The White Lion, Heeley, Sheffield

I'd not been in here for a couple of years before my recent visit, but I had heard that the pub had been taken over by the same owner as the Chantrey and the Prince of Wales in nearby Woodseats, so I thought I'd check it out. Visually not much has changed: there's still the tiled corridor next to the bar, the diverse and interesting rooms to either side, the bare-boards of the room with the pool table to the rear - except that the pool table is no more, having been replaced by small tables and stools which are presumably easier to clear away when there's a band on. The main difference from previous visits was aural: the incredibly loud and mostly pretty awful music apparently coming from a juke box. I took refuge in the small room to the right, where it was almost possible to ignore the noise. There's an excellent collection of old and very old pictures of Heeley and Sheffield in here, mostly prints and engravings, which are well worth a closer look. The upholstered bench seating has seen better days, but this is still a pleasant room for a quiet chat or to read your paper in. As well as the bar in the corridor, there are serveries in the front bar to the left and in the back bar too. The second room to the right is made of glazed wooden partitions, and in pre-smoking ban days this used to fill up with smoke as there was no ventilation; thankfully those days are behind us. On the bar were around half a dozen hand pumps, with two from Thornbridge, Bombardier, Hobgoblin and Tetleys Bitter among them: a reasonable if not inspiring collection. Beer quality is still good and at £2.60 a pint the Tetleys is now at a lower than average price for Sheffield. Worth making the trip out of town for the tiled exterior and the internal decor, and if you're out this way for the Sheaf View it would be a shame not to call in here too.

Visited in 2009 The White Lion is a main road classic multi-roomed traditional locals pub in the mainly industrial suburb of Heeley, a mile or so south of Sheffield City Centre in an area that might perhaps best be described as being "in need of regeneration". The central tiled corridor has several rooms on either side , leading to a main bar at the end which has a snooker table and where regular music nights take place. The pub has a rather old fashioned genuine feel to it, enhanced by the leaded, frosted Gilmours windows where the name "White Lion Hotel" is notable for having an upside down capital N. In the first room on the right is a fine collection of old photos and prints of the area and some old brewery labels and adverts from former breweries such as Tomlinsons Anchor Ales, Birks Finest Ales from the Lady's Bridge Brewery and J L Cockayne & Sons of the Owlerton Brewery. Another framed advert revealed that Billy Marsden, a former SWFC footballer, used to own the pub - quite a bit before I started supporting them, I would reckon. On the date of my visit, the landlady was gearing up for the pub's beer festival between 9-12 April, phoning round the various breweries organising supplies, pump clips etc. I gather that a total of 15 beers are expected over the 4 day period. Both beers that I sampled on my recent visit on 2 April, Kelham Island Pale Rider and Holdens Springhead Jack were nice tasty pints, although at prices of £ 2.60 and £ 2.65 respectively, might be considered a bit pricy by Sheffield standards, especially given the area. The White Lion is in the 2009 GBG, where it's described as "one of Sheffield's finest pubs". Heeley is easily accessible from Sheffield City Centre - there's a frequent bus service - so, if you're in to pubs of this ilk, try and make time to get there