Women of Steel

The Women of Steel gallery sits in Sheffield's cultural quarter, dedicated to the often-overlooked women who kept the city's steel industry running during the Second World War and beyond. It's a proper archive of photographs, personal testimonies, and artefacts that bring home just how crucial female workers were to the war effort - and how quickly they were expected to vanish from the workforce once the men came home.

You'll spend a good hour here, longer if you're the type to sit with the recorded interviews. History buffs and anyone interested in social history will find it genuinely moving. Kids might get restless unless they're already interested in how things were made or what their great-grandparents actually did during wartime.

Admission is free, which is brilliant value given the depth of material. The gallery's in walking distance of Sheffield's other museums, so it pairs well with a broader cultural visit to the city centre. If you're based at one of the nearby campsites - Wyming Brook Farm is particularly well-regarded - you could easily spend an afternoon here before heading back out to the hills. East Peak and Fox Hagg Farm are also sensible bases within a few miles.

It's not flashy or designed to impress Instagram users, but that's rather the point. These were ordinary women doing extraordinary work, and the gallery respects that without overselling it.