PLATFORM 1b, SHEFFIELD STATION

November 2025. Sheffield.

Back from Leeds on Monday morning, quick walk to RM Towers to take the brown bin in, check taps, put heating down, then return to Sheffield station for the train south to Waterbeach. Wash and repeat.

The rain adds something to central Sheffield.

But obviously not the rail network, with a points failure at Stockport (why always Stockport) mucking about with my trains south. Stupidly, I didn’t get on the first option, because three changes (via Donny) offers unlimited potential for disaster, preferring the direct route via Nottingham.

And half an hour at Sheffield Station isn’t all bad.

That’s the Platform entrance to the Tap, nicely ticking over at half four on Monday.

I favour the brewery room at the back these days, which is odd as you’ll know I detest breweries and would be happy if beer could be produced without them.

But for now the on-site Tapped makes some competent pale grapefruit stuff like this Mojo,

served on the cool side of cool, crisp and tasty (3.5+). I’m quite surprised the Tap only has 2 out of 3 pint pots, but that’s Sheffield for you.

That’s the Barnsley CAMRA magazine on the shiny table, which on Page 5 reports more pub openings than closures.

We can’t be too positive, of course, no-one likes positivity, but there’s a similar picture elsewhere. Someone asked how many of the pubs on my Chesterton crawl from 2015 are still standing, and the answer was “All of them, plus a new one“.

OK, a new small and busy craft bar like The Old Shoe will never compensate for the loss of a quiet multi-roomed John Smiths estate pub, but tastes change, and the Sheffield Tap attracts a great range of custom,

not just lone blokes about to realise their departure from 6b is leaving in 3 minutes.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

36 thoughts on “PLATFORM 1b, SHEFFIELD STATION”

    2. Sheffield’s not that bad Lana.
      Sheffield and London are the only places this century that good friends have offered me a room to stay in for a night or two.

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      2. One of the things I observe when I arrive back late in Sheffield and walk through the centre to home is just how quiet it is around midnight with no obvious dealing on street corners. Very different feel to Manchester.

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    3. Lana, the only place (and time) that I was ever offered drugs, was in Amsterdam (where else?). The time was the summer of 1975, and a friend and I were just setting out on an Interail train journey around western Europe.

      We said “no”, despite looking like a couple of hippies, as not only was money rather tight, it just “wasn’t our scene, man!”

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      2. I won a charity raffle at one of my local pubs in Lancaster in the 1970s. The prize was half an ounce of dope and a tab of mescaline. As I was probably the only person in the pub at the time who didn’t use drugs, I always suspected that the draw was fixed. I sold the mescaline back to the dealer and asked him to sell the dope and put the money in the charity box.

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      4. Martin, As for red light districts I’ve only been offered a good time twice, in a Manchester pub fifty years ago and on the Euston Road twenty-something years ago. I declined both times. I don’t think I’ve ever been offered drugs but a proper dose of morphine at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital twenty-three years ago was wonderful. Will we be discussing rock and roll next ?

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      9. “Craft” is clearer Martin. It comes from “Kraft”, the first company to process, pasteurise, cheese.
        Lana, I could give you a very long list of things I say “no” to.

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  2. Only two pint pots for the Sheffield Tap (indicating an average score between 3 and 3.49) is hard to believe. My own average score for the Tap over 43 visits so far this year – that’s 87 beers – is 3.78. Are the vast majority of the CAMRA members who score beers in the bar on Platform 1b telling me I’m wrong?

    OK, I’ve just checked and it’s back up to three pint pots (NBSS 3.5 or more on average).

    Rant over.

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      3. “Thanks for explaining the pint pots, for the benefit of Russ, I expect.”

        Er, yes? 🤔

        So, that’s the scoring system, not the type of pint glasses I take it. 😁

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      7. “There really ought to be a symbol for proper glass though.”

        Yes, but that in itself would cause an argument.
        (i.e. should it have a handle? etc.)

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  3. “quick walk to RM Towers to take the brown bin in,:

    That was the empty one put out, out of habit, right?

    ” then return to Sheffield station for the train south to Waterbeach. Wash and repeat.”

    Can you wash on the train, even if the toilets aren’t working?

    “The rain adds something to central Sheffield.”

    Yes. It’s called – wet.

    “because three changes (via Donny) offers unlimited potential for disaster,”

    (looks down)
    Ooh! Ooh! I bet Donny means Doncaster, yes?
    See, I is learning, I is. 😇

    “And half an hour at Sheffield Station isn’t all bad.”

    Heh.

    “which is odd as you’ll know I detest breweries and would be happy if beer could be produced without them.”

    These type of (odd) sentiments apparently crop up as one nears “middle age”.

    “But for now the on-site Tapped makes some competent pale grapefruit stuff like this Mojo,”

    (slow golf clap)

    “I’m quite surprised the Tap only has 2 out of 3 pint pots, but that’s Sheffield for you.”

    Is that the style of pint glass?

    “Someone asked how many of the pubs on my Chesterton crawl from 2015 are still standing, and the answer was “All of them, plus a new one“.”

    There IS a god!

    “but tastes change, and the Sheffield Tap attracts a great range of custom,”

    Agreed. I’m all for ‘diversity’ as long as:
    – it doesn’t overwhelm
    – we still have some of the old, and
    – inclusive means just that; something for everyone

    “not just lone blokes about to realise their departure from 6b is leaving in 3 minutes.”

    Ouch!

    Cheers

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