Kelham Island is an old industrial area bordered by the River Don to to the north and the A61 dual carriageway to the south. It’s famous among beer fans as the location of two influential pubs which together spurred the transformation of the Sheffield beer scene. The factories and chimneys have been replaced by an industrial museum, restaurants, cafes, bars and new apartment blocks. and the area is now very fashionable. Its impact has led to an expanding boundary and I counted at least 6 decent pubs on the wrong side of the Don or A61 now listed with “Kelham Island” addresses.

A tram from the rear of Sheffield Station took me to “Shalesmoor for Kelham Island”, a short walk (via 4 pelican crossings) to my first stop, the Grind Cafe for breakfast. The menu gave me the clue that I was now in a cool part of town, with a full English at almost twice the price of Sarnies, my usual breakfast stop down an alleyway off the High Street. I decided to go with the Kelham Island vibe and ordered a huevos rancheros. The cafe is an ideal place to wait for opening time with both the Fat Cat and the Kelham Island Tavern being visible from the window. A small queue was forming outside the latter so I decided that would be my first stop.

Kelham Island Tavern

62 Russell Street, Kelham Island, Sheffield S3 8RW

This is one of Kelham Island’s two influential beer pubs, and shamefully this was my first visit in a few years. The Kelham Island Tavern came along 20 years later than the Fat Cat, but was just as important in turning Sheffield into one of the UK’s top beer cities. Little has changed, although the painted inn sign depicting the area when it was factories and chimneys has faded quite a bit. The pub still has 12 handpumps serving ales and ciders and I went for Motueka, a pale ale from Bee Brewery. Pubs like this often attract beer geeks, although it’s often hard to tell the locals who enjoy a good pint from the ale aficionados. One friendly couple with brewery t-shirts were easy to identify, having travelled up from the West Midlands with a huge trolley carrying their luggage. One was trying the ales, the other the cider.

As another travelling beer geek (or probably pub geek in my case), I admired their dedication. I was partly here to update the pub entries elsewhere on this website and take a few new photos, and it got me wondering if my own dedication could ever match the amazing energy of people like Jack Anderton (theeuropeanbarguide.com) and GBG ticker Simon Everitt. I suspect I’ll just plod along like I always have.

Fat Cat

23 Alma Street, Kelham Island, Sheffield S3 8SA

The Fat Cat was the pioneering pub for ale in Sheffield, opening in 1981 to become one of the first independent real ale pubs in the UK. The choice of cask beer in city’s pubs at the time (if they sold it at all) was a bitter from one of the four pub-owning breweries, so the range of ales at the Fat Cat was a revelation. It’s gone on to win numerous awards and has been a constant in the Good Beer Guide. It was much quieter than the Kelham Island Tavern with only two or three other customers. A couple of women came in asking for porter and were offered a selection of dark ales, but that’s not what they wanted so off they went. Fair enough I thought. It was interesting to note that neither the Kelham Island Tavern or the Fat Cat offer food any more. In my guide I see I am still recommending the Fat Cat’s Kelham Beer Sausage!

The other changes here are the slight fading of Matt Cockayne’s corner mural, the welcome planters in the road to stop through traffic, and the closed Kelham Island Brewery next door, now a car park. Their famous beer Pale Rider is now brewed by Thornbridge, but only occasionally, and wasn’t on today. I was surprised to see a tap for Hawkstone Lager from Jeremy Clarkson’s brewery but decided that my dislike of the owner was no reason for them not to stock what might be a decent beer. (3.61 on Untappd). It’s all sounding a bit negative so far but I had a very tasty pint of Twisted Citra from Leatherbritches Brewery, and there was a thoughtful selection of both local and national ales on the other seven handpumps. Jarvis Cocker is still smoking on the garden wall and I was pleased to see the pub filling up with mixed groups of punters as I was leaving.

Harlequin

108 Nursery Street, Sheffield S3 8GG

The next three pubs are some of those on the “wrong side” of Kelham Island proper including the Harlequin which is across both the River Don and the A61. It’s actually a new one to me but I do remember visiting the now demolished Ward’s pub whose name it took, back when I was student here very many years ago. It’s one large room and despite the photo above right, was busy with diners when I arrived. A local man I spoke to in the Kelham Island Tavern told me the Harlequin was one of the few pubs in the area to do food, and sure enough, here he was, having a pint with his lunch.

I do enjoy an ESB, a style that I don’t come across very often, and one the cask beers of the six on tap was a version from a collab between Runaway and Weekend Project, two breweries from across the Pennines. I’ll always compare an ESB to the famous one from Fullers and this was also 5.5%. I enjoyed it although it was maybe not as bitter or as full bodied as I’d have liked. (That’s about as far as I go with beer reviews I’m afraid). It’s a good pub with another interesting choice of ales and an enthusiastic licensee/barman. It emptied after lunches finished for the dreaded mid afternoon session, but it felt like the type of pub that would fill up again come five o’clock.

Riverside

1 Mowbray Street, Sheffield S3 8EN

A short distance away is the Riverside and as its name suggest it has a garden overlooking the Don. The main change here is that True North, the company that own the Riverside, are no longer brewing but are still running their pubs. I remember them brewing a decent copy of Stone’s bitter, which once came from the Cannon Brewery just along the road in Neepsend. Ironic because this pub was once owned by their big local rivals Wards, and four of their stylish 1930s art-deco stained glass windows are still here. The photo above right is a composite and reversed image of two of the windows. There were three cask beers and I chose a Blue Bee American Five Hops which was unsurprisingly hoppy and citrussy.

The interior was empty of customers but there were a few people outside in the garden, which I’m sure is lovely when the sun is shining. I think that daytime photos of pub exteriors are hugely improved by a bit of sunshine, but despite the forecast the day was mostly cloudy, and I found myself dashing outside with my camera when a brief bit of sun appeared. No joy here though, as the sun stayed steadfastly behind the clouds.

Wellington

1 Henry Street, Shalesmoor, Sheffield S3 7EQ

The walk to the next pub took me back through Kelham Island to the Shalesmoor tram stop I started from in the morning, and right next to it is the Wellington. On my last visit this was one of three top class beer pubs run by the Sheaf Inns group, along with the Sheaf View in Heeley and the next stop in my crawl, the Blake Hotel. Things have changed I gather, and I’m not sure who owns what now, but the Wellington has certainly maintained its standards.

It has a fairly intact 1940s interior and rates one star on Camra’s list of Historic Pub Interiors. It still focuses on ales from the nearby Neepsend Brewery with five of their beers on tap including my choice, Vulcan, a sound traditional bitter. It was good to see that it was quite busy for a mid afternoon with drinkers in all three rooms. The stained glass art deco windows throughout the pub are not quite as striking as those in the Riverside but still very attractive.

Blake Hotel

53 Blake Street, Upperthorpe, Sheffield S6 3JQ

It wasn’t too far to the Blake Hotel but you do have climb a serious hill with hand rails to get there. It’s not easy to get to but a friend lives nearby and I know it quite well. The big change here is the To Let sign visible in the photo above left. The Blake was part of the Sheaf Inns group mentioned in the piece about the Wellington above but was recently sold to a larger pub group. The To Let sign (it’s actually Could you run this pub?) went up a day before my visit and there was much talk at the bar about it. Both barman and customers were worried that the new tenant wouldn’t have the same commitment to beer quality and choice, or worse still, keeping it as a traditional pub.

We’ll have to wait and see, but on my visit Neepend Blonde was recommended and was on great form. It was quiet mid afternoon but I know from past visits that it can be heaving weekend evenings. Let’s hope it stays that way. The journey to the next pub took me up to Walkley and then down to Crookemoor to rekindle some memories of my youth.

Hallamshire House

49 Commonside, Crookesmoor, Sheffield S10 1GF

The Hallamshire House was in the Beer/Pub news recently because of a remarkable story about a 1970s pub sign. The sign found its way to the apartment of an American couple in New York who gave it to their new English neighbours. The English couple moved back home and hung it on their wall for several more years before they decided to ask the Hallamshire House if they wanted it back. They did and the sign now hangs on the wall of the lounge as shown in the photo above right.

The story caught my attention because the Hallamshire was my local when I was a student in Sheffield in the late 1970s when the sign was probably hanging outside the pub. We always met in the snug on the left and I managed to track down a photo of group of us there. That’s me second left along with some fine 1970s haircuts and moustaches. And yes we did have colour film back then. The photo above right is the snug as it is now with new upholstery and mantelpiece but otherwise the same. The 1930s Ward’s art deco window (like those in the Riverside) is still there and there’s another pair in the front tap room.

The Hallamshire is now owned by Thornbridge, one of their first pubs, and as I was coming to the end of the crawl I had to have a Jaipur. The pub was quite lively late afternoon and I won’t leave it so long before coming back.

Fagan’s

69 Broad Lane, City Centre, Sheffield S1 4BS

I caught the bus back to town and decided to have one last stop in the famous Fagan’s. I hadn’t been here since licensee changed a few years ago so I was keen to see how much it had changed. Not too much as it turned out but there has been an attempt to make the whole pub rather than just the rear music room a bit more Irish. Pete McKee’s famous mural, The Snog has had another touch up and I was happy to see that the same artist’s painting of musicians from top Sheffield bands is still in the snug.

The pub has had its moments as a good beer pub but the choice on my visit was just Landlord, which was OK and the uninspiring Theakstons Lightfoot. I didn’t stay to find out but it seems there are still lots of music sessions evenings and weekends.

So an enjoyable and successful day revisiting old haunts and although interesting to note a few changes, it’s fair say that things are pretty much as they were! I now need to update and add to all those entries in the guide.