It’s springtime again, time for us to get our walking boots on and go for some drinks further afield. Sheffield has many great pubs and green spaces within its boundaries, but looking further afield there are many villages in the easily reached surrounding countryside which have great pubs in them too – all worth visiting. We are also lucky to still have within the city a public transport system that will get you there and back (most of the time!).
Although we as a branch have organised minibus trips to many of these pubs – usually on our way to present one of them with a well deserved award – these can be limited. To supplement them we are continuing our RambAles, a series of roughly monthly guided strolls in the countryside surrounding Sheffield visiting a number of pubs for a drink.
We hope that people won’t find the walks too long or too strenuous. Most routes will feature a number of drop-out points where people can leave the walk and make their own way back to Sheffield by public transport if they don’t fancy doing the whole walk, or want to stay for another drink in a particular pub. These will also provide joining points for any latecomers. Some timings and fares will be given in the walks’ listings (see the Diary section), but it pays to double-check these yourself!
The first RambAle of 2019 will take place on Saturday 23 March. The plan is to catch the 11:40 272 FirstBus from Sheffield Interchange as far as Fox House (c12:18). We shall walk through the Longshaw Estate to the Grouse Inn, then through Hay Wood to Grindleford station and Upper Padley. Any walkers who wish to can then continue along the Derwent riverside path to Leadmill and Hathersage for further refreshment and buses or trains back to Sheffield.
RambAle dates for the rest of 2019 will be:
- Saturday 20 April – Chesterfield Pub Circular
- Monday 27 May – Hope Valley Meander (including festival at Old Hall in Hope)
- Saturday 29 June – Deepcar to Wortley (for Wortley Beer Festival)
- Saturday 27 July – Baslow, Froggatt, Longshaw, Fox House
- Saturday 24 August – Bradfield, Dungworth, Stacey Bank, Nags Head
- Saturday 28 September – Monyash, Bakewell, Sheldon, Ashford, Thornbridge Brewery
- Saturday 26 October – route TBC
We hope you can join us on one or more of our RambAles. Everyone welcome.
Malcolm Dixon