We popped into our neighbouring county today to visit the Sheffield Botanical Gardens, and it was free! There was no official car parking, so we parked nearby and crossed the road into the entrance to the park.
My first impression was how many squirrels were about. I should have taken some nuts as I'm sure they would have taken them from your hand.
This was a Grade II listed Bear Pit that was built in 1836, and home to a black bear called Bruin. He only had a tree for amusement so was understandably very bored. Sadly, Bruin didn't last long.
There was also a sculpture in memory of Bruin. Someone had kindly left flowers at his feet. Probably to acknowledge human's cruelty to animals. Source
The victorian greenhouses called the 'Pavillions' were full of tropical plants. This building survived German bombing in 1941. Source
We visited the water stream with a little waterfall, with marsh marigolds around the little pond.
The gardens weren't massive but still quite spacious. There was still a fair amount of flowered areas to visit, but it's probably better coming back in the summer.
It was good to have lots of benches around the pavillion. The weather was quite warm but not enough to draw many people out.
