The University of Sheffield
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Arriving in Sheffield for UCAS Open Days

The Department is located in Firth Court and you proceed through the main entrance to join us. You should note that dropping-off places and parking places are very limited in the immediate vicinity of the University.

We offer the following suggestions for travel to the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Open Days. Please read each of these in conjunction with the map we have enclosed in your invitation letter.

Use Park and Ride + Supertram

The supertram system is impressively quick and clean, and has a stop at the University. The trams have conductors so buying tickets and asking for advice is straightforward.

There are several park and ride schemes which give easy access to the Supertram system. For more information, and how to choose the best site (depending on where you are travelling from) see the Park and Ride links below. The Park and Ride sites are marked on the interactive departmental map and detailed instructions for finding the parking sites are given below.

For the Open Day, we suggest that you should aim to arrive at the Nunnery Square or Middlewood Road sites by 9.45 am to give you plenty of time to reach Firth Hall in time for Registration. Trams run every 10 mins and the journey time from each of these sites is about 10 mins. The journey time from Meadowhall is somewhat longer (about 25 mins).

Our experience is that from the M1 the best site to choose is Nunnery Square (via M1 junction 33), as the Meadowhall site fills up quite early.

In all cases, you should alight at the “University of Sheffield” stop, walk up Leavygreave Road or Hounsfield Road to Western Bank, then bear left and cross under the Western Bank dual carriageway to reach Firth Court.

Park near the University - NOT recommended.

We do not recommend this option, since daytime parking in and around the University is very limited and zealously patrolled. Navigating in the University area can be tricky and time consuming. We strongly advise you to use the Park and Ride facilities.

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to arrange parking in a University car park (e.g. for visitors who can walk only short distances). For more information, please contact the Department UCAS Office.

Use the railway

The railway station is approximately 1 mile from the main university campus on Western Bank. There is a Supertram stop at the railway station accessed via the main station overbridge (follow directions to high numbered platforms). Take a Blue Line tram - from the tram platform on the same side of the tracks as the train station - heading towards “Middlewood” or “Malin Bridge”, and alight at the “University of Sheffield” stop. From the tramstop, walk up the hill on Leavygreave Road or Hounsfield Road to Western Bank, then bear left and cross under the Western Bank dual carriageway to reach Firth Court.

A taxi from the railway station to Firth Court will take less than 10 minutes and cost about £5. Ask for Firth Court on Western Bank.

Alternatively if you wish to walk, follow the marked route on the interactive map below

Return journey

If returning to a park and ride site, for Nunnery Square or Meadowhall you need to take a “Meadowhall” tram, and for Middlewood road you need to take a “Middlewood” tram. These trams run on the Yellow line of the SuperTram network

For the railway station, the return journey is a pleasant gently down hill walk through the city centre, taking 20-30 minutes. The route is shown on the map link below. Alternatively take a “Halfway” or “Herdings Park” tram - on the Blue line of the SuperTram network, or ask us to arrange a taxi.

Further Information

A wider range of travel advice may be found on the University website at:

If you have any queries about your travel arrangements, please contact Dr Jeremy Craven (c.j.craven@shef.ac.uk).