Most of the cask ale pubs scattered around the Walkley-Crookes side of Sheffield are either in areas of interest to industrial archaeologists or buzzing with cyclical spurts of university students. The Walkley Cottage boasts neither of these features. Located near scenic Bole Hill and featuring a spectacular view out toward the Rivelin Valley and the hills of Derbyshire, this classically traditional pub attracts mostly locals who enjoy the relatively quiet, comfortable atmosphere and the nice selection of real ales. The landlady is a lover of the stronger dark ales, so one of these is always on a handpump along with around 5 other selections. The food is reportedly good, with several vegetarian specialities featured on the menu, and the place is often packed on Sunday lunch. There's a half-sized snooker table in the small original bar on the left, and games are free on Mondays. And last but definitely not least there's Max, the independent-minded Springer spaniel who rules the roost. On our first visit we had pints of Landlord (4.3% ABV, Timothy Taylor & Co. Ltd., Keighley, West Yorkshire). Mine was an excellent, absolutely perfect pint! After breaking our backs running up and down between four floors hauling chairs and bags and boxes of belongings and a dented, faded Aqua-Vac that resembled a down-and-out R2D2 who had drunk his liver to destruction on proceeds from the first Star Wars film, this was a YES! pint, an instant back reliever. On our next visit we had Red Heart (4.1% ABV, Barnsley Brewing Co Ltd, Barnsley, South Yorkshire). I'm madly in love with the Barnsley Brewery, and I've never been disappointed by their superb creations. This beer is mmmmmmMMMM--HOPPY!!! It hits the palate like a jackrabbit on a hot tin roof, with almost a dry-hopped flavour on top of intense, spicy hops and that wonderful Barnsley bitterness. Mmmph! This was a most welcome pint to quench the mighty thirst which developed during the day's trip to Doncaster which was detoured by road works, followed by getting stuck in Sheffield Friday afternoon traffic, which meant I was imprisoned in my car seat for a total of five hours. After this stint of cruel and unusual in-car-ceration I tasted this pint and fell in love... | ![]() |