Rotherham, a market town for 900 years with Roman origins, brings urban heritage, fine countryside and plentiful attractions together in a compact and peaceful corner of Yorkshire. Its pedestrianised shopping centre comes complete with one of the best medieval churches in Yorkshire, one of only three surviving medieval bridge chapels in England, a traditional market beneath a space-age 'flying roof' and, housed in Clifton Park Museum, Britain's finest collection of Rockingham porcelain. Outside the town, the romantic ruins of Roche Abbey, waterways, villages like Wentworth and Thorpe Salvin, a mysterious collection of follies, ancient woodland, even the chance to encounter exotic wildlife at the Tropical Butterfly House - these are some of the quiet delights of countryside that makes up over two-thirds of the Borough. Superb opportunities for enjoying this countryside are brought together in an annual summer walking festival, whilst for the watersports enthusiast, the award-winning Rother Valley Country Park provides everything from canoeing to jet ski riding.
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