The Ship Inn, Sheffield

Occupying a street corner position across the busy road junction from Shalesmoor tram stop ( the pub can therefore be conveniently combined with a visit to the Bottom Wellie ) is The Ship, a fine traditional pub with a superb Tomlinsons Anchor Ales tiled exterior - Tomlinsons Brewery was apparently based close to Sheffield United’s football ground and was largely destroyed in the blitz in World War 2. A splendid tiled depiction of an old sailing vessel is above the main door and the upper storey frontage is in the black and white Tudorbethan style. In an area of Sheffield that is gradually changing from industrial to residential, with new blocks of apartments springing up all around, externally, the pub really does stand out as being from a different era A small metal plaque by the front door reveals that, during the 1864 floods, two seamen drowned without trace in the secret tunnels beneath the pub. A ghost of one of them allegedly now frequents the cellar. To some extent, the pub looks slightly forbidding from the outside, with no sandwich boards or anything at all to indicate what the casual visitor might find inside, nor indeed, perhaps surprisingly, to tempt him to venture inside, apart from a prominently displayed CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2014 sticker. Inside, we find a comfortable, traditional L shaped single bar, carpeted interior with padded banquettes and normal tables, chairs and bar stools. There’s some old shipping photos and, notably, some old bells from H M S Sheffield. An old Tomlinsons Anchor beers price list is displayed and, reflecting its earlier days as a Hardy and Hansons house, a Kimberley Classic brewery mirror. I gather that the pub is no longer an H & H pub, and, indeed the external branding which I noted on my previous visit, has now gone, although I did spot a number of Greene King bar towels on the counter. Down the far end, in what appears, externally at least, to be an extension to the original building, a smallish room houses a snooker table. It is quickly apparent that, whilst the pub is evidently CAMRA friendly, this is much more of a locals pub with a wider customer mix than certain other better known pubs around here ( which I suspect, hardly need naming here ) , and, whilst the number of real ales has increased, there is not the same real ale emphasis here. An oddly positioned pillar means that the pumps are not immediately visible and I don’t recollect seeing any blackboard or anything immediately indicating what was on. Perhaps this is a reflection of the lack of real ale emphasis here which I’ve touched on above. Beers on during my latest visit were Abbeydale Moonshine, 2 Bradfield beers and – a new one for me – Stancill Barnsley Bitter, priced at £ 2.50p and which proved to be a pretty impressive, copper coloured, beer drinkers beer. The first time Valley of Beer crawler will, understandably, want to focus on other pubs nearby that offer a wider choice, but The Ship is worthy of consideration and a look in.

This is more of a locals pub, as we didn't see many beer tourists about the place. The manager had a very strong Sheffield accent which I thought was great. There were three ales on offer, I went for the Kelham RPM 45 which was spot on. Well worth a look in.

This is an oddly shaped building, with what I take to be the original cottage-style pub on the side street and the magnificent tiled frontage added like the cross-piece of a reversed capital-L. When the internal walls were removed, the corner of the old building was retained as a pillar which now partly blocks sight of and access to the three hand pumps. Otherwise the bar is quite an attractive one, and the internal decor, although typical unimaginative northern lounge style, is comfortable enough. The dreadful 80s music coming from the juke box is something else altogether. Beers available on my recent visit - Kelham Island Pale Rider, Abbeydale Resurrection and Welbeck Abbey Red Feathers - were in good condition, if a little on the cold side, and confirmed what I had heard about the pub now being free of the Greene King tie. Definitely worth a visit if you're walking between the nearby Wellington and the Fat Cat or Kelham Island Tavern, but please note evening opening time is 7:30.