Oughtibridge to Hillsborough

Oughtibridge is served by the 57 bus and SL tram link bus.

[1] Head down past the post office, go straight on over the river  and turn right at the footpath sign. The path now follows the Don for over a mile.

(A) At 70 miles, the River Don is South Yorkshire’s principal river. It’s also been messed about with more than most. Originally joining the Trent, it was diverted in the 1600s to join the Ouse as part of a scheme to make it navigable from Sheffield to the sea. It occasionally gets its own back by flooding, like in 2007 when the city centre, Meadowhall, Catcliffe and Doncaster suffered its wrath. Below Oughtibridge, as the fall is nowhere near that of the Rivelin and Loxley, weirs had to be built at an angle across the river with a goit from the lower end channeling water into the dams to provide the power for early industry. These can be seen all the way from Oughtibridge to Hillsborough. There is a rest area by the weir in the far corner of Middlewood Park.

It is an all-weather surface throughout, though it is possible to follow a natural path along the river’s edge shortly after joining a wire fence on your left. The path leads to Rocher Bridge. Cross over and continue along the riverbank. The path eventually bends away from the river to the main road. (Bus service SL)

[2] Follow this left and turn left into Middlewood Park at the Park & Ride sign. Follow the tarmac path and keep alongside the river past the play area, following the wide loop around the football pitches (or cut straight across the grass). No further progress is possible along the river, so follow the cinder path into the estate and turn left. Follow Winn Gardens round to the right and turn first left into a cul de sac. Turn right up the walkway to Middlewood Road and left to the tram terminus.

[3] To complete the walk, cross Middlewood Road and continue along the right-hand pavement, staying beside the tram tracks at the fork. Cross Wadsley Lane and then Leppings Lane at the lights and enter Hillsborough Park.

(C) Formerly the grounds of Hillsborough Hall (now the library) it was made into a park by the Dixon family in 1897 and presented to the council in 1903. It is now one of the best appointed and most used parks in the city, having just about everything you need except for a café, but with so many of those on the outskirts there is no need. The walled garden dates back to 1779 when it was used to grow soft fruit for the Hall. Sheffield City Council used it as a nursery and training centre for the council’s gardeners for 80 years. Like many local authority sites throughout the country, the garden suffered several years of decline during the 1980's due to cutbacks in park maintenance budgets, though its fortunes improved during the early 1990's when Hillsborough Community Development Trust redeveloped it as a memorial garden in tribute to the people who died in the Hillsborough Disaster. Liverpool F.C. donated a replica of Anfield's Shankly Gates as an entrance to the garden in 1992. They were opened by Bill Shankly’s widow, Nessie. Follow the wide main avenue past the play area. (Public toilets are available by turning right beyond the play area for 200 yards to the bowling green pavilion.)

Oughtibridge village takes its name from a man called Oughtred, whose nickname was Oughty. He managed a ford on the River Don in the 12th Century, which was later bridged, hence Oughty’s Bridge. The village grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution when water power was harnessed to power forges and Dixon’s paper mill, established in 1871. The park has picnic tables, shelter, toilets, a tree sculpture and an information panel. 

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