A Greenground Map of Sheffield
Did you know a whopping 61% of Sheffield is green space? As far as we're aware, Oslo is the only city in the world with a higher percentage than this...
... but we didn't know that when the map was printed back in 2021, so please forgive that factual error on the PDF below!
Sheffield has more than 800 managed green spaces across 4,000 hectares within the city boundary. With so much on offer, we wanted to create something to help demonstrate how accessible greenspaces are in The Outdoor City and so we commissioned a ‘Greenground Map’.
Fitting all Sheffield's green spaces onto a map would get a bit too busy visually, so we chose to highlight 356 of these, to help show you how they can all be connected, wherever you happen to be in the city.
Whether you live in Sheffield or are just paying a visit, the Sheffield Greenground Map is available to download for FREE here, so you can start exploring the city more.
Sheffield's green spaces are really diverse too – from ancient woodland to public parks to peatland bog (not forgetting our iconic Grey to Green scheme), with one third of the city sitting in the Peak District National Park and five rivers intersecting our neighbourhoods and communities.
Sheffield Hallam University has 273 species of flora and fauna across its two campus sites alone, whilst Sheffield City Council manage 180 designated woodland sites (of which 70 are ancient Woodland), and The University of Sheffield has about 10,500 trees across their estate. Speaking of which, it’s estimated there are approximately 4.5 million trees in Sheffield in total – meaning there are more trees per person here than any other city in Europe.
Drawing on rivers, activity and geography themes as key ‘lines’ – as well as featuring the Sheffield Round Walk and Sheffield Greenway Walk, the Greenground Map demonstrates how parks, open spaces, recreation grounds, waterways, woodlands, and the Peak District National Park are all accessible for everyone to enjoy, no matter what their background or physical ability.
For the more adventurous, it also includes information to indicate where the best spots are for kayaking, bouldering, climbing, birdwatching and biking, as well as key viewpoints of the city and campsites.
We released an initial printed run of of the Sheffield Greenground Map, distributing 22,000 copies around the whole of the city and neighbouring areas in local shops, cafes, libraries and visitor centres - which all promptly got snapped up.
Greenground Maps are a concept created by Helen Ilus from Tallinn. Having spent time in London, she wanted to promote the fact that whilst the tube network is great, there are healthier and more enjoyable and sustainable ways to get around via networks of greenspaces. She has since designed maps for Edinburgh and Bristol too – but the Sheffield Greenground Map is the first time she has been directly commissioned to create one.
Working on this project, Helen said: “I've learned so much about Sheffield while making this map and I can honestly say it's the coolest city I've worked with. I don't know any other UK city with so much open space and opportunities to go out and get active. I hope this map will inspire more people to walk, cycle and experience Sheffield as a truly green, connected and open city.”
Whether you walk, run, ride, boulder, paddleboard or unicycle your way through our hills, Sheffield is a city that demands exploration, and hopefully the Sheffield Greenground Map can help you explore more of it, by using the green spaces in between.
With our rich culture and heritage intertwined with the ability to participate in so much physical activity, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a pro climber or an amateur wanderer – you can get immersed in everything The Outdoor City has to offer.
The Outdoor City would like to thank Move More, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield Property Association and Sheffield Hallam University for their kind donations in helping make this project come to fruition – and of course Helen Ilus for coming up with such a great concept and working with us to produce this.