Rivelin Valley Nature Trail

What does this trail offer?

• Lots of river
• Woodland walk
• Open fields 
• Cafe 
• Pubs (nearby) 
• Paddling pool 
• Playground 

Izzy's POV

Rivelin is Izzy's all time favourite walk. (Also, our late black Labrador we had the pleasure of owning before Izzy, Cassie, Rivelin was her favourite too.) 

Rivelin Valley Nature Trail, is an all round great day out. If you have a family, on a nice day this is the walk for you! Kids and adults will enjoy this. The trail begins at Malin Bridge and is about an hours walk(one way, don't forget you have to walk back!) Malin Bridge end of the trail has a cafe and a paddling pool which is great, (but busy) during summer seasons! There is plenty of parking on the main road at this end, however it does get extremely busy in summer seasons so be practical. Plan ahead. (Charges may apply so please check signage.)

For solo dog walkers, or dog walkers that prefer the beaten track like me and Izzy, I suggest driving to the opposite end of the trail and parking on Rails Road. This end of the track is a bit more difficult so pick to your preference. 

For this route, if you're coming off Riverlin Valley Road, from Malin Bridge direction you'll need to turn left onto Rails Road and then a straight right into a small car park. This car park is only small and does get busy during summer but I've never been when it's full so to my knowledge it's never full enough to not get parked up. It isn't a paved car park so do watch out for pot holes. If you then cross to the other side of rails road(no footpath so be vigilant about oncoming traffic, keep your dog on a lead until you're firmly on the trail) a bit further down there is a stepped entrance or just next to it a sloped one, and a map. 

You'll firstly be greeted by a field, this is great for your dog to get their business out of the way and stretch their legs, all the open fields are large areas so feel free to let them off the lead if your dog is able. I usually bag their business and leave it on the side and pick it up on the way back. The only bin this end is in the car park. 

After this we follow the path deeper into the trail, straight away you come across a bridge, cross it and go back on yourself for the first bit of water, which we always make use of. It's nice and deep and good for a quick fetch session. The water does get fast here so please use your judgement if it has been raining and don't underestimate the current it can get very strong. We then go back across the bridge and use the trail that you started on, however you can keep across the bridge but this side is more for bikes and horses. 

Further down the trail there is pebble stones and a wall where water flows over but there is an alternative route just before this where you take some steps up and continue on flat. The steps are quite steep but it does avoid all the water related obstacles. However for the more adventurous I suggest donning a pair of wellies and getting stuck in! I love it and so does Izzy! 

Again, that being said, if it has been raining a lot in the days up to your visit the river can get strong and high in which case I'd suggest the safer steps route as the rocks can get slippy if overflown. I wouldn't recommend this end of the track for young children or elderly people as it can be a bit more difficult than your average walk. 

Further along is another field, again is large, and the hill leads up to even more field. We usually stop to play a bit here then carry on. Rivelin is a pretty straight forward trail but there are a few different routes even though all end up on the same path eventually. The river runs alongside you the whole way down and is easily accessed by you and your dog. Not always both, but usually your dog will find a way, especially if they are as water obsessed as Izzy. There is a few stagnant ponds with ducks or mud occupying them, I'd avoid letting your dog go in these as they will come out smelly and dirty and not the fun kind. Also ducks and fish do occupy some of them so respect their homes! 

Do remember the further you go the further you have to come back. It's usually quicker on the way back because you take your time going. There is a path that goes around a circle pond, this is usually our turn back point if we're feeling a long walk. Sometimes we turn back before but generally we don't carry on past this bit. 

Once you've finished the walk there is a pub, The Rivelin Hotel, on your way back along Rivelin valley road, towards Malin Bridge and up a steep road called Tofts Lane. This pub is dog friendly with a great view so great for a drink in summer! (Make sure you catch their 2 meals for a fiver deal!)

Don't just take our word for it - Rivelin Hotel Trip Advisor

Trofts Lane

View from The Rivelin Hotel

Watson's POV

This is one of Watsons favourite walks too, we often go with Stacey and Izzy and walk the route explained above. If we do go alone we walk a slightly different route as we don't have a car. We walk in via Malin Bridge, this is around a 10 minute walk from Hillsborough corner but there are buses that go to Malin bridge, the 81 and 82 stop directly outside where we start our walk, there is also the SL2 from Stannington, this is a tram link bus. 

The smaller back entrance is off Stannington Road, just past a bus stop. If you walk down here it is much quieter in the summer and a nicer walk, there is spots for swimming and a nice picturesque bridge (which is handy if you are as obsessed with taking photos of your dog as we are). If you follow the path it brings you out at the bridge you would come over to enter from the main road, so just be aware if your dog is off lead and tends to wander. If you go right as you come to the bridge this takes you to another path, it can be quite muddy in winter so I do suggest wellies! In the summer however it is a nice walk and avoids most of the busy areas. If you keep walking on this path you will eventually come to the famous stepping stones! There is an alternative (albeit more busy) path you can take to avoid these, they can be quite slippy and may be difficult to cross for young children and older people, although I do remember crossing them myself with my grandparents when I was young! It is a great place for swimming and paddling, Watson, who hates water, will paddle in here as it's nice, calm and clear water so he can see where he's going!

Once across the stepping stones you keep walking along a dirt trail, this has plenty of woodland to sniff around it and explore, you can see clearly ahead of you and it's a nice place to let your dog have a run around, at the end of the path there's is a bridge which then goes into the busier more populated part of the walk, we tend to turn up the hill and have a drink in The Hollybush pub, it's not dog friendly inside but the beer garden is very nice and spacious with plenty of outdoor seating and a play area for kids (or for another photo opportunity!) it also serves food and they will happily serve outdoors, we then walk back the way we came. Keep a look out for more on our posts about local dog friendly pubs! 

Don't just take our word for it - Holly Bush Inn Trip Advisor

Weston Park/Crookes Valley Park

(outside Dam House)

Weston Park/Crookes Valley Park, also known as Izzy's local - We're in these parks every day as it's just outside our house and they are situated next to eachother with only a one way road between them. You can find these parks in the Walkley area of Sheffield next to the children's hospital and Sheffield University arts tower. 

Parking

Mushroom lane runs between both parks, although parking on sides road and the main road does have parking limits and some are pay and display. There is 3 disabled bays between both parks on mushroom lane as well as more pay and display. Cost and times vary. 

Crookes Valley Park (CVP)

This park is centred around a fish pond where fishermen often sit around to fish, it's not a dog friendly pond, although try telling Izzy that...

There is plenty of grass areas, most are quite hilly apart from an old bowling green that's now overgrown. However next to it there is a bowling green that is still in use !DO NOT! let your dog play on there if possible, it's not taken nicely. 

Next to the unused green is a fenced in playground (no dogs) for children. The paths are cemented so this park is good for a clean walk or a muddy one if you aren't likely to stay on the path. You can do this park on its own in half an hour easy. I often come across local dog walkers who we are on first name basis with (not just dog name basis). The park itself is fenced in, however one if not both, gates are usually left open. There is an entrance that has steps but the other hasn't. It goes deep enough that you can just lead your dog nearer to the gates on the way out, if they're not likely to wander too far. 

Also Dam House is a restaurant/bar on the other side of the fish pond which you can take your dogs to, inside or out, so long as they behave, the food is average but the drinks are flowing and can be a nice meal out towards the end of summer (Too overcrowded during summer for us). 

Behind Dam House is a sport centre for the university so this park is often used for students to cut through to get there. The pond is also used a circuit to run around. 

Summary - 

No water, muddy areas in bad weather but clean paths.

Joggers and kids all year round but can be overcrowded during summer. Occasionally this park is empty, either to bad weather or time of day. 

Weston Park

This park is a bit nicer than CVP in my opinion and the fields are flatter (although the main field is very muddy in bad weather, sometimes used as a rugby field). Weston Park also has a duck pond, also not dog friendly, but again, try telling Izzy that. There is a museum so can be congested with visitors and school visits, this park is also used as a cut through from one side to the other so people traffic can be quite bad at certain times of the day. It is a no cycling park but people still do cut through there on bikes and both gates are open at all times. Again this park can be done on its own in half an hour so combining the two makes for a good hours walk. 

Summary -

No water, muddy on the grass but clear footpath. 

Joggers and people can be very crowded especially during summer. I do avoid this park during the summer season sometimes as it can get overcrowded (next to the university, and hospitals) 

   

Ponderosa

As with Crookes Valley and Weston Park, Ponderosa is on Izzy's doorstep. However, we only really venture there in the summer as it's usually not as populated as Weston and Crookes Valley Park.

Where?

Ponderosa is a larger park than those adjacent to it, with entrances from Upperthrope road, Crookes Valley road, Bellefield street and Oxford street. 

There is plenty of parking availability, however  Crookes Valley road has a bus lane which means parking is prohibited between the hours of 7:30-9:30 and 16:00-18:30 (please do check the signs if you choose to use it). There are other side roads to park on but some do either have time restrictions or pay and display so please check if you plan to use them. 

The Ponderosa is a lovely park in itself, with three large green fields, one by the road, one with an all weather football field, and one higher up that's just a grass field in a bit of dipped land. This field is good for avoiding joggers and walkers in general and this park is used as a cut through that people often use to get to  Crookes Valley Road. The higher up grass field does get very wet and muddy during wet seasons but its a lovely field to sit and play on during summer. The lower fields are usually more occupied as its at street level. Sometimes the field is used by a nearby school but more often than not it's a mostly empty park. However, I would personally say it's a more rough area than other nearby parks as I've met a lot of aggressive and unfriendly dogs and people around there. The lower bit is pretty flat overall but it does climb a fair bit and if you come from  Crookes Valley Road be prepared to use a lot of stairs to get down and back up. There are less steep roots but they tend to extend all the way around the park. Izzy enjoys this spot as its less congested and there's a few rocks and wooden poles to play around on. As I said earlier, in summer it's a much better alternative because when the field is empty it's like the whole park to yourself and it's not very often it's busy. Probably cos it's a bit rougher but we have been known to do all three nearby parks.  

Dogs that like to run off and roam far ahead should be kept on a lead as there's a large area of the lower fields that has no fencing whatsoever and it on a somewhat busy road, although the higher bits are fenced there isn't a gate, just gaps in the fence as entrances so be wary of this when letting your dogs off lead. 

Tramlines was hosted here in 2015 so it may be again but this only affected the lower fields.