The Wellington, Kelham Island, Sheffield

Conveniently located next to the Shalesmoor tram stop, the Wellington is a charming traditional two-room pub and home to the Little Ale Cart Brewery (previously known as the Port Mahon Brewery). The entrance takes you into the main bar which has the nice mosaic style floor that can be seen in a number of Sheffield’s pubs. The room has a traditional feel to it, thanks mainly to the panelled walls, which include what appear to be snob screens that look through to the adjacent lounge bar on the left hand side of the pub. Opposite the servery there is a fairly large room with banquette and low stool seating which has been nicely decorated with old pub pictures and framed pump clips. I spotted a book swap as well and the radiators must rank as some of the most attractive I have ever encountered in a pub. The lounge bar also has some smart banquettes and a nice fireplace and looked like a comfortable place to relax over a pint or two. A corridor past the servery leads to a nice little paved garden. The pub seems to have a good sense of humour regarding its potential customer base, with Viz’s Real Ale Twats comic strips framed in the rear corridor and ‘Challenge 60’ posters in the style of the BBPA’s ‘Challenge 21’ campaign. Little Ale Cart’s Cumberland, Gay Crusader and Ruby Castle were on alongside Salamander Nagas, Millstone Baby Git and Mighty Oak Flying Tackle, with a cider option from Cheddar Valley. I wasn’t too sure what to order from that line up and the barman wasn’t able to make a recommendation, so I plumped for the Millstone which turned out to be a pretty good pint. I was surprised to find this place relatively quiet on a Saturday night, given how busy other pubs in the area had been, but in spite of this I really liked it here and thought it would make a great place to escape to for a quiet drink.

Traditional corner pub, nothing flash but a really friendly gaffer. House brews were Littel Ale Cart Coal Train Chocolate Stout; Blenheim; Lincolnshire; Houghton Hall plus Beowulf Hurricane (which was very good), Millstone Vale Mill, Mallinson's Chinook and West Berkshire Bean Dibbler.