Bing makes a thing of distance walking in Sheffield

This post is a bit of a filler, whilst I work on a couple of longer ones, but as it contains an amusing tale, which centres on a case of misinterpretation, it is worth including for its entertainment value.

Apart from the chance of meeting up with a couple of pub-going legends, one of the main draws that took me to Sheffield, was of course the pubs. Like several other prominent towns and cities throughout the land, I was aware that Sheffield possessed a number of legendary boozers

I’d also been looking at the map for locations that were relatively easily doable - i.e., it was possible to travel here and back within a day. Having visited Stockport and Bath, since the end of the pandemic, I knew that three hours train travel each way was perfectly achievable, but four hours would be pushing it. This meant cities such as Manchester, Bristol, Salisbury, and Birmingham were within the scope of a day’s travel, but locations such as Newcastle, Truro, and Swansea, were not.

Sheffield fitted into the three-hour time frame, and I knew it was a city with some classic pubs, so I started researching train fares. That was when the reduced-price ticket offer, appeared on my radar. I managed to pick up two single tickets (outward and return) for £15.50 each, and whilst this restricted me to timed trains (including those between Tonbridge and London), the tickets represented an absolute bargain.

Before confirming my booking, I contacted GBG pub-ticking legend, Retired Martin, who now lives in Sheffield,  to see if he was available on the day that I’d earmarked for the trip. Given his wanderlust and goal of completing the GBG this year, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he would be free on my chosen day. Not only that, he kindly emailed me a map, along with a suggested itinerary. The latter fitted in with my desire to visit the Kelham Island area of the city, and its two outstanding pubs - the Fat Cat and the Kelham Island Tavern.

So, on the allotted day I boarded the 09.09 train to London Bridge, a connecting service to St Pancras, and then the 10.32 train to Sheffield. This was my first journey on East Midland Railway (EMR), since privatisation, of what had been British Rail’s Midland Mainline. The train was sleek, fast, and comfortable, although selling me a window seat where most of the view was obscured by the framework of the carriage, was pushing the envelope, somewhat. I was also surprised to discover that this important stretch of railway had still not been electrified and relied instead on dirty and polluting diesel power cars.

The train pulled into Sheffield at 12.42, which was right on time, but on exiting the station I became a little disoriented. It should have been obvious that I need to turn right, and proceed up the hill, rather than turning in the opposite direction and heading downhill. The map Martin had sent me showed this, but the part which confused the hell out of me and nearly proved my downfall, was the mileage stated in the bottom left-hand corner. This stated 2.4 miles, but as the map only allowed 46 minutes for me to walk to our agreed meeting place at the Fat Cat, I was panicking slightly about being late.

The stated distance was not particularly daunting for a regular rambler like me, but at my relatively slow walking pace, covering 2.4 miles in 46 minutes would have been pushing it. Martin’s map came courtesy of Bing, and I should have known never to trust a Bing map. Three years ago, a work colleague became embroiled in an argument with his boss, over a work-related mileage claim. He had claimed the mileage indicated by his car’s odometer, whereas his penny-pinching boss had looked at the same journey on Bing maps and found it was around three miles shorter than my colleague had claimed. Could Martin’s map have been equally inaccurate?

After finally getting my bearings, I thought of getting a bus, after all I had my OAP bus pass, so after asking a lady waiting at the nearest bus stop, how to get to Kelham Island, I was at least pointed in the right direction. I carried on walking, and after passing Sheffield’s landmark Crucible Theatre, I knew at least I was on course. Soon after, I spotted a sign for Kelham Island, indicating a distance of just three-quarters of a mile. Surely, I hadn’t covered a mile and a half already? It was all downhill after that, and I arrived at the Fat Cat with time to spare, and ahead of Martin. So how could this have happened?

It was only after Martin had pointed out that the mileage on the map was cumulative, and represented both the outward and alternative return routes, that the penny dropped. I felt a fool but after my colleague’s experience carried on blaming Bing maps, and not without some justification. Bing, who are Microsoft’s search engine, are notorious for providing misleading information, as according to Google, "Bing returns disinformation and misinformation at a significantly higher rate than Google does."

You could argue that Google would make such a claim about a major rival, but it suits the story and my continuing narrative to stick with this accusation, although this doesn’t mean I am ungrateful towards Martin, for providing the map. We had a good laugh about it, once I realised, I’d mis-interpreted it, but the story does perhaps underline the unquestioning reliance we place on technology today.

I have already chronicled the excellent pubs we visited on that sunny day in Sheffield, a fortnight ago, so I won’t repeat myself here. The journey home was uneventful, but I am pleased to report that I had a window seat on the train. There is something relaxing about just sitting there next to a window, watching the countryside passing outside, as the train speeds towards its final destination.

I’m looking at possibilities for further days out, or even weekends away, with Manchester looking a strong contender. That decision is influenced by a book I’ve recently read and also reviewed, although the city was already high up on my list. All will be revealed later.