January 2026. Waverley. Rotherham.
I knew it would take something new and exciting to persuade Mrs RM to stop refining her Sarajevo blog and come out for a walk on the remains of Orgreave pits, and that something new and exciting was a visit to the new (but dull) village of Waverley, betwixt Rotherham and Sheffield. I know, you’ve already made your holiday plans for Corby Glen, but plans are there to be changed.
Waverley’s eco houses are being snapped up at prices comparable to Waterbeach new town (£400k+),
helped by the presence of actual schools and shops and work and pubs, and a small focal point in Olive Lane, the adverts for which you’ll see as you zoom at 49mph alone the A630 from M1 to RM Towers.
Still a bit of work to go, mind,
but it’s organic mud, so that’s OK.
I’d promised Mrs RM a long walk, but she had to find WiFi to make plan for her girls trip this month (leaving me behind), so I suggested the Winter Green, which I insist on confusing with the Winter Seam in Castleford’s indoor ski centre, another coal based pub.
This new build Marstons pub impressed with its Pedigree 4 years ago, a bit less so on the return visit, and this time drifted out to NBSS 3, though of course some believe that means you must cancel plans to move on to a sixth pub or something.
Should have tried the exciting guests.
Not a bargain pint, either,
and the soundtrack was pumping out “The Way It Is” and “Don’t You Forget About Me” at night club volumes, not that Bruce Hornsby has ever been a night club staple.
Some nice local touches, though I bet the good folk of Waversley would have preferred a Spoons.
We walked to the Advanced Manufacturing Plant, which I presume is where recent graduates to refine autovacs for West Yorkshire pubs and less important industrial innovation.
The AMP cafe, run by A’tuin, had some hi-tech coffee making devices,
and a cup that looked like it weighed a ton but was weightless.
The nice barista lady entertained us with her management of an excessively complex lunch order from the IT geeks.
Talking of food, Mrs RM read my mind and diverted our walk from the original plan and on to the Whitby’s where the Haddock and Chips was as good as I’ve had since moving to Sheffield.
But the real takeaway was how busy the restaurant was at Whitby’s, packed with gentlefolk on a cold Wednesday in January, washing down £20 worth of cod, chip and mushy peas with pints of John Smiths Smooth. The grey pound is very real..
retiredmartin 
The Advanced Manufacturing Plant isn’t planning on producing Bass mirrors is it? They’ll never beat the level of craftsmanship you get in Wrexham.
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They might focus on Tetley after my rave reviews.
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The expensive item is that Pepsi. 2 cents of syrup and fizz. Lotta margin on that one.
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You could have had pop over to the Oxbow at Woodhouse Station, I assume in best BBC style you’ve mixed up the order of the pics to make it look like you had ate after you drank rather than the other way round
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A very high quality post that mentions my home town, Rotherham, has got to be worth a comment! Shocked at those prices though, Stone bitter was only 34 pence a pint when I left the area. (PS – you could’ve waited for the Tetleys to condition, RM?
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Over a fiver for Pedigree is to be expected in new build Marstons pubs. I was paying £5 in my nearest last June.
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Yes, Marston’s are in turn owned by Carlsberg, which is itself owned by the Carlsberg Foundation, so there are a few layers to be paid. However, at least they’re not owned by a US hedge fund or an oil state’s wealth fund…
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The brewery, not the pubs, are owned by Carlsberg.
Marstons, a pub company now, hasn’t changed much but has significant debts – maybe in part from building new build pubs – which probably caused not only their breweries being sold but also dearer pints.
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