A corner of yorkshire

THE LEAPING SALMON, SHEFFIELD

For many years, the River Don, in the stretch that runs through Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster, was one of Europe’s most-polluted watercourses.

With so many factories discharging waste directly into the river, there were some very strange side-effects. The water temperature on one part of the banks once rose to a point where it became a micro-climate, and allowed a grove of fig trees to establish themselves.

Today, after heroic efforts over the last 20 years by environmental activists, the waters have been cleaned to such an extent that Atlantic salmon have spawned near Sheffield for the first time in decades. To celebrate this leap forward, a new statue has been put up outside the city’s railway station – a 7ft-high stainless steel fish created by local sculptor Jason Heppenstall. It is made from recycled cutlery, tools and lamps. There’s also a new trail for walkers who want to explore the local industrial heritage.