Carrying on from the previous post, you left me arriving at
the tiny village of
Salehurst, and about to enter the quaintly named
Salehurst Halt pub. This would be my second visit to the pub, with the last one being
during the summer of
2017. It had been a scorcher, on that occasion, and
despite an evening walk out from
Robertsbridge, it was still stiflingly hot
when my friend
Eric and I arrived at the pub.
The weather conditions were obviously different last Friday,
with a chill northerly wind doing its best to lower temperatures, but there was
no sign of the threatened rain. I was still relieved to reach the sanctuary of
this solid, but unassuming Victorian building, although my next thought was,
would the pub be open? Daft question really, as of course it was, but sometimes
you do get that heart-stopping feeling that, “Due to unforeseen circumstances,
we are unable to open today.”
Relieved at spotting a light inside, I turned the door
handle and stepped inside. The pub seemed to be ticking over nicely, with a mixed
group of patrons, consisting mainly of diners, but also the occasional drinker,
such as me. One hardy individual was sitting there in his hiking gear, with his
OS Map spread out on the table, in anticipation of the next stage of his hike.
He looked like the person I’d spotted earlier, on the train down from
Tonbridge. People watching aside, the
Salehurst Halt describes itself as a
family run, community led, country pub, with a policy of supporting local
producers when sourcing its food and its drink. There is a focus on seasonality
and sustainability, whilst balancing the traditional with the more modern, and a
look on the pub’s website, will confirm this.
The need for a beer was foremost in my mind, and true to the
Halt’s policy, the three cask offerings were indeed all locally sourced.
Arrow
Head, from the nearby
Battle Brewery took my fancy, at first – another new tick
on
Untappd? But standing out on the bar was a pump for
Harvey’s Old, almost
certainly my favourite winter beer, and one that I hadn’t seen a lot of this
season. I was a little bit apprehensive, when the barmaid mentioned pulling some
beer through – it turned out they hadn’t sold any that morning, but I needn’t
have worried, as the beer was pure nectar. Rich, dark, inviting, and satisfying,
in other words hitting the spot in all ways imaginable.
I took my pint, and sat at a convenient empty table, in
sight of the bar, thinking the day couldn’t get much better, even though a
light snack, would put the top hat on things. I ordered a bowl of chunky fries,
skipping the cheese as a nod towards being healthy, and whilst waiting for them
to arrive made a visit to the
Gents, on the pretext of looking around the rest
of the pub. It was very much as I remembered it from that first visit, seven
years ago, although most of the customers, myself included, seemed a little
older.
The main thing is the
Salehurst Halt is still open, and
functioning as a
“proper” pub, an encouraging sign during these times when the
licensed trade is under pressure from all sides. I mentioned last time, how the
pub featured on an episode of
BBC “Country File”, when singer and
actor
David Essex paid the place a visit, because it reminded him of
childhood holidays, hop-picking with his
East-London family. In the
meantime, my chips turned up, and whilst waiting for them to cool slightly, I
ordered another glass of
Old Ale. With the inner man fully satisfied, it was
time to make my way back to
Robertsbridge. This time, the walk was in full
sunshine, although there was still a slight chill in the air.
Arriving back in the village, there was one final pub to visit
prior to catching the train home, and that was the
Ostrich Hotel. Opened in
1851, following the completion of
the railway from
London, the pub’s name is derived from the coat of arms on its
sign, which are those of the lordship of the
Manor of Robertsbridge.
It is a comfortable pub with a large
“L”-shaped bar and separate games room and
restaurant. The walls are adorned with an assortment of paintings, prints and
other pieces from the landlord’s collection, and there are some rather saucy
Edwardian photos in the
Gent’s toilets. With a number of comfortable old
sitting chairs, the place had the feel of a
1920’s sitting room.
Eric and I had really enthused over the pub, on our first
visit, back in
2016, describing it as a good, old-fashioned sort of pub, of the
type both of us remembered with affection from our youth. The landlord had recounted
how he had bought the
Ostrich from the owning brewery, back in the mid
1990’s,
and described the establishment as a
“proper pub”. Apart from the
guvnor and me, there was just two other customers in the pub, but it was
mid-afternoon. I’ve a feeling that the landlord
recognised me, in the way that pub licensees have a knack for remembering faces. It might have just been my imagination, but whatever the case, the
Harvey’s Best was in good form.
It's worth bearing in mind that as well as serving decent,
and keenly priced food, the
Ostrich is also a full-blown hotel, offering two
twin-bedded en-suite rooms and one double room with a private bathroom. Along
with the nearby
George, it makes a good base for exploring the
Rother Valley and
surrounding area. I only stayed for one pint, as three and a bit is ample for
me, especially during the afternoon. I left the pub and walked the short
distance across the road, to the station and the train home.
It was good to discover that little had changed in Robertsbridge
and Salehurst over the past seven years, although this update from local correspondent Dominic,
that appeared on the blog in 2023, sheds a little light on the closed Harvey's pub, a derelict old mill, plus the KESR extension.
"Several tenants held the Seven Stars for relatively short periods
and seemed to find it hard going. It has been closed now ever since .... and
the signage removed. It is deteriorating, and the parish council planning
committee has expressed concern. The chapel next door has sold recently,
thought to be for residential."
"Hodsons Mill, in Northbridge Street remains derelict after
19 years. Planning consent for a major residential and commercial development
remains extant. Rebuilding the railway back to Bodiam and the KESR is going
ahead."
No comments:
Post a Comment