The Rutland Arms, Dronfield

This is a cosy pub 15 minutes toddle-time from the well-renowned Jolly Farmer. Six ales were on with a good spread across the board (Steel City, Castle Rock Pale Ale, Doom Bar, Black Sheep, Bradfield Farmers Blonde and Theakston XB). The Steel City and Castle Rock were both very good pints, with the Steel City especially drinkable. I got a warm and friendly welcome at the bar and from the locals. There are multiple drinking areas, with a number of wood-panelled walls, some copper-topped tables and ceramic beer jugs hung above the bar. Comfy banquette furnishing, curtains, low-level beamed ceiling, leaded windows and a carpeted floor was all just on the right side of twee which gave a wonderful homely feel overall. This felt like a nice place to be, with the landlord chatting away to customers as he served. In retrospect I should have stayed here for another hour rather than trekking onwards to the Hearty Oak, ho-hum. Top-notch; I rarely give a 10 but I had such a lovely time here and felt instantly at home so the pub deserves it.

The Rutland arms is the first pub you see if entering Holmesfield from Dronfield. The front door is not in use so the main entrance is at the side,once inside this is a single roomed pub on two levels,the lower level is the larger it is carpeted and had normal tables and chairs the upper level is where the bar is this area is fairly narrow with a few small bench seats and copper topped tables. The pub is wood pannelled and had a beamed ceiling giving it a cosy feel. There were five real ales on the bar i had a drink of Castle Rock Harvest Pale which was a very nice drink the other beers were Bradfield Farmers Blonde,Black Sheep bitter,Sharps Doom Bar and Theakston best. There is a decent sized garden to the rear of the pub. It was fairly busy and had a nice atmosphere,i quite enjoyed having a drink in here. Pub visited 24/3/2012

At the bottom of the hill coming out of Holmesfield we found this lovely little pub, amazed at the number of people in the pub, what a fantastic atmosphere, a very good selction of Real Ales at the bar and a good choice of bar food, this must be the inn place to be in these parts, very friendly and helpful staff, at last a proper pub, we'll be back