Rotherham
"I used to have a pint at every stop and we used to have about 10 stops a day. You worked so hard you didn't feel you had drunk 10 pints by 4 o'clock. You used to sweat it out. It's probably horrifying but you used to do that then go home for tea and then go out in the evening to the pub." - William Hague, 2000.
Okay, so this is not the greatest of drinking towns, and no one ever really looked forward to a trip to this Sheffield satellite, but there are still one or two places worth lingering. Not, of course, that we recommend drinking ten pints before the game.
My one recent visit to Rotherham was made in November 2002, when we endured a dire 0-0 draw in the pouring rain. This was a match memorable only for Gareth Taylor getting booked while being stretchered off in the first minute. Not that I was unhappy. For this was the day I finally broke my 0% record at Millmoor. I visited this ground a number of times in the 1990s and only ever saw us get beat. The games where we didn't get beat were the ones I couldn't get to.
This guide is naturally going to focus heavily on the pubs I visited on that splashy day in 2002, as those are the only ones I can remember at all well. I have far hazier memories from earlier visits, which are next to useless for our purposes here. For example, there was one boozer which obstinately refused to open, bedroom curtains twitching as they spied on our frustrated, thirsty band. And a Hardy's and Hanson's pub halfway up a hill, name now forgotten. Or there was a Stone's pub right at the top of something steep by the rugby ground. Further, I can nearly recall one trip to Rotherham in the very dim past where I fell in and out of a string of basic, blokey backstreet boozers, all selling cheap, huge headed pints of Stones. Alas, Stones is no longer brewed in nearby Sheffield, and it's not the same now. And don't get me started on the betrayal of Wards again...
So let's swerve around nostalgia and take in more recently visited pubs. A walk from the station, Rotherham Central, through the slightly hilly, more than slightly downheel town centre brought me to the Alma, on Westgate. Should have been good. Wasn't. A traditional, basic pub was promised, but this was the sort of place that had cheap alcohol deals advertised on handwritten luminous stars and people drank cans. Getting the beer took an age and it wasn't worth it.
I moved quickly on to one of the local Wetherspoon's, the Rhinoceros, on Bridgegate, the other side of the High Street and quite close to the station. (Most of the town centre streets seem to be called something-gate.) Or at least I'm assuming I went here. So anonymous is this place that while I must have gone in I can remember nothing about it. Assume it was absolutely standard.
The town boasts - I suspect this isn't the right word - two Wetherspoon's pubs. This is surely overdoing it, but the Blue Coat, at the Crofts, up by the Town Hall, must have been the pick, because at least I can remember going in there. It's in a surprisingly quite pleasant and olde sliver of Rotherham, uphill from the High Street. The pub was perhaps a bit food-friendly but I'd remember if I'd had a bad pint.
I think my favourite port of call from that visit was a pub with the unpromising name of the Cat and Cabbage, on Carlisle Street, which is off Wharncliffe Street, just off the town centre and across a very bleak carpark. A bit rough and ready, perhaps, but you just knew their heart was in the right place. Here you could get a pint, chat with the bloke behind the bar, watch generic TV football and squint out the windows at the ominous approaching rain clouds.
Apart from that, around town are lots of pretty desperate-looking bars. Only the excessively thirsty or foolhardy will dive into these.
Over the years, the Rotherham pub I've visited most must be the Kingfisher, on Mary Street. This is a tall building by a busy road, with warm, friendly insides. Best thing is that it's a rare outlet for the Old Mill Brewery of Snaith. I can't quite put my finger on the distinctive taste their bitter has, but that doesn't stop me drinking it. You may get pie and peas here to boot. It's just north of the railway station and I've always found it friendly. The only downside on that drenched day was the lengthy, over-the-ankle paddle through the underpass we had to undertake to reach it. Fortunately (?) we had already given our socks a thorough soaking while coming away from the away end.
A couple of pubs near the ground ring vague bells, though not from recent visits. The Moulders Rest, on Masbrough Street, and the Woodman, on nearby Midland Road, both sound familiar, but not much more. Pubs close to the ground are never great.
But one pub I can remember vividly from across the years was the one across from the station: the Phoenix. I think the train from Sheffield must have turned up unexpectedly on time and we had a few minutes to spare. Boy, that was a weird place. The inside thought it was outside. This was a pub with a patio theme. The floor was garden tiled, the chairs were garden chairs, and in the middle, they boasted a gushing water feature. Quite what they were thinking of when they did this, or what manner of drugs they were taking, is a matter of conjecture. I wonder if they've had an attack of sensibleness and changed it back into looking like a pub since? If not, worth a look on the strength of the novelty value alone.
And in addition an occasional Sheffield-based correspondent makes a suggestion:
I'd recommend the Charters Arms, on Eastwood Lane - a very ugly brick shell hidden behind a dire indoor market, but the friendliest place imaginable. Huge portions of food, and drinkable beer."
One of the things I always do when I'm struggling is look at the club's rivals.net website, because they usually list some pubs under 'club information'. MillersNet is no exception. MillersMad also lists some boozers under ‘AWAY FAN?’.
As for getting to the ground, it's a doddle from the station. You can see it from there and it's maybe ten minutes walk down Masbrough Street. In 2002 we witnessed some interesting policing after the game, where our Burberry tossers were segregated on the platform from the rest of us and given their own separate, highly policed, part of the train to travel back in. It kind of worked, but best make sure you look like a harmless visitor if you don't fancy getting caught the wrong side of the police line. Apparently they stopped people at the station before the game too, so think on.
Obviously, Rotherham's not a particularly appealing place to visit (although there is a part of the town called New York), and the ground's a real collection of bits and pieces. I suppose it has character, what with its portacabin pile-up and bit in the corner where folk stand outside and watch for nowt. Surely a few of these places need to be preserved in these sanitised days of ‘stadia’? Even Rotherham are proposing to replace their terracing with a new stand - largely, I suppose, because they have to. But the away end is pretty disgraceful: a dingy shed with seats stuck on top of an old terrace. Not bad for 16 quid! Access to the away end is down a narrow alley, above which loom the rusting hulks of scrapped diesel locomotives. The scrapyards are owned by Rotherham's chairman. In November 2002, we had to wade through deep pools of water from here to get away from the ground. You do wonder how safe this ginnel would be in the event of an emergency.
Rotherham's proximity to Sheffield has, as well as making the town rather anonymous, left the club a history of struggle, although they must be enjoying their current South Yorkshire supremacy over Wednesday. It also offers the traveller the serious prospect of spending at least some of the day's drinking time in the fine city of Sheffield. In fact, if you're travelling inter-city, you may well have to change in Sheffield anyway, so you might as well get off and have a pint or two. Access to pubs close to the station may depend on whether Sheffield United are playing at home. For more, see our Sheffield drinking guide.
Apart from that, there seem to be two websites for the Rotherham branch of the Campaign for Real Ale: at www.onehtc.force9.co.uk and at www.rotherhamcamra.vze.com. There's also a curious site at www.rotherhampubs.f9.co.uk, which gives historical lists of pub licensees. There must be a demand. See also the sister site - www.rotherham4news.f9.co.uk - for more than you strictly need to know about Sandy ‘Can You Hear Me, Mother?’ Powell.
Non-drinkers will struggle. An internet search for tourism in Rotherham doesn't reveal much, although an unofficial site is hilarious in listing all the things Rotherham isn't. The official presence is singularly unhelpful. Maybe the Magna Centre is worth a look. Extensive research has revealed that Rotherham is ‘famous’ for David Seaman, Paul ‘Hi de Hi’ Shane, the Chuckle Brothers, Jive Bunny and William Hague, so consider yourself warned.
Firmo
Last visited: November 2002
Last updated: April 2004
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