The final burial was in 1977, the site abandoned in 1988. Despite occasional outcries for restoration this wild hillside remains forlorn and neglected to this day, though its decay is part of its mystery and charm. There can’t be too many graveyards bisected by a railway line either. Virtually all of the gravestones in the upper cemetery are completely obscured by high bracken and undergrowth during high summer.

These walks have been developed for Walk About Hillsborough by Rob Haslam, author of Walking South Yorkshire. See it on Amazon.co.uk.