other country areas
The South Pennines will look familiar to anyone who has seen "Last of the Summer Wine". Holmfirth is 40 minutes drive away direct bus on Sundays for anyone who wants to see Compo's cafe actually, an excellent "sit down chippy" or Nora Batty's step, or just the stone buildings of Holmfirth set in a beautiful green valley surrounded by rolling hills.
The Dukeries of north Nottinghamshire is an area of country parks and stately homes.
easy trips into the peaks
The Fox House pub is well-served with daytime and evening buses from Sheffield many routes meet here, and it is only a very short drive out of town. It is situated just where the view of the Peak District opens up as you come over the hill from Sheffield, so you can walk along the high bits without having to climb up there! It is a great place to have a drink before going walking/running/climbing in some great terrain, and to return to for a meal and a drink while waiting for your bus back.
Hathersage and Grindleford are very close to Sheffield on the "Hope Valley" train line. One evening, get a return ticket to Hathersage for about £3.50, and walk from Grindleford Station to Hathersage Church Little John's Grave! along the riverside path 1 to 2 hours, plus time in the country pubs at both ends. If you get an early enough train you can eat at the Grindleford Station Cafe famous for huge mugs of tea, filling food, and bossy notices everywhere.
Edale is a pretty village at the head of a beautiful valley, overlooked by the famous Kinder Scout and Mam Tor. There is one pub in the centre of the village at the start of the Pennine Way, and another by the railway station where you can drink moderately until the closing time train 11PM back to Sheffield Hope Valley line, 40 minutes from Sheffield.
Castleton is on the other side of Mam Tor, so is a short, but steep walk from Edale with beautiful views along the way. It is home to the only Blue John mine in the world as well as four major caves/caverns which tourists can visit. Each has a very different feel, from the natural splendour of Peak Cavern to the disconcerting underground river trip and well-rehearsed guides' patter of Speedwell. Castleton has an excellent bus service, and though not directly on the Hope Valley line, train tickets are accepted on the bus between Castleton and Hope Station which is!.
Eyam "Eem" village comes with a fascinating history and a sad but brave story: it chose to quarantine itself when plague struck in the 17th century. Whole families died, but the plague did not spread. The stone where food was deposited, in exchange for money left in vinegar-filled holes can still be seen. There is a museum detailing this and the rest of the village's history, and Eyam Hall is an interesting house to visit.
Bakewell is gentle and pretty quite Jane Austen-ish. It is good for riverside strolls, country shopping, and spending all day in tea shops trying out the rival versions of "Real, Genuine, Proper, Original, etc etc Bakewell puddings. Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall are nearby for "how-the-rich-lived"-buffs and history-buffs respectively.
"Sheffield's Lake District" is a rather fanciful name which has never really stuck for the Bradfield valley just north of the city centre. True, the moors, green hills, villages, and country pubs really are very beautiful, and make for lovely walks, rides, and drives — but it has to be admitted that there is a distinct lack of mountains unlike Cumbria and that the "lakes" are really reservoirs. The area really really! honest! is a "secret" — it can be a surpise to first-time visitors even from the south of Sheffield, especially when they realise that this area is not only officially part of Sheffield, but that it is also in the Peak District. It is very well served right until pub closing time by a circular bus route from Hillsborough interchange tram from the city centre: ask for Upper Bradfield, Lower Bradfield, or Dungworth yep, that's what it's called!.
Matlock shops, Matlock Bath riverside walks, a "seaside prom", and a cable car, and Cromford Arkwright's Mill, the first factory ! are closer to Chesterfield, but are easily reached by car from Sheffield.
peak district
Sheffield is the perfect city base to explore the Peak District, not only because it is the closest city to the northern half of "the Peaks" some of the national park lies within the city boundary but also because bus and train links from Sheffield into the Peaks are excellent for such rural services. Popular services run back to Sheffield quite late some until 11PM, making it feasible for Sheffielders and visitors to put a day's hard work or shopping behind them or a long summer's evening "walking in the Peaks". The popularity of the Peaks as a destination for Sheffielders at leisure is underlined by the fact that many routes provide a better service at weekends particularly on Sunday than during the week - making a full day in the fresh air very easy to arrange.
Briefly, the Peak District "The Peaks" is a beautiful "National Park" of moors with open access for hikers; stone-walled green hills and sheep-filled fields crossed by paths for ramblers; hillside tracks and country lanes for cyclists; and a network of tiny hamlets, small villages, country churches, and market towns. All the settlements have their own charm and history, and nearly all have at least one pub for lunch and beer, or a tea shop for afternoon tea and cakes.