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Free booking and cancellationFree payment tour, no set price, booking and cancellation are free
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Hello, my name is Kevin. I'm a retired police sergeant, I also have experience working within the criminal justice system at the Sheffield Combined and Family Courts.. As a police officer I spent a number of years 'pounding the beat' in Sheffield city centre. I also worked as a shift and custody sergeant. I grew to be fascinated with Sheffield's history of people and places .especially the more 'dark' side of that history. I have organised walking tours for my colleagues at the courts and now I have fully retired I have designed this tour. I'm a born and bred 'Sheffielder', a lover of Guinness and a passionate Sheffield Wednesday supporter. So, come and join me on the beat, lets walk and talk together as we open up some of Sheffield's forgotten past. Looking forward to meeting you.
The event has now been running for 2 years , during that time over 600 people have experienced the tour which has received over 50 5 Star Reviews on GuruWalk. Photos of people who have been on the tour together with numerous reviews can be seen on the Instagram site Steel_City_Walking.
We will meet in Castlegate alongside Lady's Bridge, Sheffield's oldest bridge. This is the birthplace of the city. From a clearing in the woods where two great rivers, The Don and The Sheaf, meet Sheffield grew to become the UK's 4th largest city and to be known around the world as the Steel City. We'll reimagine Sheffield Castle, the prison of Mary Queen of Scots, and learn of its destruction. We'll meander through the old town, along its still cobbled streets, visiting sites where criminals were active, police officers killed on duty, chartists conspired and razor gangs battled. Who was the chartist leader of the Sheffield Uprising and how is he commemorated in the city today? Who was Charlie Peace, why was he England's most wanted man who had his waxwork effigy displayed in London's Madame Tussauds and have film and stage plays written about his life? Why was Sheffield known as 'Little Chicago' during the 1920s and what exactly was the 'Rhino Whip' affair in 1963 which caused the then Chief Constable to resign? All of this and more will be explored with the tour concluding in the Peace Gardens today's Heart of the City.
What's not included:
This is an outdoor walking tour. We won't be entering any of the buildings we visit as part of the tour. Sheffield City centre isn't flat we'll be walking up and down inclines and over uneven surfaces.
On Castlegate next to the Lady's Bridge information sign carrying a black backpack.
Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end of the tour the amount that he or she considers appropriate (these usually range from €10 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).