Ticket to ride?

There’s some good news for all of us who enjoy travelling by bus, especially when there’s a pub visit or two involved, along the way. This comes after a government announcement that the £2 fare cap on most local buses, will be extended until the end of October. It will then continue for a further 13 months at £2.50 for a single journey. The package came as subsidies for local bus services was increased by another £500m. It will also help ease fears about a further decline in local services.

Bus operators, who had warned that up to 15% of routes could be lost when existing funding was due to run out at the end of June, welcomed the news but said it would not be enough to save every service. Covid recovery grants, a subsidy to address the continued shortfall in passenger numbers, were also set to expire next month. The fare cap scheme, which is supported by the biggest operators, will cost about £200m, while the government will also commit another £300m in funding for bus services until 2025.

The Department for Transport said the move, which was brought in as a temporary measure last year to boost the numbers of people using buses, would help support people with the cost of living and ensure stability in the sector. The Confederation of Passenger Transport, representing bus operators, said the two-year funding settlement recognised the value of buses. Its chief executive, Graham Vidler, said: “It will enable bus operators and local authorities to plan, promote and grow services with greater confidence.”

“However, the combination of the funding settlement and the £2 fare cap extension will not save every service in every part of the country. Operators and local authorities will now work together to study the detail of the government’s proposals and ensure that the funding is used to safeguard the best possible network for local passengers.”

So, as I said at the start of the article, this is welcome news for those who prefer to be driven to the pub, rather than getting behind the wheel ourselves – something that is not sociably responsible, and which could leave us open to breaking the law, or even causing a serious RTA (Road Traffic Accident). But whilst potentially providing a welcome boost to the beleaguered pub trade during the hours of daylight, it is of little use in rural areas, where most bus services cease operating once it gets dark.

The price cap makes little difference to me, as I already have my OAP Concessionary Travel Pass, which allows me to travel free after 9.30am weekdays, and anytime weekends and Bank Holidays. I guess that many amongst CAMRA’s aging membership are in the same boat, so it’s encouraging to see the campaign throwing its weight behind the scheme, but it is not the universal panacea for the pub trade.

Consequently, don’t expect busloads of drunken senior citizens, making their way home from the pub, but also don’t expect a massive shift onto public transport, from those who, for a variety of reasons, still prefer to drive. Travelling by bus, takes a certain amount of forward planning, and many people are either too lazy, or don’t quite have the wherewithal to look up bus routes, and check timetables. Dare I say that you have to be a bit of a geek to do this, even though, in my experience at least, it is well worth the effort.

The government have said they would review the effectiveness of the fare cap, at the end of 2024, when a general election is expected to take place. Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “By extending the £2 fare cap, we’re making sure bus travel remains accessible and affordable for everyone, while helping to ease cost of living pressures. Buses connect our communities and play a vital role in growing the economy, which is why we’re determined to protect local routes and encourage more people on to the bus, ensuring people can get around easily and in an affordable way.”

That certainly sounds like electioneering on Sunak’s part, but you can’t really blame him for trying, especially give that much else  touched by the Tories, has gone to pot. But let’s give credit where it’s due, as for my part, despite having a bus pass, increase bus usage will go some way to help save threatened routes, and will enable my friends and I to visit and support some of our most attractive and characterful rural pubs, and even a few urban ones, when visiting a different town, or city.

 

There's more to this blog than meets the eye - or keeping out of mischief!

 

There doesn't seem to have been much happening locally on the beer front, which perhaps points to the fact that I need to get out more. I've done the topic of the weather to death so as far as going places is concerned, which means I can't really hide behind that excuse anymore. I can though, hide behind the fact that I've been quite busy doing stuff in the garden, admittedly a pretty boring topic to all those not interested in plants and growing things, but fortunately it's reached the stage now where there's not too much left to do.

Apart from equally boring stuff, like being busy at work, and getting my car serviced there hasn’t been much else going on, and whilst last Friday's bus trip to Goudhurst proved a welcome break, the lack of things going on has meant there’s been precious little to write about. This coming Friday, there was supposed to be a CAMRA organised bus outing to Groombridge and Langton, but for some reason, best known to the organisers, the trip has been postponed.

One thing that has been keeping me busy, and has been going on quietly in the background, are the pages I’ve been adding to this blog. When I say “pages” I mean exactly that, as unlike “posts,” pages don't come with dates attached to them. They are, in effect, static content, a timeless entity if you like; whereas posts are dynamic content that gets added to regularly. For want of a better description posts are the site author’s regularly updated blog entries.

That’s the technical stuff out of the way, so how did this all come about, and where on this site can the pages be found? Well, there are only four of them at this point in time, and apart from the introductory page, which is all about me, the others cover topics such as drinking abroad, different beer styles, and a couple of interesting cities I’ve visited. In the main, the copy has been sourced from my now defunct, WordPress website – Paul’s Beer Travels, as when I decided not to continue with the site, I took the precaution of saving the vast majority of the articles I’d written. I did this, before the web host I was using, took the site down, and fortunately there was a period of grace between me cancelling my subscription and the hosting company pulling the plug.

It took a significant amount of time saving, all the articles I’d written as Word documents, but the effort involved, paled into insignificance when compared to the time it would have taken to re-write everything from scratch. Furthermore, if I had attempted a total re-write, the newly created stuff wouldn’t have matched the original. It might have been better, but that was not a chance I was willing to take. Besides, I’ve got far better things to do with my time, even if that does include the odd spot of digging, weeding, planting, or pruning!

As for finding this material on the site, that’s easy, just look in the top left-hand corner of the blog, immediately below the banner heading, and adjacent to the topmost post. There you will find a non-descript sub-heading which says “PAGES.” Click on any of the titles below, apart from the top one which says “Home,” and straight away you will be directed to the appropriate page. Clicking on “home” will direct you back to the main blog.

As with the normal blog posts, you can comment on the pages, although to date no one has done so. As time goes on, I plan to add further pages, and will also explore ways of making the section stand out more than it does at present, so why not take a closer look and get clicking!

 

Goudhurst - a hill-top village, and real wealden gem

If I thought Thursday's weather was bad, Friday’s was even worse. At least on the previous morning we had some sunshine and I managed to get a fair bit done in the garden, although from mid-afternoon onward heavy rain put paid to any outdoor activities. With Friday forecast to be wet for most of the day, as well as several degrees colder, I decided the best thing to do was to get out of the house, leave Mrs PBT’s with the year-end tax returns, and all the other boring, financial stuff she has to do deal with and find a pub somewhere.

But where to go, especially on a day when the train drivers embark on yet another strike? Of necessity my day out would have to be a bus trip, but even then, it took a while to decide exactly where to go. Late last night, I finally settled on the large and rather picturesque village of Goudhurst, situated on the brow of a rather steep hill, in the heart of the Kentish Weald. The main A262 road runs right through the centre of the village and then does a dog leg around the churchyard, at the top of the hill. It's a road totally unsuited for large motor vehicles, and I would possibly even include buses here, whilst large lorries, and anything articulated, should definitely steer well clear!

It's a route I have travelled dozens of times particularly as it is the most direct route from Tonbridge to Ashford, the town where I grew up and where my parents lived until retiring up to Norfolk. The A262 isn't the quickest route, although it’s certainly much prettier and more attractive than the route via Hadlow, Kings Hill and M20 motorway. So having travelled through Goudhurst on many previous occasions I thought it high time I stopped for a look around. The fact that there’s a free car-park, close to the village pond, which is just before the really steep section of the hill begins, means there was no real excuse for not having stopped before.

Opposite the pond, is the Vine Inn, an attractive old, weather boarded pub sited at the junction of two roads leading into the village. Until yesterday, it was the only pub in Goudhurst I had visited, but that was over 20 years ago, and I’m sorry to report that the Vine is currently closed, and up for sale. Although I don’t know the reasons for its closure, I’m surprised that it’s shut, The pub I was making for though was the imposing, and rather striking, half-timbered Star & Eagle Hotel, situated on the right-hand side as you ascend the hill, just before the kink in the road, next to the churchyard. It's a pub with a very upmarket appearance but after looking online I noticed it had some good reviews, so I thought I would give it a try.

I also wanted to take a look at Goudhurst’s attractive mediaeval church situated right on the brow of the hill. It’s said that the church tower affords some spectacular view out across the weald, but quite understandably, the tower is only open to the public at weekends between April and October. There wouldn't have been much of a view on Friday anyway, given the low clouds and rain that were blowing in from the west, but was still well worthwhile having a look around inside this lovely old church.

As mentioned above, with no trains running I caught the No.7 bus from Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells, although whatever possessed the bus company to put a single deck bus on a route that is normally operated by double deck buses? Even worse was doing so on a day when no trains were running. I gathered from the crowd of people waiting at the bus stop in Tonbridge that one bus had already been cancelled but somehow, when the bus eventually arrived, we all managed to squeeze on.

Unfortunately, the nearest available seat was next to a rather large gentleman who not only took up part of my seat allocation, but also stank to high heaven! I hate to think the last time this person made contact with soap and water, but the smell emanating from him was overpowering. Perhaps the little old lady who’d got on after me, and to whom I offered my seat, had noticed the pong too since she declined my offer. A real shame, as I would gladly have stood all the way to Tunbridge Wells just to get further away from this obnoxious individual.

Once we’d all squeezed our way off the bus in Tunbridge Wells, there was time for a leisurely flat white plus a bacon roll from Greggs, before walking along to the bus stop to await the 297 Hams Travel service to Goudhurst and Tenterden. The bus turned up on time but with only me, plus a couple of other people getting on, there were very few passengers on board, and most of whom got off at nearby Pembury. It's a very pleasant journey through the Weald of Kent travelling through the attractive villages of Matfield, Benchley, and Horsmonden. I was only person leaving the bus in Goudhurst, and as was getting off I asked the whereabouts of the return bus stop. A passenger, who was getting on, told me it was back around the corner, just passed the junction. He turned out to be the relief driver, as I discovered an hour and a half later, when he was driving the bus on its return journey to Tunbridge Wells.

A few steps up the hill from the bus stop was a rather nice-looking baker's. I'd already clocked the place on Google Street View, so I popped in and bought a cheese and tomato baguette, to eat later, whilst waiting for the bus back. I knew from the website and from photos of the Star & Eagle on social media, that the pub was rather upmarket, and that a simple item, like a cheese roll, would either be non-existent, or cost an arm and a leg, so the local baker’s made perfect sense.

With lunch settled for later, I crossed the road and headed off up the hill. I walked around the church first, with this extensive graveyard that extends across to the other side of a small lane where again there would be some rather splendid views, but not on that particular Friday. Afterwards I stuck my head inside the church and had a good look around. I half expected someone to appear, asking whether I was in need of salvation, or just wanted to pray, but as no one did, I had a nice look around, enjoying the peace and quiet of this lovey old church.

Afterwards, I walked back down the hill for a quick look at the pond, before retracing my steps up to the Star & Eagle. I was right in thinking the pub would posh, and whilst it was upmarket, in a nice sort of way, it very much reminded me of Rye.  The general layout of the pub was the bar occupied the middle section of the building, with a restaurant leading off to the right. There were also a number of other rooms to the left. On sale at the bar, were Harvey’s Sussex Best, plus a coronation ale from Brakspear’s. The latter company, appear to own the pub, and as with the George & Dragon at Speldhurst, plus the Leicester Arms at Penshurst, they have acquired some rather prestigious and historic pubs, in this part of Kent.

I took my pint of Sussex, plus bag of Piper’s Crisps – total cost £7.10, so work that one out! and sat at a table, overlooking the rainswept garden at the rear of the pub. It was nice and cosy inside, but for a while, I was the only customer. Later on, a couple turned up, and ordered themselves a meal, sitting at a window at the front of the pub. I imagine, the unseasonably cold weather had put a stop to much of the passing trade that an attractive village like Goudhurst, normally attracts, but it’s also worth noting that the Star & Eagle has ten bedrooms, for those contemplating a longer stay. There is also a reasonably-sized car-park at the rear of the pub, accessed by the appropriately named Back Lane.

One rather fascinating aspect of the Star & Eagle, is that it also owns the adjoining building, which formerly housed the Eight Bells pub. The latter always gave the impression of a far more basic and down to earth sort of place, which I’m sure it was. I'm not sure when it closed, as like the Star & Eagle, it was a pub that I never managed to visit. However, as a rather neat twist to this tale, the Eight Bells does open occasionally, for private hire events such as pop-ups, parties, and music events. As a former pub, it still contains a bar, dart board and pool table, plus a large open fire. The Eight Bells is separated from the Star & Eagle, by a narrow passage, at ground floor level.It would have been nice to see inside, although I imagine there would have been various keys to find and security alarms to deactivate, and that’s assuming the two girls behind the bar had the authority to open the place up for a casual onlooker, such as me, but it’s nice to learn that this former pub is still functioning, albeit in a somewhat limited capacity.

After leaving the pub, I crossed the road, walked down the hill, and found my way to the bus stop. I was glad of the shelter behind the stop, as I sat there enjoying the cheese baguette I’d bought earlier. I was the only passenger on the bus as far as Matfield and was glad at the progress the bus was making. There was a rather tight connection at Pembury Hospital, for the bus back to Tonbridge, and we would probably have made it, if the driver hadn’t decided to pull up outside a convenience store in Pembury village, to pick up some lunch!

I can’t really begrudge him for that, but missing the connection meant a 25-minute wait, in the freezing cold, for the next bus. I did toy with the idea of nipping into the hospital reception area, and waiting there, but hospitals aren’t the healthiest of places, so steeling myself against the cold I waited for the next 218 Arriva bus, to Tonbridge. Several bus routes include the hospital on their routes, so it does form a handy interchange that avoids the need to travel in and out of Tunbridge Wells. Consequently, despite the wait, I was back indoors by 2.30pm, glad that I had finally made the effort to experience a piece of Goudhurst for myself.

 

Pub talk

I mentioned in a previous post how after one of the driest February's on record, March and April turned out complete opposites, as not only were these months characterised by persistent, and at times heavy rainfall, but temperatures too seemed way below average. I was reminded of this the other evening whilst looking through some photos, trying to find some to help illustrate a post I was writing at the time. From the dates on the photos, it appears March and April 2022 were characterised by plenty of sunshine and relatively warm temperatures. Many trees were also in leaf, and we're talking here about pictures taken in April.

Something seems to have gone horribly wrong this year, because apart from the odd warm day, May has continued in the same vein. The wind has a chill to it which, by right, should have disappeared long before, but it's the rain that's been the most annoying, and with low pressure hanging over the country, drawing in wet fronts from the Atlantic, there doesn't even seem to be any end in sight,

This topic came up last Thursday, when I joined members of West Kent CAMRA at the Nelson Arms, in Tonbridge, for a presentation marking the pub achieving Branch Pub of the Year. One friend I was talking to, said exactly the same thing about the weather, and being a keen walker like me, was equally cheesed off. We’d both concluded that with conditions under foot being far too wet and slippery, the risk of falling over, or becoming stuck in the mud, were sufficient to detract from the usual pleasures of hiking in the great outdoors. Consequently, like me, my friend has done very little walking this spring.

Another topic of conversation that evening, was the news concerning the Black Sheep Brewery of Masham, North Yorkshire, being on the verge of going into receivership. This is bad news for anyone who likes a decent pint, and sad news too for a company which celebrated its 30^th anniversary last year. Founded in 1992, by Paul Theakston, of the famous brewing family, Black Sheep became a major force in Yorkshire brewing. Now it is facing a “perfect storm” of post-COVID debt, rising costs, and uncertain demand.

There had been a fair amount of debate on one the local West Kent CAMRA WhatsApp groups, about possible reasons for Black Sheep’s troubles, with one of the younger members stating, that the beers the company brewed weren’t exciting enough to appeal to his generation. Several of us responded that whilst there might be the odd grain of truth in this, not everyone wished to drink beers with a strong citrus flavour. I made the point that with very few pubs of their own, Black Sheep might have placed too much reliance on the free trade, and have now found out just how fickle this section of the market can be, and how cut throat is the competition to get their beers on the bars of Yorkshire pubs.

Another contributor chipped in saying that the lack of a flagship brand within the Black Sheep portfolio, was a serious handicap for the brewery.  He claimed that Riggwelter would fit the bill, but it was a beer that drinkers rarely come across, and one that seems to receive very little promotion, certainly outside of its Yorkshire heartland. I personally think that a flagship brand can be a double-edged sword. In the past, breweries have been purchased by a larger rival, that just wants to get its hands on the better known, named beer.

Theakston’s Old Peculier was one such beer, and after the original family company fell into financial difficulties, the brewery was purchased by Matthew Brown of Blackburn. This turned out to be a bad move for the Lancashire company, as their ownership of Theakston’s attracted the attention of a much larger fish, in the guise of Scottish & Newcastle. The latter didn’t give two hoots about Matthew Brown, its brewery or its beers, they just wanted to add the Old Peculier brand to their portfolio.

Sure enough, following a rather bitter takeover battle, S&N acquired the Theakston brands they were after, Matthew Brown’s Blackburn brewery was closed, and the Brown name very quickly disappeared. If you want to know how quickly, ask how many of today’s drinkers have heard of Matthew Brown? I suspect there is a large proportion of CAMRA members who haven’t heard of the brewery, either.

I’ve laboured things rather on this last point, and we’ve drifted way off topic from my opening remarks about the weather, but this is often what happens with many conversations that take place over a few pints. There’s no getting away though from the point that, like the weather, the brewing industry and pub trades are both in a state of flux, with no-one really knowing what the end game will be. As with all the other bad stuff that is going on in the world at the moment, a little stability, would be most welcome, but whether or not it materialises, is anyone’s guess.