Sheffield has so many excellent bars and pubs, both heritage and modern, that it is very difficult to recommend a small selection to enjoy in a handful of days.

A recent visitor, Eddie Wood, from Essex demonstrated the problem when he contacted host Sheffield and District branch via WhatPub: “We had heard that Sheffield claimed to be the real ale capital of the world and wanted to see if the claim was well-founded. We visited 18 pubs, all listed in the Good Beer Guide. I had 20 beers, all different, all beers that I hadn't previously tried, all were in immaculate condition. I wish I had made a note of all the other new brews that were available that I didn't get around to trying, it could possibly have been 100. Everyone was friendly. We all thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The claim? Well and truly founded. Definitely the best place any of us have been for a beer.”

While accepting that visiting all the city’s top pubs will be impossible in a few days, here’s some to choose from.

On your arrival by train, platform 1b at the railway station provides the Sheffield Tap, followed by a short stroll to the Rutland and onwards to Triple Point. Arriving by coach, the Grade II*-listed Old Queens Head, adjacent to the Pond Street coach stop, will meet your needs. From the MW venue, visit the University Arms, then on to the University Supertram Stop. From here, there are many choices. You could take the tram down the hill to Shalesmoor and the joys of, according to Time Out, one of the 50 coolest places in the world: Kelham Island (Fat Cat, Harlequin, Kelham Island Tavern, Riverside, Wellington) and Neepsend (Alder, Heist, Gardeners, Toolmakers), or you could follow our pub heritage route towards the centre of town (Bath, Red Deer, Grapes, Dog and Partridge, Fagan’s, Perch) and onwards to the West Bar Triangle (Crow, Shakespeare’s, West Bar Tap).

Alternatively, you could take the 120 and head west to the Rising Sun, Sheffield & District CAMRA’s Pub of the Year 2022. Providing 12 cask beers, this is the only pub owned by the ground-breaking local brewery, Abbeydale. Relatively close-by are Banner Cross, Dark Horse, Greystones and Itchy Pig 2, while Ecclesall Road brings the Ale Club and the Beer House. Heading south, London Road and Abbeydale Road have the Albion, Beer Engine, Broadfield and many more. Close-by is the Heeley triangle (Brothers, Sheaf, White Lion). Alternatively, the 52 bus, up the hill from the Octagon takes you to Broomhill, Crookes and Walkley (Blake, Blind Monkey, Closed Shop, Early Doors, Hallamshire House, Itchy Pig, Raven, Two Sheds, Walkley Beer Co).

You could venture further afield: Hillsborough (New Barrack, Pangolin, Rawson Spring) and towards Bradfield (Nags Head, Old Horns, Plough, Wisewood Inn) or out into the Peak District (Cheshire Cheese, Old Hall (Hope), Packhorse (Little Longstone) and the Three Stags’ Heads (Wardlow Mires). Heading east will take you to the Dorothy Pax, the taproom of St Mars of the Desert and the Chantry Inn, one of only four pubs in the UK which have a claim to be built on consecrated land.

If you are interested in heritage pubs, full descriptions of all on the national listings, plus our local list, are available in Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs or free download at: https://sheffield.camra.org.uk/rhp/. It is anticipated a new edition of the book will be launched at the Members’ Weekend.

For information about accommodation and the weekend itself (including attending and volunteering) visit: https://camra.org.uk/beer-fetivals-events/members-weekend/ 

When and Where

Friday 21-Sunday 23 April 2023

Members’ Weekend, AGM & Conference 2023: Octagon Centre, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, S10 2TG