Sheffield & District

We start at the Three Merry Lads which is just a few minutes walk up from the bus terminus, it is an old cottage style pub with low ceilings and large outdoor drinking area leading onto the playing field with magnificent views over Rivelin Valley. A good choice of beers and all real ales with no keg, smooth or extra cold. Greene King Abbot Ale, Marston’s Pedigree and Tetley Bitter all sell well but the local Kelham Island Easy Rider is the most popular.

Back down the road to the Sportsman, the pub sign shows three hand pump handles as cricket stumps and the three beers here are Timothy Taylor Landlord which can be served in pint and half pint mugs, Tetley Bitter and Stones Bitter. The sports field at the back of the pub is a venue for the Sunday League football but other activities include North East dog agility weekend, radio controlled aircraft, kite buggies, micro light pleasure flights and helicopter landings. Board games are played and the walls and ceiling are displays of sporting photographs and equipment and on my visit spotted an Olympic competitor in the Sydney 2000 games.

Following the way we came up, we walk back down the hill with fields on either side, towards the bus. The housing development on the right is the former Lodge Moor Hospital with much of the original buildings still to be seen including the clock tower which is a good landmark for walkers in the area. The bus takes you down the hill and the next pub is just after the dip on the way back up the other side.

The Shiny Sheff was renamed The Sheffield by the previous manager but is still known by its former name as this has historical connections with the battleshipsbearing the name and it is due to have the sign replaced quite soon. It is a modern estate pub built when the nearby flats were developed and has a large wooden decking area overlooking the car park and beyond to the golf course. There is a small room on the right with the large lounge a favorite for the Thursday karaoke night. A bouncy castle and ball pool is there for children to use and Taylor Landlord and Marston’s Pedigree are the beers usually on.

The next pub offers the widest range of beers that are mainly from local breweries, the Plough had Thornbridge Jaipur, Abbeydale Moonshine, Kelham Island Best Bitter, Acorn IPA, and has one beer from Sheffield Brewing Company and one from Bradfield Brewery. The original Plough was built in 1695 and when rebuilt in 1929 the date stone was incorporated above the doorway. Opposite the Hallam football ground, the oldest one in the world and the second oldest club, the Plough has quenched the thirst of footballers, cricketers and runners from the Hallam Chase over the years. I was there when Sean Bean was having a drink in a break from filming “When Saturday Comes” . The pub is open plan round a central bar with raised seating areas at both ends, the pool table was moved outside onto the heated decking which incorporates built in speakers providing soft music without disturbing neighbours.

Up and over the next hill down into Crosspool and as the bus stops at the shops go back a few yards and the Sportsman can be seen at the other end of Benty Lane. The Sportsman is the most popular pub name in Sheffield and this is the second one of them on this route. As an Ember Inn the décor may seem familiar, being carpeted throughout with comfortable seating and individual lighting giving that secluded feeling. The pub has three beer festivals a year but their usual ones are Stones Bitter, Taylor Landlord and one guest from an extensive range and I did not even smile when I asked for a pint of Piddle. The beer that week was Piddle on Holiday from Wyre Piddle Brewery, Worcestershire.

Back to Crosspool shops for the bus again, the pub opposite does not sell any real ale so on to the next one. The bus passes through Broomhill where five out of the six pubs have a choice of real ale and these will be covered in a future article but if you feel that you must break your journey the Fox and Duck is a current entry in the National Good Beer Guide and offers a wide range of guest beers.

Get off the bus just before the University roundabout and opposite is the University Arms, formally the 197 Club, so named as its address is 197 Brook Hill and was for University staff and guests. Thornbridge Brewery support the pub and the house beer is Wild Swan with up to three guest beers from Sheffield Brewing Company, Kelham Island, Abbeydale or Wentworth. The bar is to the left and the carpeted lounge is divided into two by glass partitions giving extra seating on deep buttoned bench seats with comfortable chairs. All areas are well lit with wall and ceiling glass shades. The conservatory looks out onto the large garden and is often used for meetings and music sessions.

At the University roundabout the route splits, going along Mappin Street, then West Street and through town, and in the other direction West Street and down Rockingham Street towards the roundabout. Within a couple of minutes walk of this part of the bus route there are more pubs than you can shake a stick at so I will mention the two nearest, both of them being in the 2008 National good Beer Guide from which the descriptions come.

The Red Deer, Pitt Street. A traditional pub in the heart of the city, hidden away behind the West Street circuit. The small frontage of the original three roomed local leads into an open plan pub, extended to the rear with a gallery seating area. The pub mirrors and Guinness clock sit alongside prints and watercolours of local scenes, some of which are for sale. The impressive range of nine handpulled ales includes at least one rotating guest. They also stock a selection of continental bottled beers.

Fagans, Broad Lane. Away from the main drinking area, this pub is hard to categorise, and you feel it would be more at home on a side street than on one of the city's main arteries. Well dressed in green, red and dark wood paneling, the pub hosts folk music and a fiendish quiz on Thursday. Whether you are looking for a quick pint or an evening's entertainment, this pub must come near the top of the list. The beers here are Tetley Bitter and Abbeydale Moonshine. The bus in both directions again passes more pubs than you can shake a stick at and joins around St. Mary's Road and as it turns right onto Shoreham Street, this is the stop for the next pub.

Royal Standard, St. Mary's Road. Ex Ward's house largely open plan with comfy sofas and the small back room is used for meetings with the pool table is in a separate area to the left. Largely food orientated throughout the day, in the evenings there are quiz nights, pool nights and discos. Popular with students and handily placed between the railway station and Bramall Lane. Two beers are usually available mainly from local breweries; recent ones have included Abbeydale, Kelham Island, Osset and Cottage. There is a good discount if customers show their RS loyalty card or CAMRA membership card.

John Beardshaw.