Some Folkestone pubs, for you to enjoy reading about

After the previous introductory article about the former channel port of Folkestone, here’s the post you’ve all been waiting for, namely some narrative about the pubs and bars my friends and I visited in the town the other Friday. The first pub of the day, and in my view the best, by far was the Bouverie Tap an independently run bar-cum restaurant, close to the former Bobby’s department store, and just five minutes’ walk from the Leas Cliff Hall with its cross-channel views. 

The Bouverie Tap opened in 2017 and expanded into the neighbouring premises three years later. Specialising in local cask ales, fine wines, continental beers, Kentish Gins and premium spirits, a range of fine food is also available, made freshly with locally sourced ingredients. The walls of the pub are adorned with plenty of interesting vintage memorabilia, which includes a number of old brewery advertisements. As far as the cask offerings were concerned, there was a Pale Ale from Pig & Porter, plus two offerings from Titsey Brewery. I haven’t particularly rated Titsey beers in the past (titter ye not!), but my pint of Leveson Buck was excellent, an opinion shared by several of my companions.  

We gave the Radnor Arms, just round the corner a miss, as the plan was to call in on way back to station – spoiler alert, we didn’t! Instead, we walked along cliff top, with its views out across the English Channel, to France, and ended up in Bayle area of town, where the parish church is situated. This quiet and peaceful area is the original centre, of Folkestone, when it was just a small town, perched up on the cliffs, overlooking a small haven.

A bit of confusion, and even dissent surrounded the Guildhall, the second pub on our provisional list, as half party called in, whilst the rest of the group headed off elsewhere. The dissenters were of the opinion that the pub is tied to Greene King, when in fact it is a Punch outlet. It certainly looked appealing from the outside, and after checking on What Pub, I am now kicking myself for missing it, as I discovered that, up until 1987, the pub originally called the Globe. This was an old haunt of me and my school chums, as the place for a pre-gig pint at the nearby Leas Cliff Hall. I think it was the garden area in front of the pub that threw me, as I don’t remember it being there.

Greene King IPA plus Harvey’s Best were the beers on sale, but bearing that in mind, I was surprised when the branch chairman dismissed the nearby British Lion, because it only sold Young's and Ringwood (where is that brewed now?) The Lion certainly looked a proper traditional pub, as demonstrated by the photo of its attractive exterior. Several of us would have liked to see for ourselves, but the British Lion is on my list for a future visit to Folkestone.

The second pub for many of us ended up as Kipps' Alehouse, a shop conversion occupying a prominent corner position at the top of the Old High Street, and Bayle Street. Kipp’s is a bit more than just a micro-pub, as it stocks a wide variety of bottled craft beers and draught international lagers, alongside two or three cask ales, served by gravity, from a chilled cabinet behind the bar.

Unfortunately, the pint of Crispin Amber Ale from Mad Cat Brewery was decidedly past its best, but it was exchanged with good grace, plus an apology from the landlady, for a pint of Tonbridge Countryman, instead. There is quite a Bohemian feel to Kipp’s but given the wide range of foreign beers that it stocks, it might be struggling to turn over the number of casks that it does, but then it does feature in the Good Beer Guide – go figure, as the Americans would say!

Onwards, and upwards, and a third pub selected, but only for those who didn’t mind a walk, was the East Cliff Tavern, a traditional backstreet terraced pub, that has been owned by the same family since 1967. This sounded more like it, but unfortunately it was closed, despite the advertised midday opening time. Disappointed, we decided to visit one of the pubs near the fish market instead, and the Ship Inn, with its views across the inner harbour, turned out to be a real cracker, and a definite “proper pub” at last. The Ship dates back to the 1930’s, although there has been a pub of the same name, on the site since the early 1700’s.

Given its location, outlook and the wall-to-wall sunshine we were experiencing, it was no surprise to find the place packed, but we still managed to find a couple of tables. London Pride, Doom Bar and Old Speckled Hen, were joined on the bar by Harbour View, a 3.9% house beer, produced exclusively for the pub by an unknown brewery, that I was unable to find on Untappd. In charge of proceedings, were a couple of "old school" landladies, keeping watch from behind the bar. Their no-nonsense approach soon became apparent when a couple of “stripped to the waist” builder types, who’d been hanging around outside, were told to put a shirt on, if they wished to be served!

A number of our group had lunch at the Ship, with fish and chips being the obvious choice. The food looked good, and the service was quick, but three of us had already decided to visit Sandy’s Fish & Chip Shop, just a few doors along. This meant eating our fish and chips outside, and taking our chances with marauding seagulls, but fortunately, these pesky birds were conspicuous by their absence, unlike as in other resorts such as Brighton and Hastings!

It was time to join up with the rest of our party, who we’d been keeping in touch with via Whats App, so after a climb back up into the centre of the old town we reached the Beer Shop Folkestone. As its name implies this establishment is another shop conversion that is home to a specialist beer bar. It majors on keg, bottled and canned beers, with one or sometimes two micro-brewery cask ales served from taps on the rear wall. My choice of beer was Hopping the Tasman, a well-hopped pale ale from Gravesend’s Iron Pier Brewery. We sat in the bar’s long narrow room which, as you can see below, provided a good photo opportunity.  

We then crossed the road to the Samuel Peto, a Wetherspoon's pub named after renowned railway engineer and builder of Nelson’s column, Samuel Morton Peto. This entrepeneur used part of his fortune to fund the building, which began life as a Baptist church in 1874. The pub’s former function is still very much in evidence, as it features the original stained-glass windows, various memorial plaques of local dignities, and a hand-painted ceiling of fluffy white clouds across a blue sky. 

The church once contained a large pipe organ, and the façade of these pipes have been retained at the far end of the balcony. There are even two pulpits upstairs, and this is where we sat with our drinks, looking out over drinkers on the ground floor below us. The pub wasn’t that busy, although at 4pm on a Friday afternoon, one might have expected a lull. I went for a pint of Moose River from Hop Union Brewery, which turned out to be yet another hoppy pale ale.

We headed back into the town centre, to Chambers, our penultimate stop, and quite a quirky one at that. Established in 1998, and still owned by the same people, Chambers is a spacious cellar bar, close to the bus station. It is also a Good Beer Guide regular, and it’s easy to see why, with its carefully chosen range of local cask ales, craft beers, ciders, plus a range of directly imported continental lagers. The bar consists of several inter-linked sections that extend for some distance beneath an upstairs licensed coffee shop.  

After the fierce heat of the day, it was refreshingly cool underground and a nice place where we could sit down and relax. The cask offerings were Adnams Lighthouse and Hop Fuzz Fallout, yet another, fruity and citrus-driven, pale session ale. I was starting to feel a bit jaded by this time but stuck it out to the final pub of the day, the Firkin Alehouse, just a hop, skip and a jump away. Founded in 2012, the Firkin promotes itself as Folkestone's first micro-pub, with up to four cask beers, and up to six ciders all served on gravity from a temperature-controlled cellar room. There was an emphasis on Kent micro-breweries, which was borne out by my choice of Smash, an English pale ale, from Kent Brewery.

The beer seemed very similar in makeup and character to the previous one, although my Untappd notes describe it as probably the best beer of the day. This might just have been the beer talking, as it had been quite a long day. We sat outside, in a paved area at the rear of the pub, before drifting, in dribs and drabs back to the station. The trains heading back towards London were packed, or at least the high-speed one was. My companions and I waited for the standard South Eastern train which formed a direct service back to Tonbridge, albeit stopping at every station along the way.

The day had certainly proved an interesting one, and for someone like me, the chance to reconnect with the Folkestone I remember from my youth. It also provided a useful guide to which parts of the town were worth revisiting, and which to avoid next time around.

A day at the seaside

On what turned out to be hottest day of the year to date in the UK, I joined nine other beer enthusiasts, most of them local CAMRA members, on a trip to Folkestone. A day out at the seaside if you like, but also the opportunity to explore some of the pubs and bars in this once popular coastal resort. We travelled by direct train from Tonbridge, a journey of approximately one hour. The carriages were packed, the fine weather having tempted many people out of their homes and workplaces to enjoy, like us, a day at the seaside.

It was a long time since I last visited Folkestone even though it was a regular halt during childhood. I'm sure I've written before that both of my parents were fans of this genteel seaside town, and although that mantle has slipped somewhat over the past half century, Folkestone still boasts a number of attractions to draw people in.  Probably the biggest loss to the town’s prestige was the cessation of cross channel ferry services between Folkestone and the French fishing port of Boulogne, in 2001.

One factor, said to have played a role in the decision to terminate the service, was the withdrawal of Duty Free, whilst the other allegedly was the Swedish company Stena, paying over the odds when they bought Sealink British Ferries, from British Rail. The real reason was the small size of Folkestone harbour, compared with that at Dover, plus the opening in 1993, of the Channel Tunnel. So, whilst Folkestone no longer plays the role in cross-channel traffic that it once did, there are encouraging signs that the town is quietly reinventing itself.

It must be 40 years or so since I last made a proper visit to Folkestone, and that occasion almost certainly involved a day trip to Boulogne.  This charming French town is well worth a visit especially the old part of the town perched up on a hill.  But now the cross-channel traffic has disappeared, I imagine that, like Folkestone, Boulogne has had to undergo a similar renaissance. It’s not quite so easy to visit without a car, although I imagine there must be buses linking the town with its larger neighbour, Calais.

Still, we're talking about Folkestone here is the town, and my last fun memories of the town are of Saturday evening visits to the Leas Cliff Hall a large concert hall, built into the cliff-face and looking out to sea. Opened in1927, this spacious venue has a standing capacity of 1,500 people, and it was here that as a 17–18-year-old sixth form pupil that I saw bands like Uriah Heep, Caravan, Groundhogs, the Strawbs, Fleetwood Mac (before the Buckingham-Nicks partnership joined up), and quite a few other groups seen.

Attending a gig at the Leas Cliff Hall, with your mates, was always a good night out, and there was also the added bonus of a bar, just to the right of the stage. For someone who hadn’t turned 18 at the time, it was relatively easy to get served, so many an evening was spent in a slight, alcoholic haze! It was an easy journey to make by train, from Ashford to Folkestone Central, followed by a 15–20-minute walk across town to the Leas Cliff Hall itself.

Those memories came flooding back last Friday, as even after four that route through Cheriton Gardens towards the hall, seemed familiar. My companions and I were making for the first pub of the day which, as it turned out, proved to be the best – in my view at least. However, as we visited nine pubs/bars in total, that day I shall deal with all of them, in a separate article.

For now, I want to tell you a little more about Folkestone itself, and draw a comparison between today’s reality, and the seaside town I remember from a childhood spent growing up in East Kent. The town’s heyday began during late Victorian times and extended into the Edwardian era that followed. During this period, Folkestone was considered one of the most fashionable resort of the time, with the western part of the town being home to numerous townhouses, villas, large hotels and other impressive buildings, high up on the cliffs and overlooking the English Channel. These opulent dwellings were built to accommodate the wealthy and the well-to-do, who flocked to the town.

Unfortunately, this success was not destined to continue, and following two world wars, the increased demand for package overseas holiday, and changing fashions generally, Folkestone began a slow decline. Walking through this once fashionable part of town, it is still possible to imagine what Folkestone was like during its glory days, and it is easy to see why people were attracted here in the first place.

My companions and I passed through this area on our way to the second pub of the day, and before beginning our descent towards the parish church, were rewarded with views out over a flat and dead calm sea. Despite a haze, hovering just above the water, it was possible to make out the French coast, just over 20 miles away. The area around the church is known as the Bayle, with the attractive, Grade II listed building dedicated to St Mary & St Eanswythe. Parts of the church date from the 13^th Century, but it was largely rebuilt in the 19^th Century.

Connecting the Bayle with the Harbour area is the Old High Street, a steep and narrow cobbled street, which is now at the heart of "Folkestone's Creative Quarter". Together with nearby Rendezvous Street, this part of the town is now thriving, with independent businesses and restaurants surrounded by restored buildings, many painted in bright, vibrant colours. I can still remember taking this route down to the harbour, with my parents, stopping off to watch seaside rock being made in the window of a local sweet shop.

Unfortunately, other places I remember from childhood have vanished, including Bobby’s, Folkestone’s stylish department store on Sandgate Road, which opened 1931, before becoming a branch of Debenhams, 40 years later. My mother particularly liked this store, so although the building is still standing, the shop itself is sadly no more.

One welcome, and presumably quite recent development, is that the pedestrianisation of much of the town centre. The harbour area has also undergone extensive renovation, with the Harbour Arm (the large, curved, stone built breakwater that juts out into the sea, restored and developed as a recreational space and promenade with bars, restaurants, and entertainment at weekends and sometimes other evenings, as well. 

There wasn’t sufficient time to explore the latter area, much as I would have like to, but from the limited amount I saw, and the more detailed information I have read, this area alone makes a return visit to Folkestone not only desirable, but essential as well.

 

£6 Hot Dogs make the perfect lunch offering at Fuggles

Three months ago, I published a post that begged the question “Is a cheap and cheerful pub lunch too much to ask for? It was a straightforward question, and a genuine one at that, but it stemmed from a desire to find a pub selling simple, but solid pub fayre, such as a cheese roll, a slice of pork pie, or even a charcuterie/cheese selection. It was a genuine cry from the heart against the inexorable rise of the gourmet pub, with its tarted-up fancy sandwiches smothered in rocket leaves, or a handful of potato crisps. Such fancy offerings often lead to a doubling in price of a simple roll or sandwich.

The post attracted over 30 comments, a number that is a rare event for the blog, and whilst most commentators were in agreement, there was the odd dissenting voice expressing concern that here was someone who is not from the trade, preaching to those who are, and trying to tell them how to run their businesses. My response was that whilst I might not run a pub, although I did run an off-licence for five years, I have been drinking in them for the past fifty years, in numerous locations all over the country. However, given this background, it still isn’t easy to understand where exactly abominations such as the gourmet sandwich appeared from. My quest for something plain, simple and fairly priced continues, and the other week, like a maiden’s prayer, my pleas were answered.

Even better was the fact that salvation came much closer to home than I thought it would, although there is a catch. The catch is that the cut-price offer on the pub in question’s food selection, is only available one day per week. The pub I am referring to is Fuggles Beer Café, or should that be Cafes? As the company operates in both Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, and here is what the chain has to say about its food. “Join us for a bite to eat with one of our highly regarded grilled cheese sandwiches, delicious Hot Dogs or sample some of the tastiest British cheese & charcuterie with one of our sharing boards.”

So simple, tasty and easy to prepare, which is important seeing as neither of the Fuggles Café’s have a proper kitchen. What they do have, is a food preparation area behind the bar, and this is where toasties, hot dogs and charcuterie boards are put together, in full view of the customer. Hot dogs are the star attraction for me, especially as they contain a Bratwurst in a brioche bun (vegetarian Brats are available, for those so inclined). Then there is a range of different toppings or sauces to accompany. Prices range from £7.25 for a “naked” dog, up to £9.00 for something a little more fancy.

Moderately expensive, especially when compared to a £2.50 Midlands cheese cob, but all-day Thursday, Fuggles run a promotion on their hot dogs, retailing them at just £6.00 each, a price that applies to all the dogs, and also includes two extras on the “naked dog.” Game on, and Paul is now able to dine out on Bratwurst and beer, for just over a tenner! What’s more Thursday is a good day for me to call at my local Fuggles, for the following reasons.

“Thor’s day” is where my four-day weekend begins and is one I really look forward to. Furthermore, I have the house to myself that day, as Mrs PBT’s puts in a five-hour stint, looking after the accounts of a local scaffolding company. I drive her over in the morning and then pick her up at 2.30 – I was late today, so a black mark there! After getting few domestic chores out of the way, I like to take a walk down into Tonbridge, withdraw a bit of cash, have a look around the charity shops (I still like to pick up the odd, second-hand CD, or two), do a spot of shopping (my stuff) and then, if there’s time, call in somewhere for a quick pint.  Only the one, mind you, as I have to drive over to the farm-based office where Mrs PBT’s works, and chauffeur her home.

Thursday lunchtime in Fuggles, is quiet and relaxed, or it certainly feels that way between midday and half one. Later in the afternoon, the pub starts to fill up, although the atmosphere is maintained. I expect the time will come, when I will tire of hot dogs, but for the time being, they remain a tasty and reasonably priced lunchtime snack, and the perfect accompaniment to a glass of beer.

I’ve little doubt that serial troll, and juvenile, snide remark expert, Cooking Lager, will try to make some capital out of this short article, but this sad individual needs to grow up, and also be aware that all insulting comments, even if made in jest, will be remove as soon as they are spotted. So if you are reading this CL, don’t waste your time!

  

 

 

Nuremberg - a nostalgic look back at one of Germany's best beer-drinking cities

Nuremberg is the second largest city in Bavaria, but it is also the capital of Franconia; a region, which was once a separate state, until Napoleon came on the scene. Its inhabitants, like those of the rest of Franconia, see themselves as Franks rather than Bavarians and tend to disapprove of the macho image portrayed by their southern neighbours. Interestingly though, many Franconians (Franks) will support Bayern Munich when it comes to choosing a football team!

I have been to Nuremberg several times. Most of these visits were when I was passing through, as I have used the city’s airport as a convenient gateway to several destinations in Germany: most notably Bamberg, but also Forchheim and Regensburg. I have also visited Nuremberg’s famous Christmas Market, whilst on a coach tour. There is plenty to see in the city, including several museums (the transport and toy museums are particularly well worth seeing), art galleries and some fine old churches, but for me the most interesting, and also the most impressive, are Nuremberg’s fortifications.  These date back to medieval times and as well as the massive Imperial Castle (Kaiserburg) which over-looks the city, the old city walls are well worth a look.

I have walked along the north-west section, and there are two massive stone walls separated by a deep and wide ditch. I am not sure if this would have been filled with water during the medieval period, but the defences would have been sufficient to deter even the most determined of invaders. The inner section of wall is covered in places, to provide shelter for the defenders. A number of the old city gates remain, and these are fortified with various towers etc. Like most German cities, Nuremberg has a fully integrated public transport system, meaning that with a valid ticket it is possible to transfer easily between trains (both over-ground and underground), buses and trams. Day tickets are available, covering several different zones which radiate out from the city centre.

Up until the early 1945, Nuremberg had one of the best-preserved medieval townscapes in Europe, but unfortunately around 90% of the old city was destroyed, in a devastating raid carried out by the RAF in February of that year. With the end of the war, just two months away, you have to wonder at the mind-set of men like Arthur Harris. This surely was destruction, just for the sake of it; and if further proof was needed, “Bomber Harris” carried on his campaign of indiscriminate carpet bombing, almost to the end of hostilities. After the war, much of the old city was rebuilt in a modernised version of the original style, with the most important buildings re-built true to the originals but walking about it is still possible to spot the original medieval buildings which survived the raid.

My visit at the beginning of June 2015 though was the first time I had actually stayed in the city, and I have to report that I really liked what I saw. My family-run hotel was conveniently situated just a short walk away from the Hauptmarkt and just slightly further from the massive Imperial Castle which towers over the city. The latter, of course, was the venue for the Fränkisches Bierfest; which was the main reason for my visit to Nuremberg. The weather was fine throughout my stay, with plenty of sunshine and temperatures peaking at around 30˚ on the Saturday.

I have only drunk in a handful of Nuremberg’s pubs, and on my most recent trip, only one.  I had singled out a pub called Hutt’n as the ideal place for a meal plus a few drinks on my first evening in the city. Not only did the pub offer one of the best ranges of beer in town, but the menu also looked enticing. The first thing I discovered was Hutt’n has moved to larger premises, near to the castle. The second though was it was absolutely packed; both inside and out, so there was no chance of a table.

I returned to Hutt’n the following day, whilst waiting for Fränkischerbierfest to open. I called in for a quick Rauchbier fix. Even at this early hour I had to sit outside; no problem under a shady umbrella in 30˚ of heat. I went for a smoke beer from Fischer. Although perhaps not quite as smoky as that of Schlenkerla, the most famous and best known Rauchbier, the example from Fischer still packed in plenty of smokiness and certainly hit the spot so far as I was concerned. It was good sitting there under the shady umbrella watching the world go by and seeing people struggling up the hill in the 30˚ temperatures, but tempted as I was to stop for another, I had a potentially heavy afternoon’s supping ahead of me, so decided to call it a day.

I visited two other pubs on my first visit to Nuremberg, which took place in December 2007. The contrast in temperature could not have been more striking, as it was bitterly cold. I was in the city as part of a coach party on a brief visit to Nuremberg’s world-famous Christmas Market; the Christkindlmarkt.  It was too cold to spend time walking around the stalls, so I headed up the hill to the Schwarzer Bauer, which is the tap for the tiny Altstadthof Brauerei next door. It was nice and cosy inside the pub, and after enjoying a couple of mugs of the house-brewed beer, I was loath to step back out into the cold. However, I wanted to see Nuremberg’s magnificent Imperial Castle, and can report that this massive structure, is well worth visiting.

On the way back to the coach pick-up, I just had time for a quick glass at Gasthaus Schranke; a fine old, half-timbered pub, just down from the castle’s main gate and in the shadow of its imposing walls. The place was packed and in view of this, people were drinking outside, standing at tables which had been converted from old wooden barrels. I joined them, in-spite of the cold, and waited for the waiter to come and take my order.

Gasthaus Schranke now appears to be owned by Augustiner of Munich, but 10 years previously it sold, amongst other beers, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier from Bamberg. Despite having enjoyed this magnificent “smoke beer”, earlier in the day, at the Schlenkerla Tavern, in Bamberg itself, I just had to have one last glass, before rushing back to board the coach. It seemed a fitting way to end this whistle-stop tour of Bavaria’s second largest city.

Putting people in the picture, and getting things back in context

Some of you might remember that for a period of approximately two years I hosted my own website called, Paul's Beer Travels. It was a self-hosted site, which meant that, unlike Google's Blogger, I had to pay an annual fee to a company (Bluehost, in my case), just to host the site. I also had to pay an initial fee to register the site's name, and then pay an annual renewal fee.

The platform I chose was WordPress.org,  a self-hosted website, where the originator has full control over the layout, appearance, and general theme of the site, as well as being responsible for the creative content. WordPress.org, was not the most intuitive of software, and it certainly couldn't be described as “user friendly,”  in fact it was hard work. It was also a duplication of effort, although to be fair, the majority of the articles were lengthier, and went into much more detail than those on the blog. 

Crunch time came two years ago when, faced with renewal fees of over £500, I decided to pull the plug on the website. And there, things might have ended, because once the hosting lapsed, so did the site itself, along with the entire content, so that's copy, photos and countless hours of racking my brain for ideas, and then bashing it all out on my computer keyboard. Fortunately, before everything disappeared into the ether, I painstakingly copied and saved the entire content of the website, onto my hard-drive. That's 34 articles in total and all fortunately, saved for posterity. 

So, from time to time I intend to reproduce some of those articles, here on the blog, and this particularly  applies at times, such as at present, when I find myself too tired and too tied up to come up with much in the way of original content. Keep an eye out then, for the first of these posts, which is a look back at Nuremberg, the second largest city in the state of Bavaria, and a place I wouldn't mind being back in at this particular moment of time.