Along the edge of the Forest - Pt. One

The first stop on last Friday’s outing, was the lovely old Crown Inn, overlooking the green in the Kent half of Groombridge. Living where I do, I’m bound to say that the Kentish side is by far the most picturesque and attractive part of the village, especially when one considers the tile- hung Crown along with the adjacent houses overlooking the green. The nearby Groombridge Place, a moated manor house known for its formal gardens and vineyards, is another point of interest. This former tourist attraction is currently closed and awaiting conversion into a boutique hotel and luxury spa.

The Sussex part of Groombridge is a far more recent settlement. The growth of this area was likely due to the arrival of the railway in the late 19^th century. Groombridge Junction was an important part of the rail network in this part of the country but it gradually lost its significance not just because of the infamous Beeching cuts, but also due to a shameful lack of investment by the Thatcher government, some 20 years later. The "Iron Lady", of course, wasn't a fan of the railways, and in 1985 encouraged a cash-strapped British Rail to close the Eridge line in order to save money. Although the savings were minimal, the sale of railway property, especially the  impressive Tunbridge Wells West station, generated substantial revenue for the government, but not for British Rail.

I digress, and the Crown Inn is a pub I became acquainted with right from the start of my time working in Tonbridge, and several years before I actually moved to the town. This was because the company I worked for, operated in the field of water treatment. We had a new piece of kit that the local water company allowed us to have on test, at their Groombridge pumping station. “Just driving over to Groombridge to check on the chart-recorder,” was code for disappearing, during work time, to carry out a quick check of the equipment, a task that was then followed by a pint or two at the Crown Inn.

And why not?  for this splendid old inn has a timeless atmosphere that seems to have changed very little over the years. It reminds me of what pubs were like when I first started drinking back in the early 70’s. Stepping inside, one is greeted by a heavily beamed public room, overseen by a bar counter. A couple of open fireplaces provide welcome warmth during winter, whilst a separate restaurant-cum-dining room leads off to the right and the rear. To the left of the bar, and the fireplace, is what is almost a private or snug bar, adorned with some wonderful old advertising posters. I’m not sure whether they genuine or repro, but they certainly add to the feel of this part of the pub. 

As well as a restaurant the Crown offers accommodation, in four comfortable period rooms. Given the age of the building, I would imagine that the stairs up to the rooms must be both steep and narrow. I was a bit wary myself, when returning from the Gents, as there are some quite steep steps down into the snug. (The same obviously applies to the Ladies as well). So if you have mobility issues the Crown is probably not the pub for you.

When I arrived on Friday, there was a couple sitting out at one of the tables overlooking the green, and with several other bench tables spare, I thought I would join them. Thirst things first, and I popped inside, and ordered a pint of Sussex Best. The other choice was Larkin’s Traditional, a beer that is not there amongst my favourites, as I would much rather see the brewery’s Best Bitter adorning the bar. That’s just me, as the 3.4% Trad is the best-selling beer by far, in the Larkin’s cannon. (Something about it being a low-strength session beer, that you can have a couple of without risking your licence.)

It was very pleasant sitting outside, sunning myself, although soon afterwards, a very thirsty looking rambler appeared, climbing up the hill, with a huge rucksack on his back, complete with a bedding roll and sleeping bag slung underneath. This individual wasn't your average rambler out for a country stroll, instead this was someone who was doing some serious walking. 

He asked if I would keep an eye on his pack while he went inside and ordered himself at pint. “Of course,” I replied and when he returned, I asked him where he was heading for, and where had he come from. It turned out he was following a route of his own choosing, that didn’t take in any of the better-known footpaths, but his route was taking him deeper into Sussex for an overnight stop. Before drinking up and returning my empty glass to the bar, I bid farewell to this intrepid hiker and wished him well on his lengthy journey.

I wandered down the road, and across bridge over the river Grom, which separates the Kent side of Groombridge, from the Sussex side. I didn’t have long to wait until the next 291 bus heading towards East Grinstead, came along. My destination was the village of Hartfield, a large, and well laid out settlement, with a famous literary connection on the one hand, plus a rather tragic ending for a musical legend, on the other. 

I don’t want the rather obvious connection between Winnie the Pooh author A.A. Milne, and Rolling Stones’ guitarist and founder member, Brian Jones, both of whom lived at Cotchford Farm, to the southwest of Hartfield, to overshadow this piece, so I shall leave you to do your own research here. What I will say is that the village pub, formerly known as the Anchor, has recently been transposed into the Bear, picking up on the Winnie the Pooh stories, written by Alan Alexander Milne, during the 1920’s.

I suppose one can’t blame the pub’s owners for cashing in on the Christopher Robin stories, but the Bear seems a strange name for a pub because there aren’t any bears in this part of the world. Come to think of it, the Anchor is also an unusual pub name in an area where there aren’t any ships! That said, apart from the new name, little seems to have changed at this substantial two bar pub, parts of which date from the 14^th century. According to Google, I last visited the Anchor/Bear 10 years ago, although I thought I’d been to the pub since then. As Google doesn't lie, that 2016 visit would have been on an outing by vintage bus, that I undertook, with friends from Maidstone CAMRA branch. On that occasion we enjoyed a pre-booked pub-lunch in the spacious dining area at the rear of the pub.

Last Friday was slightly different, as I sat in the smaller of the pub’s two bars, situated at the front of the pub, and reached from the street by an attractive, colonial-style veranda. This feature is repeated in the building next door which, if you look closely, is a former pub. Known as the Hay Waggon, it was closed, and up for sale, back in 2016, and today, it has become a private residence. 

A very nice-looking residence, mind you, and decked out, like its neighbour, with Union flags, to commemorate the recent VE Day, 80^th anniversary celebrations. The article I wrote at the time, records that many years ago I called in for a drink at the Hay Waggon whilst on a cycle ride through the area. That would have been with the previous Mrs Bailey, but I only have very vague memories of that occasion and am struggling to remember the route we would have taken, as we lived in Maidstone at the time.

Back to the present, and there was a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere in the bar on Friday, with a mixed group of customers, some eating, but most just drinking, like me. The beer range was divided between Harvey’s and Long Man Brewery, with Best Bitter plus Sisters’ Table Beer from the former, plus Long Blonde,  Copper Hop from the latter. I opted for a pint of Copper Hop which, as it says on the pump-clip, is a hoppy, amber ale. The most popular beer though, seemed to be Cruzcampo, the 4.4% abv Spanish lager which for the young and trendy, aka “fickle”, appears to be the new Madri. Brewed in Seville, a city that I would like to visit on my next trip to Spain, and a place where I’m sure the Cruzcampo would taste much better, than in an English village. To be continued...........................................................