Monday 14 December 2009

VIEWPOINT ONE: RED FLAG OVER SKYE EDGE
















The final piece of our first Viewpoint is now in place.

We've installed a Publicity Department flag at the Skye Edge viewpoint. This will help you to spot the viewpoint from further away. The flag is made from waste fabric and found wood, and was stitched by Kirsteen at Syd and Mallorys.

We put it up last week. It was a beautiful day, as you can probably tell. We have no idea how long it will last up there. Hopefully people will like it, and leave it where it is.

















High-viz all the way. Health and safety is at the heart of everything we do.
















The flag is red. We thought about doing a white flag, with a red logo, but decided that Sheffield has raised the white flag a bit too often over the last few years.
















We'll be installing a flag at the summit of every walk.

All photos by Gemma Thorpe.

The Sheffield Publicity Department.

Thursday 10 December 2009

VIEWPOINT NUMBER ONE: SKYE EDGE


















Our first map is out now. It will take you to Skye Edge.

Skye Edge is one of the sweetest views in the city. A 360 degree vision of green hills and glittering terraces, fat tin factories and new lego towers. It's also one of the easiest to get to: just a mile from Sheffield Station.

Winter is the perfect time for the Skye Edge view: all the leaves are long gone, and you can see through the bushes that surround the summit. Knock off early, and get up there about 4 to see the city's lights flicker on, one by one.

ROUTE

The walk will take you about an hour, including taking-it-all-in time.

The route begins behind the station, and snakes up, around the back of Park Hill, along a straight path beneath the edge, then up to Skye Edge itself.

On the walk, look out for these markers. They'll help you find the way.



































The walk ends with you standing on top of a rock, looking out over the city.


















Here's a super lo-fi video of what you can see.

Friday 27 November 2009

VIEWPOINT NUMBER ONE: MAP OUT NOW

Our first viewpoint map is out now.

The map shows you how to get to Skye Edge, one of our favourite views.


















































The maps are free. We'll post a full list of where you can get them just as soon as we know ourselves. It's a work in progress.

VIEWPOINTS


















Sheffield is a city of epic, beautiful views.

Every time you go out of your back door, and down through the alley to your street, there’s one in front of you. Every time you leave work at the end of the day, you go round the corner, and you can’t get away from it.

This is a city that you can see, that you can look over. You can put your hands out and feel the contours. You can look back at your history, where you used to live, the hill you walked up every day, where your friends lived. You can look at the parts of the city you haven’t been to yet, and imagine what it will be like when you get up there.

And you don’t need a viewing tower, or a sky-bar, or a big wheel to take it in. All you need to do is walk.

We’re producing a set of maps that will lead you to our favourite views. The point is to get you out there, on the hills, taking it in. You can see all the pictures you like on flickr, but nothing beats standing there, wind on your face, watching the lights come on.

This isn’t an exhaustive list. These views are just our favourites. There are literally thousands more, from every part of the city. And these don’t even include the instamatic views, the glimpses you get from the car in Heeley, or the view down Rockingham Street, over the tram lines. These are just the show-stoppers, the big poppas. The ones worth seeking out.

The first map is out now. Look out for more over the next couple of months.

Thanks for visiting!

Sheffield Publicity Department.

Thursday 5 November 2009

WELCOME!




WILKOMMEN!
BIENVENUE!
Добро пожаловать!
欢迎光临!


We are the Sheffield Publicity Department, and we’d like to welcome you to our lovely, ugly city.*

We’re not a normal tourist agency. We don’t really do Days Out. We’re not interested in What's On, in Where's Hot, in the Latest Bars and Clubs. We couldn't care less about shopping. You can find these things in any city in the world.

Instead, we’re here to tell you about something else: the things that make Sheffield beautiful, and amazing, and unique. The hills, the people, the industry and the nature. The reasons we love the city. And what’s more, we’re going to show you how to find them. Maps to the best views. Guides to the most beautiful terraced streets. Postcards of the sunsets.

We’re a dream tourist board, the kind that you always wished for. And we’re open, now, for all of your enquiries.

Many thanks,

Sheffield Publicity Department

* please note this phrase is ripped off Dylan Thomas, and was originally about Swansea. He’s dead now, so we’re sure he won’t mind.