Hotels in South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire has a varied landscape with the Pennine Hills in the west, an undulating central area, and lowlands in the east. Although agriculture is an important part of the economy, with sheep farming on the Pennine Hills, and dairy and arable farming on the lowlands, the area is mainly industrial. The River Don rises in the Pennine Hills and flows across the South Yorkshire coalfield to Sheffield then northeastwards to Doncaster.

Water power provided by rivers, and the local availability of iron ore, wood and coal, were primary reasons for the regions initial growth. Since early times the county's landscape and geological assets have provided it with profitable industries, and Sheffield was known as early as the 14th century for the production of metal objects such as knives and swords. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century saw woollen mills springing up in the Aire and Calder Valleys, and Sheffield began to produce massive amounts of steel from the local ironstone.

Today a mixture of farming and heavy industry support the county economy, and although the mining of the coalfields of South Yorkshire has been reduced, many working coalmines can still be seen. The university and cathedral city of Sheffield remains a major producer of steel goods, and is home to many fine old buildings, museums and the largest artificial ski-slope resort in Europe.