West Kent by bus

Last Friday I joined nine another beer lovers on a bus trip out to a couple of locations to the west of Tunbridge Wells. The trip was organised by West Kent CAMRA, and whilst I am no longer a member of this leading consumer group, I still keep in touch with what the local branch are up to. As with previous bus trips, the objective was to spend a bit of time at some pubs that the branch, as a whole, doesn't often get the chance to visit. The journey was made using normal service buses, and this time around participants who were not old enough to qualify a free bus pass, were able to take advantage of the capped £2.00 fare scheme, which runs to the end of March.

Our first destination was the attractive village of Penshurst, in order to enjoy a few pints at the historic Leicester Arms Hotel, in the centre of the village, before moving on to the small West Kent town of Edenbridge. If time allowed, we would have the opportunity to visit the three pubs in the town centre, before taking the bus, or the train home.

For the bus geeks amongst us, we travelled out from Tunbridge Wells to Penshurst, on the 231 Metro Bus service, and after spending time at the Leicester Arms, transferred to the 233 service to Edenbridge. With an 11:39 departure time from T. Wells, I had plenty of time to make my way over from Tonbridge, also by bus, visit the building society, and grab a coffee, before joining my fellow travellers. There were eight of us in total, although a couple of hardy individuals walked over from Tonbridge and met us at the Leicester Arms.

Our contingent of beer enthusiasts, accounted for the majority of passengers on the bus, as it followed the route out through Langton Green, before turning off towards the hilltop village of Fordcombe. The latter settlement is home to the Chafford Arms, an imposing pub which none of us appear to have visited for several years. In my case, it’s been over 10 years since I last set foot in the Chafford, although I did attempt a visit whilst passing through on a Sunday lunchtime, last summer, only to find both the car park, and the road leading to the pub, bursting at the seams, with parked vehicles.

A lengthy hill, that is both steep and winding, leads out of Fordcombe, down towards the river Medway, which it crosses via an old stone bridge. The road then heads back up across the other side of the valley, across a ridge, before dropping back down into Penshurst. We arrived just after midday; the sun was shining, and it was it was pleasantly warm, so with 95 minutes to spend in the village, the tour leader suggested we take a look at the group of historic houses, just across the road from the Leicester Arms, and virtually next to the village church.

According to our “guide,” these attractive looking properties, which are centred around a small square, form the original Leicester Square. The name originates from the Sidney Family, who held the title of Earl of Leicester between 1618 and 1743. They were prominent landowners in both Kent and central London and gave their name to both squares. The family still own, and live in, the nearby Penshurst Place, an impressive, late 14^th Century, fortified manor house, which is situated just a short hop away from the village centre. You can learn more about the connection between the two Leicester Squares, by clicking on the link here.

Returning to the pub, the Leicester Arms Hotel, is a fine looking, ivy-covered building, dating back to the 16^th Century,  and is just a short hop from the gates of the aforementioned Penshurst Place, right in the centre of the village. It offers 13 well-equipped ensuite bedrooms, a restaurant, and a function room, but happily the front, right hand side of the building still functions as a proper pub. It features a bar, which is open all day, offering a warm welcome to locals and visitors alike. I can personally vouch for the bar, as I have been known to call in, from time to time, on my way home from work.

It was the pub part of the building that we all gravitated to once we’d finished the “cultural bit”, and whilst we weren’t the first customers in the pub, we came a close second. There were three cask ales on sale, Larkin’s Traditional, Harvey’s Best and Brakspear’s Oxford Gold. Several of us, including me, went for the latter, as I knew from previous visits, that this Brakspear’s beer is usually in good condition. My companions reported the same for the Larkin’s and the Harvey’s. We hadn’t been in the pub long, before our two intrepid walkers arrived, along with another member who lives in nearby Leigh.

I took the time to explore the pub a bit further, and headed for the rear of the building where the restaurant is situated. A quarter of a century ago, the Tonbridge-based company I was working for at the time, held its annual Christmas meal at the Leicester Arms, so it was interesting seeing the room in daylight. There was a nice atmosphere in the bar that day, with a good sprinkling of customers, some of them accompanied by their dogs. Being a rural pub, many customers had brought their canine companions with them, and with its bare wooden floors, muddy paws, as well as boots, do no present a problem.

Shortly before 1.30pm, it was time for us to hand over our empty glasses, leave the pub and walk across the road to the bus stop, to catch our next bus, the 233 Metro Bus service to Edenbridge. Once again, our party constituted the majority of the passengers, but there were still plenty of seats for us to sit down and enjoy a pleasant journey through the Kent countryside, to Edenbridge. We came in at the top (northern) end of the town, passing several pubs as we carried on down the High Street.

We would potentially be visiting two of them later on, but for the meantime we were focussed on the Old Eden, a 16^th Century pub, situated next to the river Eden. We’d decided that the Eden would be our best option for something to eat, but we were still cutting it a bit fine with our 2pm arrival time. The website states that the kitchen is open until 3pm, but with eight out of ten of us wanting feeding, it potentially represented a tall order for the catering staff.

We were OK, although it was only after the barmaid checked with the kitchen that our request for food was met. Even then there was no fish and no pies left on the menu. I went for the old pub standby of sausage and mash, with peas and onion gravy, an option that several of my companions, also went with. The bar staff suggested that we sat upstairs, where there is a semi-open, mezzanine-type area, set amongst the roof space. At least one of the taller members of the party came a cropper whilst walking under one of the low cross-members.

Beer wise, the choice was Adnam’s Ghost Ship or Harvey’s Best. I started with the former because, whilst I am not a massive fan of Adnam’s best selling beer brand, it was a long time since I last sampled it in cask form. It was alright, but if I’m brutally honest, I prefer the company’s older, and more traditional brews, such as Southwold or Broadside. The fact that I switched to Harvey’s for my second pint, says it all, really.

 It's a long time since I last visited the Old Eden, but the pub seemed to be doing alright. There was a group of lads, downstairs, playing pool, whilst at the other end of the bar, there were the proverbial, “ladies that lunch”. I suspect they had polished off the fish, and they must certainly have eaten all the pies, but as with the Leicester Arms, it was good to see the place buzzing.  After our meal it was time to move on, and on the way out I apologised to the bar staff for us turning up, “mob-handed” without any notice.

They seemed OK about it, although I suspect they would have preferred us booking in advance. I discussed this afterwards with the trip organisers, but their point was that due to the turn-up and go nature of these bus trips, it is difficult to gauge prior demand for food. The last thing they wanted, was to advise a pub that 10 people would be coming, and then only half that number actually turn up on the day. The situation is different to what occurs with a booked and paid for in advance mini-bus trip, which basically means there is no hard and fast answer.

So where to next? The choice was either the Ye Olde Crown – another traditional, town pub, dating back to the 16^th Century, or the Secret Cask – a shop-conversion, micropub. From it website, the Crown looks very comfortable and cosy, but the consensus seemed to be to go for the micro, because of its enhanced beer range. Having visited the Crown previously, I fell into the micropub camp, although had time allowed, I would have gone to the traditional pub as well. A couple from our group did pop along, as an advanced party, and reported that Ghost Ship (again!) and Whitstable Bay were the cask offerings.

The Secret Cask it was then, it is Edenbridge's first micropub, and occupies the premises of a former florist's shop. The pub opened in August 2018, and internally there are two rooms. Some might describe them as cosy, whilst others might say they were cramped, but to tempt the drinker there is a changing selection of four cask beers (regional from Kent, Sussex, Surrey, London) served by gravity from a small bar, alongside four craft beers on keg. I made the mistake of inadvertently opting for one of the latter – AM:PM from Thornbridge.

Described as a sessionable beer with all the flavours and body of an IPA, the beer was too cold and too gassy for my liking. I should have paid attention when ordering, but the temperature and the gassiness worked in my favour, as they served to slow down my rate of drinking. There’s not much more I can say about the Secret Cask, apart from moaning about the inadequate, unisex toilet facilities that seem a compulsory feature of most micropubs. Also, apart from our group, there were only two other drinkers in the place, and they soon left. We were quite raucous at times, so I imagine that we might have put off any drinker who just fancied a quiet pint, and a bit of solitude.

For the majority of the party, it was time to depart and wait for the 233 bus back to Tunbridge Wells. This made little sense for the Tonbridge contingent, so myself plus the two walkers decided to take the train instead. This gave us an extra half hour in at the Secret Cask. It was quite a hike from the pub, up to the top station – a route I was familiar with from when I was walking the North Downs Way. Nick and Chris live in the same road as me, so we know each other well, and when we arrived back in Tonbridge, called in for a quick nightcap at the Nelson Arms (Kent Brewery Old Ale), before walking back home together, to our respective houses.

 

Just hopped into the Hopbine

Yesterday witnessed the return of the bus outing's organised by my local CAMRA branch, on behalf of members and friends. I now fall into the latter category, but was glad to turn join the trip, which included a visit to the historic Leicester Arms at Penshurst, followed by checking out a couple of pubs in the small West Kent town of Edenbridge. A full report about the trip will follow in due course, but for the time being I want to mention an old favourite, which I visited last weekend.

The pub in question is the Hopbine Inn at Petteridge, a small settlement six miles to the east of Tunbridge Wells. I popped in briefly, last Sunday lunchtime, with son Matthew, after enjoying a cooked breakfast at Chiddingstone Causeway village hall, followed by running a few errands on behalf of Mrs PBT’s. I hadn't been to the Hopbine since before the pandemic, so as we were in the area, I decided it was time to put that right.

Sunday lunchtime was probably not the best time for our visit, because as we discovered the Hopbine was packed out by diners enjoying the pub’s popular Sunday roast, and whilst we didn't have any trouble getting served at the bar, looking around it there didn't seem to be anywhere for us to sit down. We had noticed a several small groups of drinkers sitting outside, as we walked along from the car park, so that should have served as a warning, but as the weather seemed reasonable, I suggested to Matthew that we should join them,

I knew from previous visits that there was a covered terraced area, set at a lower level to the rear of the pub, so after ordering our drinks, that is where we headed. There was a choice of three beers – Traditional, from Tonbridge Brewery, a house beer brewed by Cellar Head, plus local favourite Harvey's Sussex Best. I opted for the latter, whilst Matthew went for a pint of Hofmeister.  

We had the rear terrace to ourselves, probably because unlike the front of the pub, the area was partially in the shade, so whilst the weather initially seemed OK, it soon felt a little cold. Sitting on metal chairs, without their normal padded cushions, didn’t help either, but as we both had coats on, we stuck it out – for one pint, that is!

I've known the Hopbine on and off, for many years, back to the days when it belonged to the much-missed Horsham brewers, King & Barnes, through it's later ownership by Hall & Woodhouse. Often known as Badger, the latter company took control of King & Barnes when they got into financial difficulty. This new relationship didn’t last too long, as a pub in Kent that was just about serviceable from a brewery based in West Sussex, was a whole different ballgame for a company like Badger, who are based in the heart of Dorset. Running a pub that distance away from the brewery, wasn’t economically viable, so the Hopbine was sold on, and now functions as a free house.

Several years ago, the Hopbine seemed under the threat of closure, but a change of owners has breathed new life into the pub and turned the business around. Now, following the end of COVID, the Hopbine seems to be doing quite nicely, as Matthew and I found out. We didn't stay for another pint, particularly as I was driving, but it was good to see pub in a rural and relatively isolated situation, still managing to attract customers.

For the record, the majority of my visits to the Hopbine, have been on foot, either walking, across country from Paddock Wood rail station, or by taking the 297 Tunbridge Wells – Tenterden bus, and alighting at the stop between Matfield and Brenchley. From there, it is a short, 10-minute walk along Petteridge Lane, to the Hopbine Inn which is situated at the top of a hill on the edge of this small settlement.

 

 

Re-capturing a moment from the past

Back in the early 1970s when the Campaign for Real Ale was  founded, there were just four pubs remaining in the country that brewed their own beer. This might seem strange to today's drinkers, as pubs with a brewery attached are not uncommon, although perhaps they are less common than they might have been 10 to 20 years ago. On the other hand, it would have seemed strange to drinkers from earlier in the 20^th Century, and certainly before the First World War, that the number of pubs brewing their own beer could have declined, to the extent that they have, since those times.

The copyright on this image is owned by Chris Gunns and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Building on research, previously carried out by pioneering beer enthusiast Frank Baillie, CAMRA were able to list details of the four remaining brew-pubs. Three of the four majority were in the Midlands, an area where there was something of a tradition where the pub licensee brewed his or her own ale. That tradition seemed much slower to die out in that region, than it did in the rest of the country - much to the beer delight of the beer connoisseur. 

For those not old enough to remember those early days of CAMRA, the four brew pubs were, the All Nations Inn, at Madeley Shropshire, The Old Swan Brewery at Netherton, at Dudley known locally, as "Ma Pardoes," the Three Tuns Inn, at Bishops Castle, Shropshire and finally the Blue Anchor at Helston, Cornwall. I've only been to two of these established, both around the same time, and both in the company of the same friend from university.

The first of these brewpubs was the legendary Blue Anchor, which we visited, whilst holidaying in Cornwall. The other was the Three Tuns, and it's the latter pub, or rather the beer brewed there, that I want to write about. It's more than 40 years since that visit to the Three Tuns, but the pub, and the location were such special places, that they stuck in my mind. Unfortunately, Bishop’s Castle is in a rather tucked out of the way location, in the south west of Shropshire, and not far from the Welsh border.

The town of Bishops Castle is a sleepy little place, but the drive that my friend Chris undertook from his parent’s home in Rugeley, Staffs, is something of legend. There were three of us crammed into the car that afternoon, and whilst I can't remember how long the journey took it was quite tedious. This was before the M54 motorway was completed, so much of the journey was on slow-moving A5 trunk-road. Looking at the map, we would have turned off the latter at Shrewsbury, and headed south-west on the A488. It doesn’t look the most direct of roads, as it has to skirt around various areas of high ground, including the famous Stiperstones Ridge.

We eventually arrived in Bishops Castle shortly before opening time, and found our way to the Three Tuns Inn. From memory.  the pubs seemed quite basic, but that only added to its appeal. The home-brewed beer was something else, with the XXX Bitter a real stand out pint. There was also a mild available, which I tried, but it wasn’t a patch on the bitter. We had a good look around the pub with its various rooms, and also went outside for a look at the exterior of the impressive brewery. This is a traditional tower brewery, but almost in miniature, although it still extend upwards for three floors. It was a memorable evening, and it's always been in the back of my mind as a pub I'd like to return to. Fortune and fate conspired against me, although if I'd been dedicated enough, I’m sure I could have made a return visit, it would have taken some organising.

That was my first, and also last experience of XXX Bitter until 40 years later, when I saw it on sale at the 2019 CAMRA Great British Beer Festival. Then, just three month’s a later, whilst attending my first “Proper Day Out,” with members of the Beer and Pubs Forum, I came across XXX again, in the unlikely location of Shifnal. This was a town I'd never heard of, but had been chosen by the forum, due to its selection of different pubs, offering a wide variety of interesting beers. In the last pub of the day, when it was almost time to catch the train home, we notices, standing proud on the bar, a hand-pump offering Three Tuns XXX. Despite the surfeit of ale, I’d already consumed, I had to have a pint, and I’m glad that I did, because as with pint at GBBF, the Shifnal pint was equally good and brought back pleasant memories of that trip to Bishop’s Castle.

Fast forward to the beginning of last week, when looking through the beer list for the forthcoming Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club Beer Festival I noticed it included three beers all from the Three Tuns – XXX, Solstice and Cleric’s Cure. This seemed too good an opportunity to miss, and any reservations about attending beer festivals went out the window. I subsequently made plans to attend the Friday evening session and arrived at the clubhouse shortly after 7:00 pm. I was pleasantly surprised to find the place relatively uncrowded, unlike previous years when the event had been standing room only. This time around, there were several free tables, and numerous spare chairs.

Despite the lack of punters, there was a good turnout of friends, many of whom are CAMRA members, with representation from both West Kent and Maidstone branches. There were also several neighbours from our street. I stopped to exchange at few pleasantries before heading to the bar, and then I was straight in on the Three Tuns XXX and a pint of it too, for good measure! The beer was pale in colour, very well-conditioned, and with an attractive natural head.  I raised it to my lips took a mouthful and it was pure nectar. It's no exaggeration to say it's one of the best beers I've drunk for a long time but finding such a good beer at the start of the festival, meant the bar been set very high and anything else was going to struggle to come near it.

The 3.9% Solstice made a valiant attempt, as did the 5.0% Cleric’s Cure and I must say the latter beer tasted like a stronger version of the XXX.  I don’t believe that either of these two beers were brewed, back in 1976, so they must be more recent additions to the range, but whatever their history, acquiring these two beers was quite a scoop for the festival organisers. Chatting to one of them later on, it transpired that Three Tuns beers are available from one of the agencies which the club uses, so knowing their pedigree, they were a natural choice for the festival.

Despite my reservations about festivals, I enjoyed this one, and not just because of the choice of ales. It was a chance to catch up with people, some of whom I hadn't seen for a long time, and with attendance being lower than in previous years, there was less overall noise in the clubhouse, as well. Several of us, who are a certain age, commented on this, as with its barn-like interior, and lots of hard surfaces, sound tends to reverberate around the building, making it difficult to pick up on what was being said and conversations in general.

The reason for the decline in numbers may have been due to the strike, called by train drivers that Friday, although having said that, it didn’t deter CAMRA members travelling over by bus, from both Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone. The other thing that was quite noticeable, and commented on by several people, was the festival attendees were almost exclusively male, and aged 50 or over. I did find this surprising, as normally there's a fair number of ladies there as well. Who knows what the reasons were, but the organisers were expecting a bit much larger turn out Saturday, when several of the games from the Six Nations Rugby Championship were due to be shown in the clubhouse.

Renewing my acquaintance with the Three Tuns beers has made me even more determined to pay a return visit to the pub where they are brewed. Any visit would involve an overnight stay, either in the town of Bishops Castle, or somewhere within easy travelling distance of the settlement, but that only adds to the attraction. It would almost certainly involve driving, as whilst it may be possible to visit Bishops Castle by public transport, it would take some doing. Until such time, I shall continue to look out for Three Tuns beers on my travels around the UK.