Two rural, Harvey's pubs, by train and bus, plus three seldom seen, Harvey's cask ales

It's been quite a while since I last set off on a beer-related, bus trip, the sort of outing that in the past, I've described as a "Pub Friday". With this is mind I was thinking where to go, especially as the weather this particular Friday was set to be unbroken sunshine. But where to go, and looking for inspiration I turned to a list of potential destinations that I'd drawn up, some time last year. I hit upon the last pub on that list, which was the Elephant's Head, in the tiny hamlet (if you can even call it that), of Hook Green, situated on the boundary between Kent and East Sussex.

The reason I chose that particular establishment was, it had been mentioned on the local WhatsApp Beer Chat Group, that I'm a member of. From memory, I knew that the Autocar 256 bus service, ran through Hook Green, as part of its route between Tunbridge Wells and Wadhurst, and I also knew there was a stop, more or less opposite the pub. 

So, with times pencilled in, I was then struck by the thought that if I took the train from Tunbridge Wells, to Frant, I could leave the rails close to the station, and switch to the road, for the final few miles of the journey. That particular plan did involve a 40 minute wait at nearby Bells Yew Green, just up the road from Frant station, but as luck would have it, services on that line were running late, which cut the waiting time at BYG, down to a much less arduous 15 minutes. 

The return journey worked out even better, as after taking the 13:45 bus from Hook Green, I could call in at the Brecknock Arms, prior to catching a train from Frant, straight through to my home in Tonbridge. These connections worked out well, even though the 256 bus was running 10-15 minutes late, in both directions, but that's buses for you! I'd used the service, several years ago, again for a visit to the Elephant's Head, and the day seemed very similar, even though the timing of this particular visit was a little later in the year.

Upon reaching the pub, I sat outside in the garden, enjoying the welcome sunshine, whilst waiting for the place to open, which it did, just before the stroke of midday. I held back for a couple of minutes, to allow the small group of drinkers who'd arrived by car, to get their beer orders in first. Call me sceptical, but I'm always slightly wary of that first pint out of the beer lines. As it happened, it wasn't a problem, although I'm fairly certain that those initial punters weren't drinking Armada, which was my first drink of choice. There was quite a line up from the Harvey's stable, on the bar with Old Ale, Porter, and Pell's Pale completing the line-up, but interestingly, no Sussex Best - unless that was available from the bank of pumps, in the other bar.

The Armada was in fine form, but before heading off to find a table, the landlady uttered the immortal words, "Will you be dining with us, today?" There was a reason for her question, as the pub was hosting a wake, for some, dearly departed soul, and whilst the event would be taking place in the conservatory, behind the pub, the kitchen was likely to be busy. Full marks, therefore, for her question. I opted for what I thought would be a relatively light lunch, but when my sausage and fried egg sandwich arrived, it turned out to a feast worthy of the most voracious of trenchermen. 

The photo saves a lengthy explanation, but I struggled to finish this gargantuan sandwich. (Note to kitchen, at Elephant's Head, one fried egg would have been ample, but two was just too much. The salad garnish, smothering half of the plate, was also excessive, whilst the doorstep slices of bread were much too dense, for my liking). The landlady mentioned that the pub baked its own bread, so I suspect my slices were taken from a loaf that was only partially baked, but full marks for trying, and apologies for coming across as a grumpy, old git.  

It wasn't long before the pub started filling up, and not all the arrivals were attending the wake. There seemed a good mix of customers, and whilst most seemed of retirement age, there were several who were obviously younger. Apart from me though, all had arrived by car. There are very few chimney pots in the vicinity, and only those who are tired of living would be foolhardy enough, to walk along the B2169 running between Bells Yew Green and Lamberhurst, where the notorious "Bayham Straight" acts as a magnet for every wannabe boy racer, in the area.

After my ginormous sandwich, another pint was called for, and this time the seasonal Porter was my drink of choice. As with the Armada, this full bodied, dark beer was also in good condition. There was just time for me to finish it, settle my tab, and then head along to the nearby bus stop. I arrived a good 10 minutes early, as I didn't want to be stranded at Hook Green, or even have to contemplate walking along the aforementioned Bayham Straight. Me being early, meant of course that the bus was late, and almost 15 minutes behind schedule, but the fact that it arrived was the main thing, and also there were no time constraints as far as the next pub was concerned. The pub in question was the well-known Brecknock Arms, situated just off the crossroads in Bells Yew Green, and just 5 minutes walk away, from Frant station. 

I've been using the Brecknock, on and off for the past forty plus years. It's convenient and easy to get to, being just three stops away, by train, from Tonbridge. It's a neat, and quite compact pub that has belonged to Harvey's, ever since I've known the place. There's been a few, relatively minor, internal changes, one of which was removing the partition wall between Public and Saloon bars, but this was a little haphazard, as all it did was to enlarge the former, whilst leaving the latter relatively unscathed. There's been a succession of different landlords as well, some obviously better than others. The jury is out on the current incumbent, primarily because I haven't made many visits to the Brecknock recently, and I have to say the pub seemed rather quiet when I called in, just before 2pm last Friday.

As with the Elephant's Head there was an interesting selection of Harvey's beers on the bar, including their relatively scarce, Dark Mild. The landlady pulled me off a pint, it tasted fine, so wishing to take advantage of the fine weather, I made my way through what used to be the Saloon bar, and out into the spacious and well-laid out garden at the rear of the pub. On my way through, I passed what I took to be the licensees family, all female, and with talk of babies it was a gentle reminder of a new arrival, on Eileen's side of the family. I was the sole occupant of the garden, but when I popped back inside, to return my empty glass, and use the facilities there was another customer (a mature male), in the bar chatting to the landlady about one of the live acts, due to appear soon, at the Brecknock.

There was a 20 minute wait for the London bound train, although with the sun shining it was pleasant sitting on a bench, waiting for the service to arrive. I'd mis-timed my journey to coincide with school chucking out, but the students (that's what you're supposed to call them these days), were well behaved, albeit a little noisy. Crossing the road outside Tonbridge station, and dodging the tidal wave of school kids, heading in the opposite direction, whilst thinking that the 219 bus, up to Bailey Towers must be due any moment, actually worked out well. The bus was running late (no surprises there), but again this worked in my favour, and I was dropped off at the top of my road. So, a successful "Pub Friday" outing which allowed me to spend time in two classic, but very different, Harvey's tied houses.