Don't just drive on by

Have you ever driven past a pub and wanted to stop there but didn’t, because the timing wasn’t right, you were on your way somewhere else, or stopping there would have interfered with your itinerary? What if you’d driven past that pub on a more or less weekly basis?  Wouldn’t it start gnawing at your brain, after a while, and wouldn’t you just feel compelled to make time and pull over, in order to check the place out?

The pub might turn out to be an absolute duffer or, a real gem. Most likely it would be something in between. At least once you’ve checked it out you would know whether you were right in just driving by, or perhaps you’d missed an absolute corker of a place.

There’s a pub on the A25, at a place called Bessels Green; a settlement on the north-western edge of Sevenoaks, which has largely been absorbed by the town. It would be rather generous to describe Bessels Green as a village, but it does have a couple of 18^th Century churches/meeting houses, an attractive village green, plus a rather nice looking pub.

The King's Head overlooks the green, and faces across to a row of brightly coloured, painted cottages on the opposite side. This combination of village green, cottages, posh house plus pub, forms a picturesque backdrop to traffic passing through on the busy A25. Before the M25 was constructed, the A25 was a major east-west artery for traffic wishing to avoid London, whilst travelling across southern England.

I remember having to use that route myself, when I lived in Maidstone, whilst on secondment to a company based in Hounslow. The noise, congestion and the pollution, especially from the lorries that used the route, must have been horrendous, so I imagine inhabitants of the towns and villages along the way must have breathed a huge sigh of relief when the southern section of the M25 finally opened.

The King’s Head is just the type of pub I was referring to earlier, and since Mrs PBT’s and I switched our weekly supermarket shop from ASDA to Tesco, we have driven past it most weeks. I’ve commented before that we ought to stop off there, if only for a coffee, but somehow the time’s never been quite right.

All that changed at the weekend, when son Matthew and I called in; not just once though, but twice! Allow me to explain, it’s become something of a tradition for Matthew to treat his old mum and dad to a few Christmas goodies. By this I mean a contribution to the Christmas feast over-indulgence. So father and son head off to the large Tesco store at Riverhead – just the other side of Sevenoaks, and stock up on items such as a cheese selection, Christmas pudding (I never feel like eating it on Christmas day), brandy sauce/butter, various types of stuffing and the eponymous “pigs in blankets, ” where did that piece of marketing originate?

We’d planned to go last Tuesday, but for some reason decided to postpone our trip until the Friday. Mrs PBT’s was going out that evening, for a meal with members of her ante-natal group, so Matthew and I decided we could pick up the Christmas goodies, and then stop off for something to eat on the way home. He was working late that evening, so I picked him up just after 7pm, and we drove over to Tesco at Riverhead to purchase what he deemed necessary for our festive feast. I also took the opportunity of picking up a few last minute Christmas gifts.

The next question was, where should we eat? Matthew’s idea had been to drive back along the A21 towards High Brooms, where we could grab something cheap and cheerful at the Robin Hood – the local Hungry Horse outlet. I wasn’t so keen on this, for a number of reasons and it was whilst walking up and down the aisles in Tesco that I hit on the idea of stopping off just up the road in Bessel’s Green, and calling in at the King’s Head.

I knew the food offering would be good as the pub is owned and run by the same small chain as the Little Brown Jug in Chiddingstone Causeway; the village where I work. Whiting & Hammond own eight pubs spread across West Kent and East Sussex, all run with a degree of autonomy, whilst benefiting from corporate purchasing power. You can read more about the company here, but if I tell you that Brian Whiting was formerly a director at the larger, and better known pub company - Brunning & Price, you will know the type of pub we were talking about.

We headed south and then due west out of Sevenoaks, before turning of the A25 and pulling up outside the King’s Head. We were struck by the warm ambience as we entered, with a log fire blazing away to our right, and the bar straight in front of us. I don’t know the history of the pub, but I do know that it underwent a major refurbishment in the Spring of 2014.

My first question to the barman was were they still serving food? Fortunately they were, so the next decision was what drinks to go for. With a choice of Taylor’s Landlord, St Austell Proper Job and Tonbridge Countryman, I went for the Proper Job; just a half mind you. It was getting close to Christmas, I was driving and there would be plenty of idiots on the road.

The barman said to choose a table and he’d bring our drinks over and take our food order. Before sitting down we had a brief look around this multi-roomed, slightly upmarket local. There are a variety of candle-lit tables of different sizes and styles, partitioned by a couple of exposed brick fireplaces. The small and cosy bar area seemed well patronised that Friday, with a group of drinkers standing and chatting at the bar.

The time was getting on towards 9pm, and by then any hunger pangs I might have had, had vanished. I opted for the “Ultimate homemade fishcake,” which consisted of smoked salmon and haddock, combined with potato and topped with a poached egg. It was served on a substantial bed of spinach. Matthew went for a more traditional offering in the shape of the homemade “Gourmet burger,” served with skinny fries. Both were just what we required at that moment in time.

The barman told us the pub had been rammed that afternoon, catering for various groups of diners, all getting stuck into their turkey dinners. Like its sister pub, the Brown Jug, the King’s Head must cater for local companies and their staff Christmas dinner.

It was pleasantly relaxed on Friday evening though, and like with the Jug, it was good to see local people who’d obviously walked to the pub, accompanied by their dogs. Matthew and I found ourselves back at the King’s Head on Sunday morning. 

We’d originally intended to drive over to Chiddingstone Causeway for a leisurely breakfast; either at the village hall, or at the Little Brown Jug, but after experiencing flooded roads on my drive into work on Friday, and further torrential rain on Saturday, we decided to try somewhere else.

We knew that the LBJ offers a good breakfast, so we surmised that the King’s Head would do the same. It did, but only offered fried eggs, rather than the fried or scrambled option available at the Jug. I could also have done with an additional round of toast. Apart from that the full English was fine, especially as we were provided with a nice large pot filled with plenty of tea.

So after driving past all those years, and wanting to stop off for further investigation, I found myself making two visits in the space of just three days. The barman even remembered us from Friday night! The main thing about the King’s Head though is that despite the obvious food trade, the pub still caters for the casual drinker; both local as well as from further afield.