April 2026. Sheffield.
A Saturday in Sheffield before, we hoped, a last hurrah cleaning the old house in Waterbeach.
I did a walk out over the hills to the Botanical Gardens, where I brought Dad 5 years ago on his only visit to Sheffield.
He’d given up golf the previous years and was struggling to walk the gardens, but he was still able to tell the differences between a crocus and a cactus.
You may need to tell the difference between the Botanical Arms, new on Ecclesall Road, and those posh Botanist bars.
Ecclesall has a lot of shop conversion bars like the Botanical, the Ale Club and Craft & Berry for two.
But they don’t have Bass.
Yes, the world’s, even the micro world has gone Bass crazy, assuming they can get stocks.
In a world where “ever changing real ales” is seen as A Good Thing, my question as whether the red triangle might seem a bit odd. Rotating beers, apparently, but the young guy knew about the Bass Facebook page so there’s hope.
It’s a classy place, they’re playing “Wish You Were Here“, attracting the cocktail as well as cask crowd. There’s a couple of women sharing a bottle of wine, a couple sharing a pork pie with their Bass (in jug !) and murk, and a couple of blokes at the bar on the Brew York. A good mix.
Comfy bench seating along the walls, a cool, foamy Bass (3.5) under a fiver with free crisps.
Mrs RM will love it, but not perhaps the walk home afterwards.
retiredmartin 