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Home page of the Friends of the Porter Valley (FoPV) a Friends Group in Sheffield. Committed to the Conservation, Protection and Restoration of the Porter and Mayfield Valleys. Amigos del valle de Porter conservando - Proteger - Restaurar Hazte miembro Ingreso de miembros Conservación Preservación Restauración Download our interactive map and guide For more details and instructions Document To find out more about us, and the status of the valley as a Local Nature Reserve, click on the link here About Us que pasa Los detalles de nuestros eventos y actividades se proporcionan aquí. Haga clic en un evento para obtener más información. Our latest projects We are currently looking at building a Petanque Court This year we intend to install a unique sports facility in the shape of a 4 lane Petanque court (French boules) which will be the first public one for all Sheffield and built on a disused bowling green in Bingham Park. Please help Friends of the Porter Valley raise the last few £thousands so we can achieve this. Donate We are currently looking at improvements to The Forge Dam Playground In the Autumn of 2022 we completed a consultation of playground users and everyone with an interest in the Forge Dam area, and were pleased to receive nearly 180 suggestions and comments. We are working with those suggestions and comments, and are implementing as many as posible as and when funds permit. Details of updates that we have made can be found on our blags about the playground. Take a look at that section for up to date information. We are of course accepting donations via our own secure donation page. Donate Paseos Guiados About Us About the FoPV Find out who we are and what we do Find Out More The Rivers Trust We are assisting the Rivers Trust in monitoring the sewage being put into the Porter. Nature Counts Your Sightings Contribute to the Nature Counts initiative with your sightings in the Porter Valley Donate Make a Donation Click on the this link for a list of our current projects, or sign up to easyfundraising below to get online shops to donate to us. Help Raise Money for FoPV with..... If you shop online you can get the shops you use to make a small donation to us without any cost to you. By signing up to easyfundraising using the link below, you can download a reminder onto your computer which identifies shops you are about to shop with as ones that will make a donation to FoPV after you place your order. There is also an App for your phone if you prefer. Thank you

About the Friends of the Porter Valley in Sheffield. Acerca de Amigos de Porter Valley Visión Nuestra visión es conservar, proteger y restaurar la ecología, el paisaje y el patrimonio cultural de los valles de Porter y Mayfield para el disfrute de todos y el beneficio de las generaciones futuras. Conocer al equipo La Geografía y la naturaleza del Valle El Porter Brook se eleva en los páramos sobre Sheffield y fluye 10 km hacia el este hacia el corazón de la ciudad. Su El valle forma un corredor verde natural que conduce a los páramos abiertos del Peak District. Parque Nacional y la vivienda adosada y carreteras congestionadas alrededor de Hunters Bar. En el curso de su descenso, el Porter cae unos 340 metros a través de un paisaje en constante cambio. Une la abruptamente valle inciso y boscoso de Porter Clough a un paisaje agrícola más suave de laderas verdes con pastos tradicionales y construcciones de piedra. entonces pasa por los restos arqueológicos de nuestro primitivo patrimonio industrial (vertederos, millponds, millraces y presas) y en más antiguo y bosques seminaturales. Desciende a lo recreativo y ornamental. parques en Bingham y Endcliffe que fueron creados con fines sociales en el siglo 19. Luego, el arroyo ingresa a las alcantarillas subterráneas a lo largo de Ecclesall Road y fluye hacia el este pasando el cementerio general hacia Centro de la ciudad de Sheffield para unirse al río Sheaf debajo de la estación de tren. Los "Amigos de Porter Valley" se establecieron en 1994 para preservar y mejorar las características naturales e históricas de Porter Valley para beneficio público Aspectos ecológicos Unos 5 km de la El fondo del valle y los tramos superiores de su afluente, el May Brook, fueron designados "Áreas de interés de historia natural" en el Desarrollo Urbano. (UDP) porque el valle contiene un importante capital ecológico. Botánicamente, estas comunidades comprenden varios bloques de bosques de robles antiguos con exhibiciones espectaculares de flores de primavera y hongos de otoño; matorral seminatural, ribereño y estanque hábitats; 'enjuagues' húmedos en las laderas del valle que contienen especies raras; viejos prados ricos en flores de un tipo que está desapareciendo rápidamente del campo y pastizales ácidos que en otoño brillan con hongos venenosos. La secuencia estanques de agua conocidos localmente como “presas” también contribuye significativamente a la ecología del valle aunque se encuentran en mal estado de conservación con varias con fugas y todas llenas de sedimentos. Los cursos de agua soportan una abundante fauna de reproductores de patos, mirlos, martines pescadores, garzas, cangrejos de río y otros invertebrados de agua dulce, mientras que los prados y setos son el hogar de muchas especies de mariposas y polillas. Los árboles sostienen muchas aves, incluyendo visitantes de verano como la curruca de sauce y el chiff-chaff, y durante todo el año familiares como dos tipos de pájaros carpinteros, trepadores de árboles, trepatroncos, carboneros y córvidos, incluida una colonia de larga data en Forge Dam. Los mamíferos incluyen varias especies de murciélagos que destacan revoloteando sobre las presas, zorros, campañoles de agua y varias comunidades de tejones. Al identificar y administrar adecuadamente aquellas partes del valle que desempeñan un papel clave en la provisión de esta biodiversidad, nos gustaría asegurarnos de que los usuarios de todos los tramos del valle de Porter continúen encontrando una variedad memorable. de la vida silvestre Esto incluye áreas alejadas del fondo del valle a las que se puede acceder por la red de senderos y carriles tranquilos. Amenity and recreational value Urban parks were created throughout Britain in the 19th century as a response to the often appalling urban environment brought about by industrialisation and rapid population growth. They are still a vital amenity in our 21st century lives. The whole Porter Valley, except for Endcliffe Park, lies entirely within the Green Belt. It also forms a significant part of the Sheffield Round Walk and a Strategic Cycle Route out to the Peak District. Because the valley provides a direct link between the city and the countryside it is used extensively by people from all over the city and beyond. Its accessibility and unique atmosphere appeal particularly to the communities along its flanks, to Sheffield schools, ramblers, cyclists, and nature lovers. There are several frequently used access points from the roads and footpaths that border on, or run across, the Porter. Half a million people may use the Valley every year; and over 30% come from parts of Sheffield other than the nearby relatively affluent wards of Broomhill, Hallam, and Ecclesall. Archaeological Aspects Man has inhabited this Valley since Palaeolithic times but the most obvious evidence of human impact is the sequence of dams. In the 18th century the Porter Brook was one of Sheffield’s intensively used industrial streams and drove 20 mills mostly for the manufacture of cutlery, hand tools and other metal products. All but 6 of the original 20 millponds have disappeared over the years as their original industrial use declined and the valley became a focus for leisure. What remains is an attractive linear amenity and wildlife habitat studded with features of exceptional historic interest. The dams provide a compelling thread of interest to the linear valley walk. Unusual features are that the mills were constructed for the metal (e.g. cutlery) trades and not preceded by corn mills. Forge Dam impounds the full flow of the stream, whereas all other dams use the by-pass system. Wire Mill once had the largest diameter wheel in Sheffield. Many of the remaining monuments and buildings in the valley have listed Grade II status and Shepherd Wheel, a water-powered grinding hull and dam, is a scheduled Ancient Monument. A conservation area encompasses Fulwood Chapel, Forge Dam and Wire Mill Dam. The UDC map also shows an “Area of Special Character” on the northern slopes of the valley from Harrison Lane down into the brook bottom. In 2001 Endcliffe Park was included in the South Yorkshire county volume of English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest as a grade II site. The whole Valley was given grade II listing by English Heritage in 2002 in recognition of its unique mosaic of features. It is a landscape that has appealed to English Heritage’s interest in “the engine room” of our 18th and 19th century heritage. Neil Cossons, a former President of English Heritage, recognised the importance of the national heritage of waterways, mills, and workers’ cottages. The Porter Valley retains examples of this heritage. The Porter Valley is also recognised as linear parkland of particular and historic interest. Patrick Abercrombie’s 1924 civic survey for Sheffield City Council describes the Porter Valley as follows “The Porter Brook Parkway, consisting as it does of a string of contiguous open spaces, is the finest example to be found in this country of a radial park strip, an elongated open space, leading from a built–up part of the city direct into the country, the land occupied being a river valley and so for the greater part unsuitable for building. As compared with the finite quality of an ornamental park of more or less square shape, there is a feeling of movement in a continuous park strip …….the human being ….is lead onwards until the open countryside is reached.“ Trustees FoPV is run by volunteer trustees who give their time and efforts to the above. To find out who does what, see our meet the trustees page

Information about the Endcliffe Park Toad sculpture, in Sheffield. The Endcliffe Park Toad The new iron toad shortly after installation. Donations Although the new toad is now in place, we still need to raise a few more pounds to meet the cost. To make a donation to the Endcliffe Park Toad renewal project, please do so here via our secure donations page. Donate The iron toad after one week. The Endcliffe Park Toad, seen above, is a well known piece of public art located a few metres below the Cafe. The latest version was installed on 5th December 2024 after almost a year of fundraising by FoPV, and it is made of metal by a local sculptor called Jason Thompson, who has also designed and made other works of art in Sheffield such as the 'Chair' in the Rivelin Valley. This is the third toad made by Jason to sit on this base. The first toad, in 1997, was jointly funded as a celebration of nature - by the Off the Shelf Literary festival, and Sheffield Wildlife Trust. Both wooden toads eventually deteriorated, returning them to nature, each lasting about 12 years. The remains of the 2012 toad can still be seen beside the holly bush beside the river. Reflecting the original heritage, the current toad sits on the open pages of a book, as with the previous two wooden toads of 1997 and 2012. Sculptor Jason Thomson, and Glyn Mansell of FoPV, visited Greystones Primary School and talked to pupils in Y2 and Y5 about the Toad project. The pupils were fascinated and later produced art and written work which was displayed in school and the Tropical Pavilion at the Botanical Gardens one Saturday in September 2024 . A selection of this work is inscribed onto the new ‘pages’ supporting the metal 2024 toad, some of which can be seen in the pictures below. The Watch We are often asked about the watch, so we asked Jason to explain. "It’s about time and the frozen nature of sculpture as the world changes around it. The new iron toad , if left alone, could last for ten or twenty thousand years compared to 12 to 15 years for his two wooden incarnations. The frog Prince of fairy tales also comes into it, but as he’s a common toad (Bufo Bufo ) maybe a nice watch is preferable?" Close-ups of the books