Rotherham

Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England, near Sheffield. The urban area has a population of about 120,000.

Understand

Get in

Rotherham is easily accessible by bus and train.

By bus

The town has a large, refurbished bus interchange moments away from the main shopping and leisure precincts with connections to Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster, Chesterfield and the surrounding suburbs.

By train

🌍 Rotherham Central station is very small (only two platforms) and is a short walk from the bus interchange and also has links to Sheffield, Doncaster, Cleethorpes, Hull, Lincoln, Huddersfield, Leeds and Bradford.

Get around

The best way to see the town centre is on foot given its size. Travel to the many suburbs and smaller townships of Rotherham can be achieved by the frequent and reliable First bus services. There are a range of taxi companies and a Hacknay Taxi rank outside the bus interchange. Rotherham had a rapid bus system that is in development.

See

• 🌍 Rotherham Visitor Centre, 40 Bridgegate, S60 1PQ. M-W 9:30AM-5PM, Th 9:30AM-1PM, F 9:30AM-5PM, Sa 9:30AM-1PM. (updated Dec 2017)
• 🌍 Clifton Park Museum, Clifton Lane, ☎ [phone]. M-Th Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 1:30-4:30PM, F closed. The house was built in 1783. The museum includes local social and industrial history, archaeology, natural sciences, coins and medals and fine and decorative arts. Free.  
• 🌍 Rotherham Minster, Church Street, ☎ [phone]. Much of the building dates from the 15th century. Some parts are from Saxon and Norman times. Formerly known as Rotherham All Saints’ Parish Church.  
• 🌍 Chapel of Our Lady on Rotherham Bridge. Built in 1483. Has been a chapel, almshouse, gaol, shop and is now a chapel again.  
• York and Lancaster Regimental Museum, Arts Centre, Walker Place. M-Sa 9:30AM-5PM, closed bank holidays. Free. 
• 🌍 Boston Castle, Boston Castle Grove. A square two-storey building built as a shooting lodge by the Earl of Effingham.  
• 🌍 Magna Science Adventure Centre, Sheffield Road, Rotherham, S60 1DX (take the M1, junction 33 if travelling from the south, junction 34 if travelling from the north), ☎ [phone]. Daily 10AM-5PM. A hands-on science museum situated in an old steelworks. Adults £9.95, Children £7.95.  
• 🌍 Conisbrough Castle, Castle Hill, Conisbrough, DN12 3BU, ☎ [phone]. Adults £4.60, children £2.80, concessions £4.10.  
• 🌍 Roche Abbey, Maltby, ☎ [phone]. Adults £3.50, children £2.10, concessions £3.20.  

Do

• 🌍 Rotherham United, AESSEAL New York Stadium, New York Way, S60 1FJ (half a mile south of Rotherham Central railway station). Watch football (i.e. soccer) at Rotherham United, who play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They play at the New York Stadium (capacity 12,000). (updated Dec 2018)

Buy

• High Street. Rotherham's high street was named Britain's best in the town centre category of the Great British High Streets Awards 2015. It hosts independent retailers selling clothes, accessories, antiques, gifts, confectionery and art. Street furniture has been replaced and buildings refurbished in a joint scheme run by Rotherham Borough Council and private investors. Retail consultant Mary Portas called the development "fantastic".
• 🌍 Parkgate Shopping, Stadium Way, S60 1TG, ☎ [phone]. Parkgate Shopping is a retail park about 1 mile to the north of Rotherham town centre on the A633. It has an array of high street shops including Next, Marks & Spencer, HMV and Boots. There is also a large Morrison's supermarket. 

Meadowhall

Entrance to Meadowhall

• 🌍 Meadowhall, Sheffield, S9 1EP, ☎ [phone]. (updated Dec 2017)

Once the largest shopping mall in the country, its success has been blamed for a steep decline in the fortunes of city centre shops in Rotherham and the neighbouring towns in South Yorkshire. With 280 high-end stores and over 30 million visitors every year, Meadowhall attracts shoppers from a large area, with residents from Nottingham, Bradford and Leeds (all highly populated local cities with thriving shopping districts) being known to travel to the shopping mall - adding to the heavy human traffic in the relatively narrow corridors (perhaps one of Meadowhall's downsides).

Shops generally stay open till 8PM; most fast-food restaurants stay open until around 10PM. During the Christmas holidays, most shops stay open till 10PM, but the centre becomes very packed and is not recommended to the less sturdy shopper, those in large groups, or families with multiple extra-large baby-buggies. 'The Oasis' is the mall's food court. It includes McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, La Tasca, Nando's, Frankie & Benny's, Coal Grill And Bar, Pizza Express, and many other independent restaurants occupying the upper floor.

Meadowhall can be reached easily from the Rotherham Interchange by the X78 bus route.

Eat

• Fitzwilliam & Hughes. High St, Rotherham. An independent café serving fresh coffee and leaf teas as well as light lunches and homemade cakes.
• Miele Delicatessen. 22 High Street, [phone]. An Italian-style deli selling sandwiches and cheese/meat platters made to order, and real Italian coffee. The shop stocks ingredients and accessories for Mediterranean cooking.
• Sophisticakes. 17 High Street, Rotherham, [phone]. A confectioner and tea room serving light lunches and salads, along with homemade cakes, tea and coffee.
• The Sweet Escape. 23 High Street, Rotherham. A trendy new venue serving fresh milkshakes, homemade cakes and pastries, fresh coffee and ice cream sundaes. Open late and on Sundays.

Drink

• The Cutler's Arms. 29 Westgate, Rotherham. A brewery-run pub owned by Rotherham brewers Chantry. Hand-pulled ales, European beers and spirits. Eclectic jukebox and regular live music. Refurbished in the style of a Victorian pub.
• The New York Tavern. 84 Westgate, Rotherham. Sister pub to the Cutler's Arms, also owned by Chantry. Hand-pulled British ales and an even wider range of bottled craft beers. Quieter atmosphere than the Cutler's Arms, with regular acoustic music and live poetry.

Sleep

• The Carlton Park Hotel, 102-104 Moorgate Road, ☎ [phone]. 
• Hellaby Hall Hotel, Old Hellaby Lane (Hellaby), ☎ [phone]. 

Go next

• Leeds a big Yorkshire city, only an hour away by train, coach, or car, handy for the Yorkshire Dales.
• Manchester, England's 'second city', a vibrant shopping and cultural hub. Around 1 1/2 hours journey by car (through the scenic views of the Peak District) and an hour by train.
• Hull, a 700-year-old major port city and regional capital of East Yorkshire and the Humber. Many free museums in the cobbled old town, and the most successful millennium project in the country with the spectacular aquarium, The Deep.
• Sheffield another large Yorkshire city, less than half an hour away by bus, train, or car, easy to get to and has many more visitor attractions.

Routes through Rotherham

Leeds ← Barnsley ←	N  S	→ Chesterfield → Nottingham
Kingston-upon-Hull ← Doncaster ←	NE  SW	→ merges with