Favesham - definitely may be

I appreciate that it’s still mid-week, but I thought I’d spring this idea on you, especially as it will be the weekend, before we know it. I’m planning a day out in the attractive, north Kent town of Faversham, a location that despite a couple of changes, is easily accessible by rail. Furthermore, with the aid of my old git’s railcard, is a relatively inexpensive train ride away.

It’s probably a couple of decades since I last visited the town, and so today, I spent part of my lunch-break at work, planning out an itinerary. I also asked my friend Copilot for a few suggestions, and I’m pleased to report that AI’s recommendations were a pretty close match to my own. So, without further ado, this is what AI came up with.

A Faversham pub‑crawl is one of the best ideas you could have in Kent — compact town centre, proper heritage pubs, and of course the gravitational pull of Shepherd Neame, Britain’s oldest brewery. Based on the fresh local data above, here’s a structured, pub‑ticking‑friendly plan that plays to your interests: Victorian interiors, real ale, and places with character.

Top picks - shortlist

1. Bear Inn - central, historic, very well‑kept ales, strong reviews.

2. Sun Inn - 14th‑century coaching inn, atmospheric, reliable beer.

3. Elephant  -  independent, lively, good beer range beyond Shepherd Neame.

4. Phoenix Tavern  - beamed, old‑world, refined food, cosy.

5. Anchor Inn - rustic, food‑led, locally sourced produce.

A practical pub‑ticking route that is easily walkable

Bear Inn (Market Place)

A cracking place to start - central, handsome frontage, and one of the best‑rated pubs in town (4.5★, 551 reviews). Good for a first pint while you get your bearings. Beer: Shepherd Neame classics in excellent condition.

Sun Inn (West Street)

Only a minute’s walk away. A 14th‑century inn with beams, nooks, and a proper old coaching‑house feel. Beer: Again Shepherd Neame, but the setting makes it worthwhile.

Elephant (The Mall)

Independent, friendly, and with a more varied beer selection — often local or guest ales. A nice change of pace after two SN houses. Atmosphere: Lively, community‑minded, very well reviewed .

Phoenix Tavern (Abbey Street)

A beautiful old building with bare brick, beams, and an inglenook fireplace. More of a dining pub, but still a lovely stop for a quieter pint. Beer: Shepherd Neame, but the setting elevates it.

Anchor Inn (Abbey Street)

A short stroll further up Abbey Street. Rustic, food‑led, and attached to its own farm. Beer: Not the widest range, but the pub is worth seeing.

To finish this short article, here's a link to a post I wrote about Faversham, which dates from April 2017. This was almost certainly the date of my last visit to the town, so Friday's proposed trip, is long overdue.

 

 

Beware of Danes bearing gold!

The decision by Danish brewing giant Carlsberg to close the historic Marston’s brewery in Burton-on-Trent next summer, though long anticipated, still feels driven by profit and corporate greed.

Carlsberg cited the familiar reason of a steep and sustained decline in cask ale consumption across the UK. Data shows that by the mid-2020s, cask ale volumes in Britain had more than halved in less than a decade, with consumption continuing to fall year on year. The multinational claimed this collapse made it increasingly difficult to justify running large traditional ale breweries like Marston’s, presenting this harsh reality as the main reason behind the closure.

For me, this is a deeply poignant and sad moment. Marston's brewery in Burton-on-Trent was the first brewery I ever visited back in the mid-1970s as a student. That tour sparked my lasting interest in beer and brewing, so to see this splendid old Victorian era brewery vanish into rubble is particularly galling, even if it reflects the times we live in.

Carlsberg’s involvement with Marston’s came after a series of takeovers, and Marston's should have known better than to align with such a ruthless and predatory company. Before targeting Marston’s, Carlsberg had already closed the 150-year-old Banks brewery in Wolverhampton, citing similar market pressures and transferring production to Burton. Observers should have seen this earlier closure as a sign of further consolidation and Carlsberg’s ruthless readiness to dispose of historic ale sites.

The so-called strategic portfolio shift is somewhat of a joke, as Carlsberg aims to focus on growth categories and streamline operations, prioritising brands like Hobgoblin, McEwan’s, and Brooklyn as worthy of continued support. (McEwans anyone? And Brooklyn – that’s American, keg pish, surely?) Other cask and regional ales are to be sold to specialists or local owners—though there aren’t many left—making this corporate rhetoric from Copenhagen seem rather hollow. It signals a move away from maintaining large-scale traditional ale production facilities, and more Danegeld in the parent company’s coffers!

 

An update on the local pub scene, in West Kent (and beyond)

Blogging has taken a bit of a back seat for a while, as I deal with the seemingly complex issues regarding my future financial position. These seem to revolve around Pension Consolidation and Pension Drawdown. Having now done much of the groundwork, there does now seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel, so with any luck I shall soon be able to set a firm date for my retirement.

In tandem with this I’ve been sorting out various areas of both house and garden, with the aim of making life easier, post-retirement. So, I’ve been sorting out various unwanted kitchen gadgets, tools and garden stuff (enough plastic flowerpots to start our own garden centre). There’s also the now, thankfully shrinking, mountain of household paperwork that I’ve slowly been feeding into the large, office-sized, shredder that we’ve got at work.

Clothes are another target area destined for the charity shop, although the main clear-out, especially of “office-type” outfits will have to wait until I retire. The garden is also in line for a makeover, as I gradually convert our “little oasis of green” to the most low-maintenance plot I can come up with, although here it’s going to be a case of “no pain, no gain.”  Basically, I'm looking for a garden that almost looks after itself, so that I don't have to!

However, I haven’t given up completely on beer and pubs, and locally, there’s quite a lot going on at the moment, and we kick off with the Cross Keys. The latter is a large pub, in a prominent position on the edge of Southborough, that has stood empty for over a year, but after being acquired by new owners, is undergoing a refit plus a good spruce up.  The pub is due to reopen following refurbishment with a "fresh identity" and will trade as the Boundary Bar & Grill. This will be under the ownership of two experienced business partners, one of whom also runs the Imperial, (also in Southborough).

Moving a little further along the A26, we come to the former Shuffle House, in the St John’s area of Tunbridge Wells. The pub has been renamed as the Duck & Goose, but back in its Shuffle House guise, it acted as the venue for my firm’s Christmas party. The shuffle tables remain as a feature of the Duck & Goose, and from the photos on the pub’s website, the interior appears as little changed, so why the change of name? 

I also came across shuffle tables at the Mola Bar in the Norwegian town of Alesund, which we visited back in March, when the settlement was the first port of call on the cruise that took us beyond the Arctic Circle. Shuffleboards take up a lot of space, but can provide a spot of measures excitement, providing there’s sufficient room in the pub, or bar.

Moving on to a slightly more rural location, we come to the Fleur de Lys, in the centre of Leigh, a former estate village between Hildenborough and Chiddingstone. The Fleur has been undergoing a major refit for the past nine months or more, and with progress remaining painfully slow, there are still no signs yet of a definitive opening date. The Fleur is reportedly owned by a wealthy, crypto-currency trader, who bought and restored the nearby Hall Place, a grade II -listed, 19^th century, stately pile, complete with its own well laid out and extensive grounds. 

The story I picked up on locally (don’t forget I work in the neighbouring village of Chiddingstone Causeway), was that the monied new owner of Hale Place also bought the pub, because he thought it important that a village like Leigh, should have its own pub. A philosophy I’m sure many people would agree with, so why the delay in re-opening the Fleur?

Heading out towards Sussex now, in a south-westerly direction, we come to the Brown Trout, sited close to the village of Lamberhurst, and close to Bewl Water. The latter is a large reservoir which opened back in the 1970's.  Following a period of closure, during which the pub was extensively refurbished by our old friends, Stonegate Inns, we find the pub-co seeking a new licensee to run it. This means there are hopes of the pub reopening soon. The Brown Trout is a pub that I’ve only been in a couple of times, as it’s a little tucked away, so it will be good to call in though, when it does eventually reopen.

Travelling in the more or less opposite direction, brings us to the former Whitbread Hop Farm at Beltring, where a converted, former oast house, on the edge of the farm, has been bought from former owners, Whitbread, for an undisclosed sum. Still trading under its former name of Brooker’s Oast, this former Beefeater outlet, which had been due to close following the winding up of the steakhouse chain, by owners, Whitbread, remains open for business. The pub is now owned by an outfit called, Queensway Inns, whose other two pubs are located down in Cornwall, making this a slightly strange purchase. As one observer has pointed out, the establishment appears to be operating much as before, so if you want a steakhouse-type meal, this is the place to come.

On the borders between West Kent and Surrey, and standing proudly on Westerham's village green for more than seven centuries, is the Grasshopper on the Green, a remarkable survivor amongst English pubs. Over the course of its long history, the Grasshopper has seen 31 monarchs and 74 Prime Ministers come and go and yet the warmth of its welcome remains unchanged. The pub now has new owners, in the guise of Mike & Nicola Vigar, who were loyal customers for 25 years before taking over the reins. Compared to the grandeur of Westerham’s other two pubs, the Kings Head and the George & Dragon, the much smaller Grasshopper, is cosier and much more people sized, making it the establishment that gets my vote as the “best in Westerham.”

This brings us to the penultimate pub in the area, facing a new future, which is the former Spread Eagle, in the Hawkenbury area of Tunbridge Wells.  Until recently, the site of the pub had been earmarked for redevelopment, but in a turn up for the books, this attractive looking pub has now been listed by Stonegate, as available for a fixed term tenancy with food-led potential.

The final pub is not actually in the West Kent area, but I couldn’t close this article on re-opening public houses without mentioning the Elephant & Castle in Lewes. Readers may recall me going looking for this pub, on a recent visit to Lewes, only to find it, unexpectedly closed. Now, according to the Brighton Argus, this Harvey’s-tied house is due to reopen at the end of this month, under the stewardship of new landlord Max Aben, with local couple, Liz Temperley and Pat Mundy, running the food offering, under the banner of their already successful, Pat's Pizza operation. Unfortunately, this will necessitate me making what will be my third trip to Lewes this year, although it will allow me to “mop up” a number of other pubs that I’ve missed on recent visits to the East Sussex, county town. It’s a hard life!!

 

Two contrasting pubs, along the Tonbridge - Redhill rail-line

It was Pub Friday again two days ago, and seeing as I’d been such a dutiful husband, and sorted out — or "partially" sorted out, to be more accurate, the disorganised kitchen in our extension (the “old kitchen”, as it’s now been designated), I felt fully justified the following morning, in abandoning Mrs PBT’s to finish the job. Spoiler alert: she didn’t finish it. I’ll be doing that next week, because despite my wife's  protestations to the contrary, I remain the tidiest and most organised of the pair of us. Anyway, that’s enough of our domestic shenanigans. The real question was: where to go?

I’m still working towards beating last year’s target of visiting 106 different pubs over the course of a calendar year. Before Friday, my total stood at 96, and seeing as I managed to tick off two more that day, including one that was totally new to me, I’m now languishing at 98 pubs, with the aim of hitting the magic ton by next weekend. There are still quite a few pubs left for me to tick off in Tunbridge Wells, but I fancied going somewhere a little different. And what better idea than to hop on a train along the Tonbridge-Redhill line, heading towards the latter town but alighting one stop before that important rail junction?

That meant getting off at Nutfield, a large village that is the final stop before Redhill. It’s a place that I’d never visited before, not by car and certainly not by rail, and more importantly, I realised I could pick up a pub in Edenbridge on the same outing. The place I had in mind was a pub that I hadn’t set foot in for thirty‑plus years. So that’s exactly what I did. 

Before describing the day itself, here are a few facts and figures about the Tonbridge-Redhill line, a route that was once the main railway artery between the capital and the Kent coast. Rather than bury myself in dates and statistics (which, knowing me, would have taken all afternoon), I let my Copilot friend do the research instead, and this is what it came back with.

The Tonbridge–Redhill railway, historically known as the Redhill  line, is one of the oldest sections of main‑line railway infrastructure in the Southeast. Its story is surprisingly rich for a line that today feels like a quiet local shuttle, so make yourselves comfortable and read on. The Tonbridge- Redhill line opened in May 1842, after being authorised by Parliament in 1836. It was part of the South-Eastern Railway’s original London-Dover main line, running from Redhill through to Tonbridge. Because it was intended for fast long‑distance running, it was designed with few curves and little concern for local population centres, which is why today, many stations sit some distance from the villages they serve.

In 1868, the SER opened a new, and more direct main line via Orpington and Sevenoaks, with several major tunnels and faster running times. This relegated the Tonbridge-Redhill line to local service status. The line became part of Southern Railway in 1923, and then British Railways Southern Region in 1948. Steam services ended in 1965 and were replaced by diesel multiple units.Electrification,  750 V DC third rail, was authorised in 1990 and completed in 1993–94, a process that allowed the role of the line to shift again, to a diversionary line for both Eurostar, as well as Southeastern services, before settling back into today’s all‑stations shuttle.

I became a regular user of the Tonbridge-Redhill line, when I moved to Tonbridge at the tail end of 1984, because coinciding with my change of address, was me joining, a moribund CAMRA branch, and helping to get it back on its feet. So, what was originally the Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells branch of CAMRA, eventually became West Kent branch. I shan’t go into any more details here, but having re-established the branch and formed a new committee, we were charged with surveying all the pubs in the area (keg as well as cask), with a view to selecting suitable pubs for the following year’s Good Beer Guide.

Quite a task, but I was 40 years younger then, as were my fellow new committee members. One stipulation we made was that future branch meetings should be held at pubs that were accessible, as much as possible, by public transport, and with few bus services operating into the evening, this effectively meant places close to a station. It was during these surveys that I first became acquainted with settlements along the Tonbridge- Redhill line, including Leigh, Chiddingstone Causeway, Edenbridge and Redhill itself.

The latter town whilst not within the West Kent area, provided an ideal meeting point for socials with one of the neighbouring Surrey branches. The Home Cottage, owned by Young’s Brewery, was the pub of choice, given its proximity to Redhill station. I also starting using the line for other purposes, such as travel to work, where Penshurst station, provides an occasional alternative to driving. The line is also useful for travel to and from Gatwick Airport, even if it does involve a change of platform at Redhill.

So, what were the two pubs that I visited the other day? First up was the Station Pub, in Nutfield which, as its name suggests, is literally a stone’s throw from the station. Just walk away from the down platform, turn the corner, and less than five minutes later, you will come across this large, and much altered, late-Victorian establishment. The pub was built for the Reigate Brewery of Mellersh & Neale, to serve the community that was growing up around Nuffield railway station.

The Station Pub was much larger than I had expected, although the name "Hotel” ought perhaps to have given the game away. I’m assuming that in its heyday, the place must have provided accommodation for travellers, and those stepping inside will be greeted by a number of bright and characterful rooms, overlooking a well-laid out, rear garden. Today, the pub proudly proclaims that it’s a drinks-focused pub, with no kitchen and no fuss, but that doesn't mean visitors will go hungry. Instead, a range of regular, food “pop-up partners” bring something special to the table when they visit. I didn’t find out when the food might be, as having breakfasted just a few hours ago I wasn’t exactly hungry.

Outside, a couple were enjoying the early October sunshine, while a group of fella’s sat towards the back of the pub. I noticed a woman who I’d seen on the train, standing at the bar. She seemed to know the barmaid and must have hurried away from the station to get there before me. The pair paused their conversation to allow the barmaid to serve me, offering a choice Taylor’s Landlord – complete with the new look pump clip, a Hobgoblin ale of some description, and the ubiquitous Harvey's Best. I opted for the latter, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the best pint of Sussex that I’ve had recently. It wasn’t off and it wasn’t flat, and if anything, it tasted too young.

It was also overly chilled, which didn’t help either, which meant I was struggling to finish it. I also realised that my train back towards Edenbridge was due shortly, so I returned about a quarter of the unfinished pint to the bar and apologised to the girl by explaining that I wasn’t feeling particularly bright. A white lie I know, but one that prevented a minor diplomatic incident, without bruising anyone's ego! I then headed back to the station, crossed the footbridge, and waited for the next service back towards Tonbridge.

The train was more or less on time, and after passing through Godstone, it wasn’t long before we arrived at Edenbridge. There are two rail stations serving the town, with the one at the top, and the one I arrived at, simply called Edenbridge. From here it is about a 20-minute walk down to the town centre, where, just beyond the centre of the Old Town, lies Edenbridge Town station. This station is on a completely separate rail line running towards Uckfield, via Eridge and Crowborough  .

Returning to the pub visits, I left the train at Edenbridge station (the top one), and walked through a new housing development, which partly occupies the site of the former Albion pub, a long-vanished establishment that I had only visited a couple of times before. From there, I continued northwards, and away from the town, along the B2026.  A short distance further, in the area known as Marlpit Hill, is the Swan Inn.

The latter is a long and fairly narrow, brick-built pub, that has been sympathetically modernised, without losing its essential character. The sole cask offering was Taylor’s Landlord, and this time still with the old-style clip. It was also in tip-top condition. With the sun now shining, and the temperatures starting to climb, I took my pint outside, into the extensive garden, at the rear of the pub, and sat there enjoying the beer. One could tell it was Friday by the number of builders’ vans pitching up, as the thirsty Chippies, Brickies and Sparkies  finished their work for the week, to be rewarded with a well-earned pint or two.

It was time for me to finish too, so I made my way back to the station, and boarded the 14:16 service back to Tonbridge, just ahead of the manic hordes of excited school kids, about to be set free, at the end of another busy, academic week.