A lie-in, throws my meticulously laid plans into disarray

Good evening. After an absence of several weeks, the day before yesterday marked the return of Pub Friday. It had been a considerable time since my last bus trip, although I did take the train to Marden last Friday in a further attempt to revisit the two pubs that were closed on my Easter Monday visit. 

That trip was only partially successful, as disclosed in the previous article.  Currently, it is an “all-hands-on-deck” situation as Mrs. PBTS and I prepare for our two-week, British Isles cruise which commences on Sunday week. Additionally, we are faced with the task of clearing out 30 years of accumulated “items” from our kitchen, in order to make way for the installation of a new kitchen by the fitters we have engaged. The kitchen will be installed whilst we are away, allowing the craftsmen uninhibited access to the work area, without us getting in the way.

It is truly remarkable how much clutter can accumulate over the years. With numerous drawers and cupboards, the temptation often arises to store items rather than discard them, thinking they might be useful someday. While this may be my wife's rationale, I must admit that I am likely guilty of this habit as well. We made reasonable progress, and I was planning to continue the work, until my wife announced she had a VAT return to complete, on behalf of one of her builder clients. She mentioned that she could work best if I went out, allowing her some peace and quiet. I was more than happy to accommodate her request, but where should I go?

In my free time, I have been trying to visit as many Heritage Pubs listed by CAMRA as possible. This isn’t a “time-bound” project, but much more of an open-ended “as and when” type of exercise However, I have already visited most of the ones within easy travelling distance, those located farther afield, require a lot more forward planning and attention, in order to tick them off the list. I have considered spending a couple of days in Brighton, where there are about six heritage pubs., but there are also other “hot spots” such as Canterbury, Faversham and Thanet. These destinations involve a fair amount of travel time, hence the idea of a few overnight stops, or the occasional, long weekend.

One suggestion, a little closer to home, and perhaps more accessible (incorrect, as it happened), was the tiny maritime settlement of Upnor, a place that is nothing more than a hamlet, situated on an inlet off the Medway estuary, to the northwest of Chatham, and on the opposite bank of the river. It’s a place I've visited before, although the last time I set foot there, must have been 30 years or more ago. Upnor is graced by a charming little pub called the Tudor Rose sited at the top of a hill which leads down to the river. The pub was free house when I first knew it, although today it belongs to Shepherd Neame and, as referenced earlier, is on CAMRA’s Heritage Pub website.

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ClemRutter

Also on the site, is the village’s second pub, the King's Arms, which is a little further in land. So, the opportunity to tick off a couple of national inventory, heritage pubs seemed too good to miss, but how to get there using public transport, was the issue stopping me. Taking the train to Strood, was the obvious answer, as an hourly service operates between the Medway towns and Paddock Wood, but the fly in the ointment, proved to be the infrequent bus service between Strood and Upnor. Running at two hourly intervals, and at the most inconvenient of times – no joined-up thinking when it came to connecting with local rail services, I quickly dropped that idea. There was the option of a two-mile walk from Strood station, but I am not a huge fan of walking through urban areas, or of post-industrial blight.

Another day, perhaps, but not on a bright and sunny spring day, when I could be enjoying the splendour of the beautiful Kent and Sussex countryside, rather than trudging through a series of soulless industrial estates. This was where the idea of repeating a bus journey along the B 2110, in the direction of East Grinstead, re-surfaced.  The aforementioned road skirts the northern edge of Ashdown Forest, and on is way west passes through a number of delightful and picturesque Wealden settlements. Groombridge, Withyham, Hartfield, Colemans Hatch and Forest Row are the principal places along this road, although on this occasion Coleman’s Hatch would represent my most westerly point. It was exactly the same, just over three years ago, when I used the 291 Metrobus, which runs hourly, in both directions, between Tunbridge Wells & East Grinstead.

It was a similar sunny day back in March 2022, and I had every intention of not just using the same route, but of following the same line of attack. For this plan to work, and to take full advantage of the time intervals between buses, it is necessary to take the 10:52 bus from Tunbridge Wells RVP, which will drop you at 11:23 opposite Holy Trinity church, at Coleman’s Hatch. 

From there it is a 10-minute, uphill walk towards the boundaries of the forest, and the lovely old Hatch Inn, an establishment which despite describing itself as a gastropub, still functions as a proper, atmospheric, country inn. Dating from 1430, as evidenced by its low ceilings and numerous old beams, the Hatch Inn has the advantage of opening early, at 11:30am. This allows time for a leisurely first pint of the day, before heading back down to the church, and the 12:02 Metrobus, service back towards Tunbridge Wells.

That’s the theory, but things didn’t quite go to plan on Friday, because I overslept, and didn’t get to Tunbridge Wells until 20 minutes after the departure of the 10:52 service. It’s my own fault for not setting the alarm clock, although in mitigation this oversight was out of respect to Mrs PBT’s, who is grumpiness personified, first thing in the morning. I was convinced that I would wake up in time, but sadly I didn’t, and despite rushing to get ready, left the house with no chance of catching a connecting bus over to Tunbridge Wells.

That unintended lie-in, had the potential of de-railing my carefully worked out, plan of attack, as it would only allow 20 minutes to walk up to the Hatch Inn, gulp down a pint, before rushing back, admittedly downhill, to take a bus going back towards Tunbridge Wells. That was why that first bus, plus the 11:30 opening with its extra 30 minutes wiggle room, were the keys to the success of the entire day’s beer sampling. When you’ve screwed up, and it’s your own fault, there’s not much you can do, except admit you were wrong, and then put Plan B into action. Before doing this I dived into the Opera House (T. Wells, JDW) for a consolation flat white, along with the chance to observe the mid-morning trade at this flagship Wetherspoon’s outlet.

I then boarded the 11:52 bus, and alighted at Groombridge, a village that I’d originally intended as the final destination on the tour. There was a valid reason for this, because the Crown Inn, a lovely old pub that overlooks the village green, keeps old fashioned hours, and closes between 3pm and 5pm. In order to do justice to the Crown, as well as the other three pubs I visited that afternoon, you can read my experiences of all of them in the next post, which I’m sure you will find interesting.