South Yorkshire is one of the four counties that make up the county of Yorkshire, the others being North, West, and the East Riding of Yorkshire. South Yorkshire shares borders with all three of the above counties, as well as with Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. It is the smallest of the four Yorkshire counties, having been dissociated from the West Riding of Yorkshire during the county boundary rearrangements of 1974, but with its large towns and cities such as Sheffield (the only city in South Yorkshire), Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley, it has one of the densest populations of any part of the UK. All warrant a mention in their own right, but collectively the towns and cities of South Yorkshire were major centres of industry, and as Britain entered the Industrial Revolution this area was truly thriving.

The three main requisites of industry were plentiful in South Yorkshire, namely coal, iron ore and water; consequently Sheffield became one of the world’s most prominent producers of iron and steel, Barnsley was at the heart of South Yorkshire’s coal mining industry, Doncaster became an important railway town, and Rotherham – like its neighbour Sheffield – was important in the production of iron and steel. Today, sadly, these industries are now largely gone and the region has been forced to diversify and re-invent itself, which it has done to good effect. Sheffield, for example, is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city and is home to one of the largest student populations in the UK – attendees of the city’s two universities, the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam.

Yet despite its undoubted importance in Britain’s industrial history, South Yorkshire also has areas with beautiful scenery, such as the Peak District National Park, part of which lies in the south-western corner of the county and comes within just a few miles of Sheffield’s outskirts. There are remarkable country houses, industrial exhibitions, museums and galleries, as well as an excellent selection of hotels, restaurants and pubs. South Yorkshire is also easily and conveniently reached by road, rail and air from the rest of the UK.