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Sheffield in General
by Kittenpeach
I am originally from Cheshire, but I've actually been living in Sheffield for the past year (I was very familiar with the city even before I moved here) and it's actually a pretty interesting place to live.
I practically live in the city centre, so it's really only a short walk to get to the high street, so I suppose I will be ... basing most of this review around the actual city centre, rather than the outlying areas.
Shopping...
I think Sheffield is a fantastic little shopping destination, the city centre might not be as big as Manchester, but we still have a great range of high street and boutique shops in the city. I really like the fact that the city if fairly compact, as everything you could possibly want is in walking distance, and the city is quite easy to navigate. Sheffield has all the shops you would expect situated around Fargate, such as Topshop, Marks and Spencer, River Island, H&M, New Look, the list goes on really! There are also some independent, alternative shops in The Forum which is on Devonshire Street, and I would really recommend having a little look in there if you are after something different and original.
If you are willing to go on a little 15 minute tram ride, you can get to one of the main shopping destinations in Sheffield, which is Meadowhall mall/shopping centre. This is quite similar to the Trafford Centre, and features loads of highstreet shops, as well as a cinema and food court. It does get incredibly busy on weekends though, which is why it has earned it's nickname of 'Meadowhell' - still worth a good look around!
Culture...
Sheffield has a surprising array of cultural events all year around. We also have a number of art galleries in the city centre, most notably the Millennium Galleries, which you can reach via the Winter Gardens. It's a lovely little gallery, and it's all completely free. They have various exhibits on throughout the year, recently they have had an exhibition by Sheffield based graffiti artist Kid Acne, which I found to be really fascinating. They also have a great shop which stocks various art books and cards, plus a cafe on the lower ground floor. Sheffield also plays host to the Graves Gallery which has a permanent collection of artworks, and as it's also free, it's definitely worth a look. If you would like to find out more about Sheffield's galleries, then here is the link to their website - http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk.
Sheffield is currently hosting the World Snooker Championships at The Crucible theatre, so if you are an enthusiast it might be worth coming into town for that alone! You can actually see some of the players in the Winter Gardens, today I managed to spy Steve Davies being interviewed for a tv show.
As I mentioned above, Sheffield as two main theatre venues - The Crucible, and The Lyceum which are handily situated right next to each other in Tudor Square. Both venues are super easy to find, and there are always a lot of interesting productions running. Please feel free to have a look at their website - http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/.
Eating out...
There is such an incredible variety of restaurants and cafes in Sheffield that it's hard to know where to start. In the centre of town you can find lots of popular chain restaurants such as All Bar One, Prezzo, Cafe Rouge, and Wetherspoons. I would recommend having a look in Leopold Square, which is filled with good eateries, you will be able to find everything from Japanese, to Italian and Indian, so it's a good little destination. There are also some super deli's available in the city centre, my personal recommendation would be Feast which is located on Chapel Walk, they stock lots of freshly made sandwiches, which are always of a high standard. They certainly have some pretty unusual choices - such as the onion bhaji sandwich, I don't think I've seen that anywhere else!
Transport...
It's very easy to get to Sheffield via bus or train, and there is even a free city centre bus called FreeBee. The train station is just a 5 minute walk from the city centre, and there are plenty of signs to help guide you. There is also the tram service that links Sheffield to some of the outlying towns such as Hillsborough.
I would recommend getting a day rider ticket from the tram so you can have a really good look around, and maybe even have a trip to Meadowhall, or the other shopping centre Crystal Peaks. They are very frequent, so you won't be waiting long at all, and there are plenty of stops dotted along the high street.
All in all, I think Sheffield is a lovely city to visit, it always looks clean and tidy, and there is plenty to see and do. Another great thing is the City Centre Ambassadors you will see walking around the city, so if you do find yourself needing some help or information, you won't have to struggle for long.
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Whitby in general
by TimElise
-==Introduction==-
Ah.. Whitby, without question my favourite place in the world, my second home situated on isolated north yorkshire coast, completely unaffected by time and miles away from any cities or large towns, the closest being Scarborough, some 20 or so miles south. Whitby is remarkably well preserved and still ... retains its victorian charm, Whitby is as if frozen in time, it is unchanged, like the land that time forgot, cobbled winding streets that have existed since the days of the romans, ancient fishing boats, the notorious swing bridge which splits the old side of town from the new and remains relatively unchanged since it's inception, and a traditional smokehouse for kippers and bacon, and how could one forget St.Hilda's final resting place, Whitby Abbey?. There is something incredibly romantic, yet frightening about a victorian era fishing town set amongst the backdrop of the ever watchful ascent where Whitby Abbey watches over all it's townsfolk almost as if guarding them from danger! accompanied by the north sea who's waves crash crash and crash against the cliffs, the sound of the waves, the hawk hawk hawk of the seagulls, the finest seafood money can buy, and quaint little century old cottages and pubs offering real ales, food and fantastic accomodation..so am I finished yet? I haven't even started!
-==My first experience of Whitby==-
I first visited Whitby when I was a wee lad of 16, and definately not at the age where I could really appreciate Whitby for just how amazing it is, yet it still manages to evoke fond memories from those years ago. I remember the b&b I stopped in (Argyle House and it's fantastic landlord Ben), the great tasting fish and chips and how we ate in the Trenchers restaraunt, definately a step up from anything else I have had, with quite possibly the cleanest toilets iv'e seen! so kudos to them!
-==Whitby, second time around.==-
I went to whitby again when I was 21, 5 years later and with a new sense of maturity I definately enjoyed it much more then, it was truely perfect, we went in May and the weather was phenomenal, I, and my dog both got buried in the sand!. We stayed in a cottage, self-catering for a week courtesy of Ingrid Flute who offer fantastic cottages are very good prices too, which works out suprisingly cheap actually much cheaper than if you were to stay in a hotel or b&b, you do have to provide your own breakfast, but how much does a bag of muesli cost?, We went to a few different chippies, all of them fantastic but the stand-out one again has to be Trenchers and Mr.Chips, both have my recommendations, we also decided to dissapear up the 199 steps and to the Abbey for the afternoon, it is quite expensive for a ticket but it is more than worth it, it's a strangely serene place for somewhere that has so much history attached to it, you can almost feel it when you stand at the top looking out to the cliffs and the rough waves of the north sea crashing and eroding away.
-==From beginning to end==-
Frankly, Whitby is a place that for me has a touch of everything yet also excels at most things, if your looking for a town like Blackpool, Brighton, or Scarborough you will be dissapointed, but if your looking for a quaint little seaside town that is busy yet retains all of it's edwardian qualities and remains the land that time forget, from it's cobbled winding streets, to it's tudor cottages and gothic buildings, to the finest seafood the north-sea has to offer and the most fantastic pubs offering all the real ales of yorkshire then Whitby should be your one-stop shop.
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