It is expected that there will be very few improvements to bus services before franchising comes in and replaces the existing operating model in September 2027, however a few little bits to report.
Not strictly speaking in our area, but a new demand responsive bus service “SYPN on Demand” has now launched in parts of Rotherham and Doncaster. This is a pre booked ride share minibus which in Rotherham covers the Dinnington area (as far across as Harthill) and the Waverley area with journeys between those areas and Crystal Peaks bus station, Kiveton Park railway station and Meadowhall Interchange possible. Seats are booked via an app or over the phone.
Meanwhile over in North East Derbyshire there has been a change of operator due to the previous one ceasing trading, the Derbyshire on Demand service has now been merged with Notts on Demand with the Notts app required to book rides now. In our area this service includes Killamarsh.
A relatively new Sheffield bus operator, SMT, has dipped their toe in running public bus services and launched some new routes, albeit with a limited timetable to utilise buses and drivers outside school runs. The routes are 27 Rotherham to Crystal Peaks, 43 Rotherham to Meadowhall and 63 Sheffield Centre to Crystal Peaks.
In the Peak District First bus have announced cuts to their service 272 on Sundays this winter with the frequency reduced to every 90 minutes. An hourly service is expected to be restored next summer.
The East Midlands Combined County Authority continue to work on the “Mini Switzerland” project in the Hope Valley which will see many key bus routes in the area running hourly all day every day and timed to connect with trains at stations like Bamford, Hope and Edale. Very little details has been announced as yet but it is expected for the first improved bus routes to launch in summer 2027.
On the trams the Blue route to Halfway continues to be closed beyond Gleadless Townend after an old mine shaft opened up under the tracks in the Birley area. A revised timetable is in operation with Blue route trams running to Herdings Park and replacement buses linking Gleadless with Halfway. Elsewhere on the network there is rail replacement work planned between Shalesmoor and Middlewood/Malin Bridge from 24 to 31 October and a minor timetable tweak from 1 November.
Details of bus and tram services over the Christmas and New Year holidays are not yet announced, train services should already be available in the National Rail journey planners. Keep an eye online at travelsouthyorkshire.com.
We recently returned from Podge’s 127th Belgian Beer Tour and a stay in Ypres (West Flanders). Belgium was its usual slightly eccentric self: the Tri-annual Poperinge Bier and Hoppe Feesten providing the highlight.
This included knitted street-furniture, a two-hour procession with about 1,300 participants: lots of dressing-up, horses, several marching bands, flags, a flock of sheep and copious hops … only in the Low Countries …
On other days we visited bars and breweries and also a hop farm – Belhop, where Saison Belhop (5.5%) substituted nicely for our morning cuppa. Terrest Brewery (Houthulst) provided an enjoyable morning. Here, father and daughter, Vader Johan and Valerie, brew from ingredients cultivated on their farm: barley and hops grown on the slopes of the Terrest hill. The short chain ends with direct sales to consumers, retail and hospitality. Valerie led an interesting tour with lots of samples and copious hops. Beers produced include Terrest Golden Tripel (8% abv) and the De Plukker range of organic beers.
Also visited were Deca Brewery (Vleteren range of beer), Den Gouden Arend (the tap for Brouwerij Werbrouck), and, possibly the best bar in West Flanders, the Molenhof in Oostvleteren. Our final visit was to In de Vrede, the brewery tap of Westvleteren monastery, where we sampled what has several times been voted ‘best beer in the world’ – Westvleteren 12.
In addition to several bars, Ypres also provided the daily 20:00 pm rendition by the local Fire Brigade of the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial. Unveiled in July 1927, this imposing structure includes 54,348 names of British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient during WW1, and whose graves are unknown.
As ever on a short organised Belgian tour, we had a heady mix of good beer, good food and interesting company. Good to be joined by Barnsley CAMRA stalwarts, Alex and Mick.
Having featured crawls around central Sheffield in recent months we’re back out in the Peak District part of our branch area for an updated look at places for a beer along rural bus service 173. This bus is operated by Andrew’s of Tideswell and shuttles between Bakewell and Castleton during the daytime every day except Sunday. This is a route we’ve previously featured, but with a number of new openings and closures it seems a good time to have another look!
If you are connecting from the Sheffield direction, buses 218 or 257 will take you to Bakewell, bus 65 will take you to Tideswell or bus 272 will take you to Castleton. The 173 bus also passes Hope railway station. This service does participate in the government supported fare cap scheme, which currently means that the maximum single fare is £3 per ride, alternatively a Derbyshire Wayfarer all day bus pass is available for £9 from the driver or the Travelmaster app. Bus timetables are available on the Travel Derbyshire website with live tracking available at bustimes.org.
There is a choice of pubs in Bakewell, however the 173 bus commences just around the corner from the Joiners Arms micropub, making that a convenient starting point!
Coming out of Bakewell, the first stop of interest is at Thornbridge Brewery tap room. It is located in one of the big sheds on the brewery complex, shared with the smaller batch brew kit and features a bar showcasing their range of cask and keg beers along with a pizza kitchen and shop selling merchandise and bottled beers.
Next along the route is the Ashford Arms in Ashford-in-the-Water. The bus drops off on the main road just outside the village but it is only a short walk to this pub, restaurant and hotel owned by the Longbow Hospitality Group which saw a huge investment in renovations when they bought it closed and boarded up. Its a fairly smart place with several rooms that can cater for different moods – a pint of cask ale in a cosy room by a fire or nice meal in a bigger dining room with tables adourned with crisp linen tablecloths are both catered for!
In Great Longstone there are two pubs, both owned by Robinsons Brewery. The White Lion is a modern local with the bar in the lounge area at the front of the pub and a dining area at the back. At the time of writing this pub was closed for refurbishment and change of management.
The other pub in the village is the Crispin, a big traditional pub building with a quirky feel thanks to a massive collection of ornamental tankards hanging from the ceiling.
Heading up the hill in Little Longstone is the Packhorse Inn. This cosy pub started out life as a couple of miners cottages but has been welcoming drinkers since 1787! Their ethos of serving fresh, local produce is applied to both the food and the beer, the latter coming from the nearby Thornbridge brewery. This is a very popular dining destination and booking is advisable. There is an additional area for drinkers at the rear through the beer garden.
At the top of the hill, behind the Monsal Head Hotel, is the Stables Bar. A range of cask ales and food menu is available here but the big attraction is the breathtaking view from out front over the valley where you can look down and see the former railway viaduct which is now part of the Monsal Trail.
Two buses a day dive down the hillside from the pub car park into Cressbrook Dale, which is an interesting ride, however all the other trips on the 173 you can be dropped off on request near the Three Stags Heads (which is also served once a day by bus 257a to Sheffield) at Wardlow Mires.
This is an absolutely legendary heritage pub that is like a living museum. Licencees Kath and Andy hold court along with their Lurcher dog facilitating an atmosphere where strangers sit around the open fire enjoying conversation and a pint. A choice of 4 cask ales are available, usually from Abbeydale, Eyam and Intrepid breweries including the house beer “Black Lurcher”, a strong stout. Note this pub only opens Thursday to Sunday and is cash only.
The next village the 173 bus arrives at is Litton, home of the award winning Red Lion pub. This is the classic country inn with multiple cosy rooms with low beams and fireplaces. The small tap room containing the bar is at the far end of the building whilst the rest of the pub is generally used by diners – the food here is popular! The bar has a range of cask ales and keg beers, always including some from local breweries. There are also hotel rooms upstairs.
Tideswell offers a pub crawl in its own right. At one end of the village is the Horse & Jockey, a traditional local pub spread across three areas. The bar features a regular changing range of cask ales and home cooked pub grub is served.
There are two pubs in the centre of the village, the Star and the George then at the far end of the village on the industrial estate is Eyam Brewery’s tap room.
The tap room opens from Thursday to Sunday and serves a range of Eyam’s beer on both cask and keg, has an open kitchen offering a smash burger menu and a shop offering bottled and canned Eyam beers to take away as well as branded clothing.
Heading out of Tideswell, on the crossroads, sits the Anchor, a Robinsons brewery pub that also serves food. It has benefitted from significant investment in refurbishment, although the bit that hit the headlines was creating a dedicated parking space for tractors.
Next the bus passes through Great Hucklow, the village where Eyam’s actual brewery is based, however there is currently no pub here – the Queen Anne is currently closed and up for sale following the long standing licencees retirement. There is the option of leaving the bus on the B6049 and walking up the country lane into Little Hucklow for the Blind Bull, a restored pub that offers food and hotel accommodation.
Bradwell has a choice of 3 pubs. On the main road served by bus 173 is the Shoulder of Mutton whilst just up the hill from the infamous “Bradwell Gap” that bus 272 squeezes through is the White Hart, which is associated with Bradfield Brewery. Stay on another stop then walk uphill into the residential area for Ye Olde Bowling Green Inn which features a beer garden with a view!
Brough is home to Intrepid Brewery and High Peak Cider, who host the occasional open days in the summer whilst the only pub there is the Travellers Rest, on the main road down the Hope Valley with a camp site at the rear.
In Hope we’ve regularly mentioned the Old Hall Hotel, Woodroffe Arms and Cheshire Cheese over the years which are all going strong, however they are now joined by Hope Valley Tap & Bottle. This is a specialist bottle shop that also has a number of craft beers on tap with the option of drinking in – there is an upstairs seating area. The beers on tap are usually from Derbyshire brewers such as Torrside, Buxton or Intrepid.
Finally, into Castleton. Little has changed here. Cask ale options include the Swiss Tap, Olde Cheshire Cheese, Peak Hotel. Old Nags Head (look out for the Lucky Hoof house beer supplied by the local Intrepid brewery), Bulls Head (Robinson Brewery), Castle Inn (Mitchells & Butler Vintage Inn chain) and the George.
Scott from the Micropub Adventures blog has refreshed a couple of his rail ale trails, which encourages people to enjoy a day out visiting pubs along railway lines using the train to hop between them.
Sheffield to Retford
The trail has stops at Sheffield (Sheffield Tap) Woodhouse (The Oxbow), Kiveton Bridge (Kiveton Tap), Shireoaks (Ticking Clock Brewery tap room), Worksop (Mallard and Station Hotel) and Retford (Beer Under The Clock, Brew Shed, Idle Valley Tap and Retford Craft House). Northern run an hourly train service along this line on the Leeds to Lincoln route. The bit between Sheffield, Woodhouse and Kiveton can also be done using the X5 bus.
You can find details of this trail online at sheffieldretfordtrail.co.uk.
Three Counties – New Mills to Bredbury and Disley
There are two railway stations in the Derbyshire town of New Mills – Central station on the Sheffield to Manchester line and Newtown station on the Buxton to Manchester line – and both feature on this trail which is a circular starting and ending in New Mills!
At New Mills it features the Beer Shed micropub and Torr Vale Tap – plus the Torrside Brewing tap room which opens one weekend a month over the summer.
On the line from New Mills Central there are four pubs in Marple – the Bevi, Dig Inn, Samual Oldknow and Traders then its on to Romiley (Hop Haus and Crafty Vendor) and Bredbury for the Steel Works. Over on the Newtown line in Disley is a micropub called Malt Disley. Yes, I know!
It is about a 10 minute walk between the two stations in New Mills.
You can find details of this and other trails online at micropubaventures.co.uk.
August’s RambAle saw us walking around the backwacks, gennels and nature reserves in the Woodhouse and Woodhouse Mill area while visiting the Stag Inn, Oxbow micropub and the Royal pubs for some refreshment.
We were in the company of and led by members of the Steel City Hash House Harriers (part of an international group of non-competitive social running clubs which began in Malaysia back in 1938, who term themselves a “drinking club with a running problem”) who joined us for the day and our 4.5-mile circular walk. An enjoyable day out in good company.
For the Saturday 26September RambAle we travel a little outside our area but continue with an ongoing theme of the Chesterfield Canal. We shall set off walking from the Mallard Inn at Worksop railway station at 1pm for a 5.5-mile walk to the Chequers Inn at Ranby, mostly along the canal towpath. We return to Worksop by bus to catch a train back to Sheffield. The recommended train from Sheffield is at 11:38, which offers about 40 minutes to relax with a beer in the Mallard before the walk.
Sheffield has some absolutely breathtaking countryside and cracking rural pubs on its doorstep and a large chunk of the Peak District falls into the Sheffield & District CAMRA branch area.
Over the spring and summer we’ve run a series of pub guides in Beer Matters showing you how to get there by bus or train, however, by popular demand, here’s a repeat of the network map for our part of the Peak District showing all the pubs that serve cask ale. Breweries on our patch include Intrepid Brewery in Brough and Eyam Brewery in Great Hucklow (note their taproom is in Tideswell).
Bus routes:
62 Castleton to Buxton via Hope and Edale
65 Buxton to Sheffield via Litton, Tideswell, Eyam, Calver, Grindleford and Ecclesall
173 Castleton to Bakewell via Hope, Bradwell, Tideswell, Litton and Monsal Head
218 Bakewell to Sheffield via Chatsworth, Baslow and Totley
257 Bakewell to Sheffield via Eyam, Calver, Grindleford, Bamford and Crosspool
272 Castleton to Sheffield via Hope, Hathersage and Ecclesall
BLUE – open-top Peak Sightseer tour Chatsworth-Castleton (seasonal – 23 May to 10 October)
RED – open-top Peak Sightseer tour Chatsworth-Bakewell (seasonal – 23 May to 10 October)
The Hope Valley train runs from Sheffield to Manchester calling at Dore & Totley, Grindleford, Hathersage, Bamford, Hope and Edale.
A Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket gives you a day of unlimited bus travel in the area on all the local services except Peak Sightseer, for £9. There is also the option of including off-peak train travel for £17. You can buy from bus drivers, the TravelMaster app, Sheffield station ticket office and Northern ticket vending machines. Single fares on buses are currently capped at £3 per ride.
Note Baslow and Bakewell are in the Chesterfield CAMRA branch area but included for completeness as the bus routes pass through!
A few days in London gave me my first chance to visit the Bermondsey Beer Mile, a beery bucket list item. So post a mind-bending visit to the Escher exhibition, Sheena and I set off on a hot and sunny Friday afternoon, and found the first challenge was to find somewhere open. It seems 3–5pm onwards is the opening time for most venues!
Thankfully the Kernel Taproom is open from midday. Not in a railway arch to my surprise, but a modern, plain venue that lacks a little charm, but makes up for it with an extensive beer list (if only one cask beer). We started sensibly on the very tasty table beer, followed by the Dunkel, a style of lager not seen brewed often in the UK.
The next bar was in a railway arch, the Enid Street Tavern, more what I was expecting as a venue, with a list of ten beers, one on cask; several from Bianca Road Brew Co situated in the Beer Mile, and only one beer I’d seen before. Their own pale was gone in a flash, always a good sign, but we kept on moving.
Next was a cidery as I love a good cider. Against the Grain is perhaps just that on the Beer Mile, but the Heart of Oak, dry oak cider made on the premises took me back to my youth in all the best ways.
The Anspach & Hobday Arch House taproom was the best fitted out railway arch venue we visited, very modern, and plush. I only really knew of their London Black nitro porter, so was pleasantly surprised to find 13 beers from the brewery on, including a cask beer. The cask beer Tack! was a collaboration with O/O Brewing in Sweden; Dan Rowe told me it would be worth trying, and I’m glad he did. Tasty, Hoppy, very well kept, and cool on a hot day, an excellent 6.5% IPA.
Final destination was Hiver Taproom as Sheena loves honey beer (and beekeeping). The taproom has a beehive in it, but, don’t worry, we were never bothered by them, and the three honey beers were all tried and enjoyed, plus some honey to take home.
As a first experience of the Beer Mile, I felt we only scratched the surface, with plenty of venues still to go out. We enjoyed how chill it was, but will go in the evening next time, if only so more of the venues are open.
We recently made use of our bus passes and the X17: an hourly service which runs from Barnsley to Matlock via Sheffield and Chesterfield. My colleague, Paul, went for the longer journey, commencing in Barnsley while I joined him at Sheffield Interchange. The full journey takes well over two hours with the leg from Sheffield to Matlock taking around 80–90 minutes (the top deck offers excellent views).
On arrival in Matlock, we descended at the Red Lion bus stop and visited the family-owned pub, the home of Moot Ales, a 10-barrel. operation which has brewed since 2018. The name pays homage to the history of Matlock: the original meaning of the name was ‘the oak (tree) where a moot was held’. A moot was an assembly, which symbolises a spirit of community, discussion and coming together.
We sampled two of their beers: Matlock Best (4.3%) and a 5.3% IPA, Giddy Edge.
We then adjourned to two other local outlets: the Remarkable Hare and bod Matlock. The Hare had a good range of cask beers served in a smart front bar. The rear of the building includes a large eating area.
Across the road, bod is a 2022 conversion of a former furniture shop which provides six cask ales: we went for the legendary Titanic Plum Porter (4.9%). In 2023, the pub was highly commended in the national CAMRA Pub Design Awards (Conversion to Pub Use category).
bod’s bar
The return journey was punctuated by a stop in Chesterfield and visits to the Chesterfield Alehouse and the recently reopened Grade II* listed Royal Oak.
The latter is the oldest pub in Chesterfield. It includes an old sign for Sheffield brewery William Stones. This was uncovered in 2025 – Stones having purchased the pub from the Batteson family in 1897.
On return to Sheffield, the X17 passed the Rutland Arms: the provider of my last beer of a long, but enjoyable, day.
Chesterfield Canal – Worksop to Ranby – Saturday 26 September 2026
Continuing the Chesterfield Canal theme, the walk starts at Worksop railway station. We catch the 11.38 Lincoln train from Sheffield to Worksop, arriving there at 12.07. We will commence the walk around 1.00pm after some refreshments at the Mallard Inn on the station. A short walk down Carlton Road brings us to the canal and we head eastwards on Canal Road and then along the towpath to Ranby.
On the way we pass the Victorian Bracebridge Pumping Station and then go over the aqueduct over the River Ryton. After that we pass under the access road for the Sherwood Solar Farm and following a couple of bridge crossings where the towpath shifts to the opposite bank and back, we pass under the dual carriageway that is the A1 and arrive at Ranby. The Chequers Inn, which overlooks the canal, serves a couple of cask ales at any time and food is available. The walking distance, along the predominantly flat canal towpath, is around 5.5 miles, and takes about 2 hours. This leaves us about an hour before we catch the 16.02 43 bus back to Worksop station.
Arriving back at Worksop, we have a choice of trains back to Sheffield. If you need to get back quickly, there’s one at 17.04, but if you fancy another pint (or two) in the Mallard, there’s the 18.10 or the 19.12. Both take around half an hour to get you back on home ground.
Over a dozen people, mainly from CAMRA’s Wyre Forest branch in Worcestershire, chose Sheffield for their annual spring trip. Recent destinations have included Liverpool, Nottingham, Oxford, Scarborough and York.
The weather was kind, and the publicans of Sheffield extended a very warm welcome over two to three days towards the end of May. Between us, we must have visited several dozen of the city’s renowned pubs, both traditional and modern, enjoying many beers that are rarely if ever found in our own area.
Among the pubs to stand out as highlights – for different reasons – are the Bath Hotel, Dog & Partridge, Fargate, Fat Cat, Grapes, Harlequin, Head of Steam, Kelham Island Tavern, Perch, Shakespeares, Sheffield Tap, Two & Six, Vocation & Co and Wisewood.
Of course our spring trip is not just about beer and pubs, not quite anyway. The Kelham Island Museum was a highlight for many, and people also enjoyed Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet and the Botanical Gardens. The 7 Spices Balti hosted us for an excellent group meal.
We would like to thank our colleagues from Sheffield & District CAMRA – including Paul Manning, Mike Cook and Dave Pickersgill – who gave invaluable advice while we were in the planning stage. Even better, they and other locals joined us in the garden of the St.Mars of the Desert Brewery for a social afternoon.
Now that connections have been made, several from the visiting group are intending to return to Sheffield for the Steel City Beer Festival in October. We extend a cordial invitation to the ale drinkers of Yorkshire to visit our own (rather smaller) Kidderminster Beer & Cider Festival, which is taking place from 12th to 14th November, a well loved event at a time of year when few festivals are held.
