retiredmartin

June 2026. Sheffield.

I don’t like these days in Sheffield, there’s too much still to see, but with Mrs RM busy curating her blog I need to give her options for local exploration.

It’s a while since we explored the Park Hill flats out the back of the station, as these steps don’t get any less steep as you hit middle age.

Yes, decent views back into town,

but it’s the flats (Sheffield’s version of that Urban Splash place in Ancoats) you come from, probably drawn by the Richard Hawley soundtracked musical from 2023.

Excitingly, they’re bring the Chelsea Flower Show “Garden of the Year” to Sheffield,

and you thought Retired Martin Towers had the best garden. It’ll look good when it’s finished.

While we were in the West End watching “Standing At The Sky’s Edge” a bar was opening at the foot of Park Hill, the Pearl with a particularly “shy” fascia.

Looks like a show house outside, and possibly the large, rambling interior as well.

Cocktails and small dishes dominate, which is my excuse for taking three (3) years to get here.

Prices in pounds sterling, since you ask.

But a fiver for cask Brew York, poured in what looks like a kitchen,

that’s not bad at all, and the Hop Cat Pale is pretty good, full-bodied even. These are pint glasses, honest.

Better, far better, than I expected,

but I can think of at least one “Proper Pub” man who won’t be putting it on his next Sheffield crawl.