The “District” bit of Sheffield & District branch is the part in Derbyshire which includes Killamarsh, Ridgeway and a big chunk of the Peak District National Park, predominantly the Hope Valley, out as far as Millers Dale and Edale. As with the Yorkshire pubs in Sheffield, a number of judges go out and score the two pubs that came out top in the members vote to pick an overall winner, which gets put forward into the North Derbyshire entry round of the national competition. Our District winner is the Old Hall Hotel in Hope. The venue combines a pub, restaurant, tea room and bed & breakfast accommodation with the bar offering a range of cask ales plus an extensive selection of scotch single malt whiskies.
Our festival secretary Jess Cawley, reports on his visit:
“Located in the Hope valley the Old Hall public house located in the picturesque village of Hope and nestled below Lose Hill that’s at one end of the famous Lose Hill ridge. The first mention of the current building was a rebuilding in 1703and forms the current “Old Hall” pub that became a listed building in 1984.
Internally the pub has a traditional air with oak panelled walls exhibiting a welcoming and convivial atmosphere. A lunch-time meal was French Onion soup and a beef sandwich, both of which went down well. There were a good half dozen real ales to choose from with Theakston “Old Peculiar” a well known favourite. My Theakston’s Best was very palatable.
The pub runs a beer festival on bank holidays and was frequented by tourists and locals alike. Facilities were fine and there is an extensive menu, reasonably priced”.