The number
4 bus, operated by TM Travel, serves a number of Sheffield’s south-western suburbs, heading out from the city centre, through Sharrow, Brincliffe and Ecclesall and on towards Bents Green and eventually Ringinglow. The twin service 4a takes an alternative route from Ecclesall Road, heading down Carter Knowle Road before terminating at Millhouses Tesco.
Although these buses only run once per hour, services run on weekends, continue until around 11pm and pass by a number of excellent real ale pubs, making it ideal for visiting a few pubs that are a little further out of the way.
The route begins at the Sheffield Interchange, so if you arrive early you can call into the
Old Queen’s Head to get refreshments ahead of the journey. The three regular Thwaites beers are nowadays joined by a number of guest offerings, which often feature local breweries such as Abbeydale and Little Critters. The pub also offers an interesting range of Czech food on its menu, which is well worth a try.
On departing the bus station, the service meanders through the city centre, heading past the Moor Market towards London Road before turning right up Cemetery Road. Here you will find the
Beer Engine, where there are up to six real ales plus a selection of craft keg and tapas.
A little further up the road, just past the roundabout, the bus stops almost outside the door of the
Stag’s Head on Psalter Lane. This Thornbridge pub serves a range of core and seasonal beers and has a pleasant beer garden.
The bus continues on Psalter Lane, past the currently closed Psalter Tavern, and onto Ecclesall Road South before reaching the
Prince of Wales pub on the left-hand side. Today, this pub is mainly food-focused but real ale is still on offer, with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and Tetley Bitter regularly available.
As mentioned earlier, the 4a service takes an alternative route here, heading down Carter Knowle Road past the
Cherry Tree and on towards Tesco. The Cherry Tree is a community pub which recently won an appeal to retain its status as an Asset of Community Value, and has Black Sheep Best Bitter on cask.
Meanwhile, the number 4 takes a right turn onto Bents Road and up towards the
Hammer & Pincers at Bents Green, where there are four real ales available including local favourite Abbeydale Moonshine. There are also two weekly pub quizzes, on Tuesdays and Sundays.
The route continues out as far as Ringinglow, with a stop just outside the
Norfolk Arms Hotel, before heading back towards the city. The Norfolk Arms has up to six cask beers on offer, with regular beers from Abbeydale, Bradfield and Exit 33 joined by three guests. One real ale, a different one each week, is priced at £2 per pint on Mondays and Tuesdays.
On the way back into town the bus follows much the same route, but just in case you want to try one more pub, the approach to the Interchange from the opposite direction means that the bus stops directly outside our Pub of the Month from March 2018, the
Rutland Arms. Here, there are up to seven real ales, with the regulars provided by Blue Bee.
Dominic Nelson 
We’ve also got together with Lymington based brewery Vibrant Forest for a special collaboration. We met the guys at Zagreb’s first craft beer festival where we were both presenting our wares late last year, and over a few boozy shenanigans we discovered a mutual love for the Nelson Sauvin hop… so we’ve used absolute oodles of them in our deliciously fruity Nelson Sauvin DIPA (9.0%).
Daredevil or not, you’re sure to enjoy a pint of our Stuntman (4.3%). A quaffable pale ale perfect for spring afternoons, just don’t try any daring antics after drinking!
From the Brewers Emporium, a new Unbeliever is coming to town towards the end of April and we’re continuing our experimentation in this range by creating a dry hopped black Berliner Weisse, lightly tart with an amped up backbone from the dark malts used in the recipe. And finally we’re rounding off the month with the next of our Salvation series, back to a classic this time with a Dry Irish Stout (4.9%). Expect a roasty toasty character and a beautifully smooth mouthfeel.
Laura 
Meanwhile, there will also be the usual live music at the Harlequin on Friday and Saturday evenings. Bands for April include The Band With No Name, Gav Coulson Group, The Paddy Maguire Band, Ace in the Hand, Mahogany Newt and Searching for Sylvia.
Pete Roberts 
The idea of brewing beer using spring water from a well discovered underneath the pub was conceived last year. Brewing equipment was eventually delivered to the pub—which was voted our July 2017 Pub of the Month—in January this year, and brewing commenced shortly afterwards. The brewery has also invested in branded casks and pint glasses. There are also plans to sell the spring water separately, as well as using it as the main ingredient in all their beers.
Loxley’s first beer, Wisewood One blonde (4.0%), was finally released on 15 March at a special introductory price of £2 per pint. It proved extremely popular, selling several casks in its first evening. A second brew, a New Zealand-hopped pale ale, is also currently in production and should be available in the near future. 
Outgoing social secretary Patrick Johnson made what could be his last Pub of the Month presentation to pub manager Heather Griffin, and afterwards we were treated to a range of free sandwiches, which were very much appreciated.
Congratulations once again to owners Kate and Chris, managers Heather and Pete and all the Rutland staff on their award. 
