Other in South Yorkshire

Peveril Castle occupies one of the most dramatically positioned sites of any castle in England, perched on a limestone crag high above the village of Castleton in the Peak District with steep drops on three sides making it almost impregnable without the benefit of modern artillery. The combination of natural defensive strength, historic interest and sweeping views across the Hope Valley makes it one of the most rewarding castle visits in the north of England, accessible via a steep but short footpath from the village below. The castle was built shortly after the Norman Conquest by William Peveril, a knight who was among the followers of William the Conqueror and received extensive lands in the Peak District as a reward for his service. The Peveril family gave the castle its name and held it until its estates were forfeited to the crown following a succession of complications in the twelfth century. Henry II subsequently invested in the site, adding the square stone keep that remains the most prominent feature of the ruins today in 1176, providing the castle with a proper royal tower after earlier construction that had relied largely on the natural defensive properties of the crag itself. Sir Walter Scott set his 1823 novel Peveril of the Peak here, further cementing the castle's romantic reputation and drawing Victorian tourists to what was already a remarkable piece of landscape history. The novel is now largely forgotten but the castle's setting remains as atmospheric as any fictional treatment could wish. The keep, though roofless, retains most of its walls to full height, and the entrance passage and interior arrangement of rooms can still be traced clearly. The curtain wall following the edge of the crag encloses a large inner ward, and on the north side the natural limestone cliff forms the defensive wall without any additional construction being required. The gatehouse and various domestic buildings have been reduced to lower wall remnants but contribute to a sense of the full medieval complex. Below the castle, Castleton village offers a remarkable concentration of Peak District attractions: the show caves including Blue John Cavern, Speedwell Cavern, Peak Cavern and Treak Cliff Cavern are all accessible from the village and between them represent some of the finest cave systems open to the public in England.

Sheffield Botanical Gardens are a beautifully maintained Victorian pleasure garden occupying nearly 20 acres in the residential suburb of Broomhill, less than two kilometres from the city centre. Opened to the public in 1836 by the Sheffield Botanical and Horticultural Society, they represent one of the finest surviving examples of early Victorian landscape garden design in the north of England and provide a peaceful, richly planted refuge within easy reach of the city. The gardens were designed by Robert Marnock, a leading Victorian landscape gardener who adopted the gardenesque style then being advocated by John Claudius Loudon, an approach that emphasised the careful arrangement of plants to display each species to best individual advantage rather than creating an overall landscape effect. This produced a style of garden where paths wind through a series of distinct plant collections, each presented in well-designed settings that allow individual plants to be appreciated and studied as well as enjoyed aesthetically. The most architecturally significant feature is the range of three classical pavilions at the garden's northern boundary, Grade II listed structures designed in the Ionic style that originally served as conservatories for tender and exotic plants. These elegant buildings were restored between 2003 and 2012 at considerable cost and now house subtropical plants and cacti in their temperature-controlled interiors, functioning as they always did as display houses for plants that cannot survive the Sheffield climate outdoors. The plant collections at Sheffield Botanical Gardens reflect over 180 years of horticultural development and include a National Collection of Weigela as well as significant collections of ornamental grasses, roses, heathers and rare trees. The bear pit, a curious Victorian feature that originally housed a bear as a visitor attraction, has been repurposed as a sunken garden. The woodland section of the garden provides seasonal interest through spring bulbs and the autumn colour of mature specimen trees. Entry to the gardens is free throughout the year, making them one of the best value attractions in Sheffield. Events including outdoor theatre, flower shows and family activities take place throughout the year.