The Wellington, Sheffield

This turned out to be my favourite pub on a Saturday spent in Sheffield. Being on the edge of the Kelham Island area it had much more of a local feel than the central pubs as it wasn't overwhelmed with punters. It's a small red brick end of terrace basic boozer. Inside there are two small rooms off the bar area which has some nice tiled flooring. After ordering a beer and discussing with a local about what a dump Uxbridge on the edge of West London is, I retired to one of the seating areas. On the bar several of the pumps were unused but available were four Little Ale Cart beers Brancepeth Castle, Coal Porter, Flying Scotsman and DSB, Salamander Mudpuppy and Townhouse Apollo. Lined glasses were used despite no obvious sign of sparklers being used on the beer. I went for the Brancepeth Castle (£2.50) and the Coal Porter (£2.80) both of which were in excellent nick. The brewer of these beers is clearly a railway buff as while everyone has heard of the Flying Scotsman, Brancepeth Castle is an obscure steam loco that is depicted on the pump clip. For me this was the Kelham Island area pub that really stood out (not that the others are bad!).

Yet another real ale mecca in this part of Sheffield, The Wellington is, according to branding outside the “Ancestral home of the Little Ale Cart Beer and Pub Company Company”, who brew at the back of the pub. Externally, the pub very much looks like a private house. It is known as “The Bottom Wellie” to distinguish it from the nearby Hillsborough Hotel up the hill on Langsett Road which also used to be called The Wellington. It’s a comfortable, traditionally furnished pub with a central lobby and a smallish bar servery. There’s a comfortable lounge on the left – denoted as Room 3 – which is carpeted and has padded seats. White painted walls are decorated with several old railway prints, but it’s a slightly bare and spartan feel overall which could do with a few more photos and prints to break up the wall area. From this room, you can hear the trams rumbling past from nearby Shalesmoor tram stop. The room on the right, just off the central lobby, is much smaller, but similar in style and has some Salamander Brewery posters and some unusual shaped tables. Fine banded and frosted leaded windows contribute to the fine, traditional feel. Don’t miss the rather amusing framed cartoons – “Real Ale Twats” – on the walls of the passageway leading to the gents. On my recent visit, 5 Little Cart Beers were on, of which Old Black Nose - £ 2.70p – was an extremely palatable dark porter style beer. Also on were beers from Pictish and Millstone. This is another CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular and, whilst it’s not as well known as either The Fat Cat or The Kelham Island Tavern, it’s a decent pub in its own right and I’ll definitely call in again sometime. .

Very traditional corner pub of an old fashioned nature. There are 2 rooms plus bar area with padded seating around the white walls. Pictures of the pub and various other scenes on the wall. Its handy being right next to the tram stop (Shaftsmoor) but very much out of town feel adjoining the busy road network. 6 real ales, including 3 Little Ale Cart offerings.

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.