Walks Yorkshire

Go walking in South Yorkshire

Despite not having the reputation of its northern and western county neighbours, South Yorkshire has plenty to offer us walkers – and has the benefit of not being as busy…

Lying on the eastern side of the Pennines, and a stones-throw from the main areas of the Peak District, South Yorkshire is a metropolitian county in England, with an area of 1,552 km2 (599 sq miles).  It consists of four metropolitian boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster,Rotherham, and the city of Sheffield.  It was created on the 1st April 1974 from the south part of the former West Riding of Yorkshire, along with several other districts from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire – but the county council was abolished in 1986, as exists now as a ceremonal county.

Cusworth Hall in South Yorkshire
The main settlements of South Yorkshire grew up around the industries of mining and steel manufacturing – with mining mainly in the north and east of the county, and steel mainly to the west.  Doncaster also developed a reputation for railway locomotive production, and of the 3 most famous steam locomotives in the world, Flying Scotsman and Mallard were built in Doncaster (the other being Rocket – which wasn’t!)
Walking wise, the county has much to offer, and thanks to the excellent transport links, walks are easy to get to.  A great number of the more common walks are accesable by public transport too.


The reminants of the Pennines can be seen in Sheffield and Barnsley, with the area here being quite hilly.  The terrain levels out the further east you go, with the extreme east of of the county past Doncaster at the Humberhead Levels only being 10 metres above sea level.

Three major rivers span the county – the Dearne, the Rother and the Don - and along with the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation canal - offer good waterside walking.  There are also 6 reservoirs towards the west of the county, with well-defined walks.

The long-distance Trans Pennine Trail passes through the county, with the main route towards the north, through Barnsley and Doncaster, and a spur connecting Rotherham and Sheffield.

The new South Yorkshire Way opened in 2014, and provides two linked long distance trails – one around the boundary of the county and one passing right through the centre.