Top Picks
Guides
What’s on
Where to go
See all

Down by the Riverside at Kelham Island Museum

Gemma Gibb, Associate Editor

Visit now

Down by the Riverside

Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield, Kelham Island
24 September 2017

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Free
Book now

Who doesn’t love messing about by the river? Head to Sheffield this weekend for its largest ever Waterfront Festival, which also celebrates World Rivers Day.

Hosted in and around the remarkable Kelham Island Museum, situated on a man-made island over 900 years old in one of the city’s oldest industrial districts, families can make, play and enjoy the water to their hearts content.

There will be a plethora of heritage crafts to have a go at, live music, local artisan food and drink plus kayaking and riverside walks and talks.

Situated in one of the city’s oldest industrial districts, it marks Sheffield’s incredible past and the role the waterways played in powering the city. It also celebrates the vibrant waterside communities and beautiful places to explore today.

Where to go near Down by the Riverside at Kelham Island Museum

Jöro
Kelham Island
Restaurant
Jöro

With the best Yorkshire-sourced produce & a fine wine menu, Jöro has made a big impact on Sheffield’s food scene since opening in 2016.

Peddler
Kelham Island
Music venue
Peddler

Peddler offers a monthly mix of award-winning street food, craft beer, cocktails​, live music and more, at the Neepsend side of Kelham Island.

City Centre
Event venue
Sheffield Quaker Meeting House

The Quaker Meeting House is a place of religious worship and venue for hire, providing a range of rooms and services, catering for everything from small group meetings to events for up to 100 people in Sheffield.

Thrifty Store, Sheffield.
Sheffield
Shop
Thrifty Store

Thrifty Store, Sheffield is an up-to-date, sleek space, popular with young crowds for its affordable price points and quirky, unusual one-off pieces.

Food and drink in Sheffield
Kelham Island
Restaurant
Cutlery Works

With a range of 12 hand-selected food vendors, all under one roof, there’s something to satisfy everyone’s palate at the Cutlery Works, Sheffield.

Gallery stock image
Sheffield
Gallery
Fronteer Gallery

Fronteer Gallery provides a community hub – an inclusive and supportive exhibition platform for all artists with regular events.

Sheffield
Shop
Juno Books

Friendly local queer and intersectional feminist bookshop in Sheffield. Visit for interesting fiction and non fiction books.

See all places

What's on: Festivals

Get Outside with Bradford 2025: An image of a large man made pool with fountains in front of a historic building with a clock tower
Until
FestivalsBradford
Get Outside with Bradford 2025

Explore art in the moorlands, soundscapes through the glen and appreciate how the city has become totally transformed when you get outside with Bradford 2025.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Music in the North

From New York’s experimental underground to the most exciting sounds coming from local scenes, we're lining up a noisy autumn of gigs.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Theatre this month bursts with contrasts - from bold new writing and Black History Month highlights to contemporary arts and reimagined classics.

A white mattress is burning in a black rocky landscape.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries in the North are far from spooky this October - instead you'll find tactile sculptures, plant magic and curatorial experiments.

Cinema in the North

A host of Halloween horrors, experimental shorts, plus pioneering black British cinema make our October Cinema Guide.

Poet Helen Mort.
Literature Events in the North

One to add to your TBR pile, our latest round-up is a bumper edition and features some amazing events in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and beyond...

See all guides