Category: Travel

With our entry of the Old Hall Hotel into the North Derbyshire regional entry round of the national Pub of the Year competition comes an obligation to judge the other entries in our region, from the Matlock, Chesterfield and Dronfield CAMRA branches. This was a fairly easy trip on the bus to do so we made an ad-hoc social of it.

A group of us met on the X17 bus from Sheffield to Matlock Green for our first pub of the day, the Red Lion, which is also home to Moot Ales. A range of their own beers plus guests were on the handpumps with an overall range of six cask ales available (seven were advertised but the Bass was unavailable).

Despite slightly windy conditions the sun was out and it was pleasant enough to take a walk into Matlock town centre and over the river bridge for a couple of bonus extra pubs – bod Matlock, Titanic Brewery’s café bar, where a little light lunch was enjoyed, before a further cheeky half a few doors down in the Twenty Ten bar, the Matlock branch award winner last year!

Back on the X17 next, to Chesterfield, followed by a bit of a walk (some of our party regretted not waiting for a connecting bus!) up to Brampton to visit the Rose & Crown. The main part of the pub was packed and the outdoor drinking areas were fairly busy for the time of year too, however the snug room was empty so we made ourselves comfy in there and enjoyed a couple of well kept ales from a fairly extensive choice served by staff who were friendly and helpful despite being busy.

Lessons were learned and we caught a bus from Brampton back into Chesterfield town centre in order to catch the 44 bus up to Coal Aston to visit the final pub to be judged, the Cross Daggers. This is a traditional community local which only opens in the evening and at around 6pm on Saturday when we arrived was packed with a great atmosphere, we were lucky and managed to squeeze in on an empty table!

The beer range wasn’t as exotic as the other pubs we’d visited – Tetley Bitter, Adnams Broadside, Timothy Taylor Landlord and a Drone Valley beer providing the LocAle representation – however all the beers tried were in immaculate condition and served by efficient staff.

Having visited all three pubs we were required to judge a good number of the party headed home from here, however a couple of us jumped in a taxi for the short trip down the hill into Dronfield and enjoyed an excellent pizza at the Dronfield Arms (which is also home to Temper Brewing) and saw a band performing at the Green Dragon before boarding a 43 bus back to Sheffield.

Bus X17 runs limited stop between Sheffield, Chesterfield and Matlock every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and hourly on Sundays. Bus 44 runs from Sheffield to Chesterfield via Coal Aston and Dronfield hourly in the daytime and every 2 hours in the evening. A Derbyshire Wayfarer pass for all buses in Derbyshire (including direct buses from Sheffield to/from Derbyshire) costs £8 for the day or single fares are currently capped at just £2 per ride. Check out more details of the pubs at whatpub.com.

Barnsley, a town I had not visited for decades, in fact not since racing my cycle through its streets and precincts in the ’80s races held their. So, after hearing good things about its transformation, I decided to make the trip on my NR £2 return.

I started my day with a couple of swift drinks in the Bankers Draft. The first pint was a very nice Salamander Juicy Lucy, a pale of 4% with banana overtones. As the train was departing at 11:35, I followed this with a half of JHB bitter of 4.2% before the walk to Midland Station. 

As always, or so it seems, the announcer stated the train would depart from 4a, rather than the 1a we were all sat on. The mass exodus over the bridge was quite chaotic. The short hop to Barnsley quickly passed, and before I knew it we arrived in the town. 

As usual, I had a little exploration before hitting the bars. I must say that they have regenerated the town centre with great success. It is nice and bright, with a mix of old, new and very few vacant units. The market in particular is worth a mention, busy and vibrant with a variety of stalls to suit everyone, and a very busy food hall with Artisan food vendors. There was a Deli that sold tapas style dishes, now I love pitted olives with chilli, but be aware these were dynamite and good value at £2 for around a dozen or so. 

With my mouth tingling, it as time for a drink. I made my way up Market Street to The Kestrel. A little like a Wetherspoon, but with music, TVs and a very good darts set-up. There was 2 beers on from the 6 wickets on the bar. As one was Landlord, I plumped for Ringwood’s Razor Back, a 3.8% session bitter at a reasonable £3.60 and served by a friendly girl. 

A customer recommended my next port of call should be the Old No 7, so off I went up Market Hill. As I approached, ready to take my photograph, there was a chap about to have a cigarette who kindly stepped back in while I did so. This turned out to be Matty, a customer and part-time custodian of the bar. I was immediately impressed with the 8 pumps, only 1 of which had run out. I plumped for the Acorn CF299 IPA, a full-bodied 5% of English heritage. I also put a SALT Suede stout in the pump and a very tasty 4.1% with notes of chocolate and coffee, nicely roasted it was.

Manager Adam certainly knows his stuff and after moving from Skipton’s Blackhorse, he is certainly making this establishment a success. Beers regularly come from Acorn, Thornbridge, Little Critters and Ossett, as well as further afield.  

Matty had said that my next visit should be Bar Ruelle on Regent Street S, as it was another that carried an impressive array of cask. A little awkward to find, but close to the Interchange on a little side street. The bar nestles in-between small shops. Stepping in, you are faced with a bright and modern interior with the normal sight of regulars sat at the bar. As stated the pumps were varied between dark and light beers including Acorn, Theakston’s and Titanic. My first drink was Fixed Wheels Chain Reaction, 4.2% APA with Ossett’s White Rat 4% EPA closely following on. I still had over a hour to go, so 2 more beers were consumed here, those being Acorn Barnsley Bitter 3.8% and a rather nice Old Moor Porter 4.4% from the same brewery.   

I left to make the short journey across the road to the Interchange for my train home. Faced with a short delay, the train arrived 10 minute late for the short journey home. As it was still fairly early, I popped in the Old Queens Head for one last drink. The pumps on the bar have changed slightly with 4 of them being dedicated to Thwaites beers, so I plumped for a pint of Vocation Bread & Butter 3.9% APA and very nice it was too. 

All in all, a very pleasant and successful reconnaissance for a summer social to the town with the branch. As Arnie said “I’ll be back.”

Having done our traditional City Centre pub social the previous weekend, it was unusual to do two such socials in as many weeks but with news that the long established Royal Hotel in Dungworth is likely to be closing down at the beginning of March with the long established owners retiring and selling up we thought it would be timely to pay a visit – and pop in a a couple of other pubs out that way whilst there!

Stagecoach bus 62 from Hillsborough Interchange runs a circular route on an hourly frequency with a stop right outside the Royal Hotel, it also links Bradfield, Loxley and Wisewood too. We met up at the Beer House in Hillsborough, which is conveniently located next to both the tram stop and bus station!

One the bus has gone through Malin Bridge and wandered around the estates in Stannington it hits beautiful countryside as it meanders up hill and down dale and on the way to Dungworth look out for the dairy farm that is the home of Our Cow Molly milk and ice cream! The journey time from Hillsborough to Dungworth is 24 minutes.

The Royal is a pub that still retains a traditional layout where you arrive via a corridor with various small rooms off to the side as well as the main lounge at the front. The bar had two cask ales available – Bradfield Yorkshire Farmer and Clark’s Best Bitter.

The pub also serves a small menu of food including a variety of pot pies, mostly steak or chicken based along with a few other dishes including liver & onion, lasagne and omelettes. Many of our party ordered a pie for lunch!

A nice little feature that has been there for many years is the windowsill in the room at the back of the pub, which affords a breath-taking view over the Loxley Valley, has a pair of binoculars for customer use!

After a couple of hours at the Royal, we just had enough time for a group photograph outside before boarding the bus again!

After Dungworth the bus passes Dam Flask lake which is the home to a sailing club and it also passes the Plough pub along with the cricket and bowling clubs in Low Bradfield before climbing up the hill to High Bradfield where we alighted for the Old Horns Inn.

The Old Horns is a Thwaites pub leased to a local operator, however the real ales on the bar were from Bradfield (Blonde, Brow Cow and Belgian Blue), Black Sheep and Theakstons. Unfortunately every table in the pub was reserved for diners so away from the bar drinkers were confined to a choice of a single bench or the outdoor drinking area, which affords a fantastic view over the valley – it was rather cold though!

We stayed at the Horns for an hour until the next bus, which heads along the main road, past the Nags Head Inn (a tap for Bradfield Brewery) and the Admiral Rodney in Loxley before dropping downhill to Wisewood. We alighted outside the Wisewood Inn where we had another hour between buses in order to enjoy a variety of Loxley Brewery beers, which are brewed on site there.

The bus then returned us to Hillsborough Interchange for onward bus or tram connections and our happy party bid each other farewell after an enjoyable afternoon drinking in rural pubs and went off to enjoy their Saturday evening!