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The Sheffield culture guide written by in-the-know locals

Heritage Festival of Sheffield Food and Drink

The Gardeners Rest is marking this year's Heritage Open Days theme of Edible England with a mini festival of the best Sheffield ales, gins and pub snacks.

Sheffield has a long tradition of brewing and pub snacks production. Expect traditional real ale, pork pies, Henderson's Relish, the Sheffield breadcake, local cheeses and more. All their cask ale for the festival will be locally brewed.

The Gardeners Rest is a community owned social enterprise. As well as being a friendly, inclusive, traditional pub, it also offers support to community groups and young people with learning difficulties, and training and support into employment for those who are often excluded. It also has one of the best beer gardens in the city.

The pub is hosting a bunch of talks and tours for Heritage Open Days too – see the links below for more details and to book your place.

Other Heritage Open Days events at the Gardeners Rest:

Grow Your Own! A History of Allotments in Sheffield
17 September, 2pm
An illustrated talk by Margaret Boulton on the history of Sheffield’s allotments from the 1700s, through industrialisation and two world wars, to the present day. The Gardeners Rest is a fitting venue; it was the favourite watering-hole of the many allotment holders who gardened their Neepsend plots in times gone by, hence the pub’s name.

The History of the Gardeners Rest Talk with Cellar Tour
15 September, 1pm/3pm/7pm
Learn about the fascinating history of this Victorian pub on the banks of the River Don – its origins serving the steel factories and allotments of Neepsend, its experience of the floods of 1864 and 2007, the changes it's seen over the years, how it was rescued from the threat of closure in recent years, and its role today as a popular real ale pub with a strong community ethos. There'll also be a rare opportunity to take a guided tour of the cellars and learn how award-winning real ale is kept.

Brewery Talk and Tasting
14 September, 7:30pm
Learn about traditional brewing from the folks at local microbrewery Gorilla, followed by a chance to sample some of their wares.

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