The Raven Inn, Walkley, Sheffield

Situated on a fairly steep hill, the Raven is a backstreet Loxley Brewery pub. Having been to the Wisewood Inn earlier in the day, it was our second Loxley pub and we were already quite familiar with the range. Cask ales from Loxley were Halliday, Lomas, Gunson & Fearn. Another handpull had Cotswold No Brainer cider, whilst craft beers were Torrside Rumour Mill, Farmyard Gulf, Vault City Double Blueberry Vanilla Swirl Doughnut, Zapato La Zorgo Tigro, North Atlantis & Loxley Black Dog. The interior is fairly plan and simple with one small and sub-divided room. Whilst it was quiet, we still got talking to an interesting guy at the bar, along with the young barman. So, it ended up being an enjoyable 30 minutes or so discussing pubs and football.

Facebook page of The Raven Inn - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Raven Inn - www.facebook.com

The pub is located halfway up a hill on a residential street quite a walk out from Sheffield city centre. It's quite neat and smart looking pub, pleasant, but I prefer pubs that are a bit rougher round the edges and feela bit lived in. From the six hand pumps there were four or five avaible, my Loxley Lomas was in fair condition but maybe a little tame to my pallete. It's a nice enough pub but I don't think I'd take the hike out here again for this pub alone.

Official site of The Raven Inn - theraveninn.uk

Official site of The Raven Inn - theraveninn.uk

This is a community pub which is unusually half-way down the street that shares its name, rather than on a corner. It's an old Tetleys house, no bigger than the other houses in the street. The central doorway admits to what amounts to a single room, though the pool table in the back room doesn't come into view until reaching the tiny bar in the corner because of the single wall that has been retained. There's only one hand pump on the bar, which still serves Tetleys Bitter. The landlord gave me a friendly greeting and it was quite pleasant in here, with a group of locals chatting around the bar. There are some interesting local pictures on the walls, and a collection of plates on a dado rail. The pub was slightly spoiled for me by having some very loud pop music playing - doubtless to someone's taste but not mine.