Watering Holes on the Wealdway

I returned late on Saturday evening from four days walking along part of the Wealdway long-distance footpath. The path runs for 82 miles from Gravesend on the River Thames to Eastbourne on the south coast. After successfully completing the South Downs Way last year, my friend Eric and I decided to give the Wealdway a try this year, and after completing 50 miles of the trail have been very impressed by what we have found so far.

As the footpath runs roughly north to south it traverses several ranges of hills with subsequent changes of scenery. On our journey south we crossed the line of the North Downs, descended into the Vale of Holmesdale, climbed and descended the Greensand Ridge, hiked along the Medway Valley, before climbing once more, this time onto the High Weald, culminating with a walk across Ashdown Forest.

The Wealdway passes right through our home town of Tonbridge, and many of the places we visited are quite local to us. As is often the case though, there is a tendency to ignore what is virtually right on one's doorstep in favour of places further afield. The walk therefore afforded the opportunity to renew acquaintances with some familiar places as well as allowing us to discover a few new ones. The re-discovery of old favourites was no more evident than in the case of the pubs we visited en route.

Our first watering hole was the unspoilt Amazon and Tiger, in the small village of Harvel, high on the North Downs. We had started out from Gravesend earlier that day, and like all four days on this trek the weather had not only been fine and dry, but also extremely hot and humid. These conditions forced a relatively slow pace, and it was getting on for 2.30 in the afternoon that we finally turned the corner in to Harvel and found, to our relief, that the pub was still open. We needn't have worried as the pub was open all day, that Wednesday being the day of England's World Cup group match against Slovenia.

The pub was busy, but we managed to order ourselves a pint without any trouble. I selected the 4.3% Barnsley Gold from Acorn Brewery; the other choices being a 5% beer from Brew Dog, and a "badged beer" from Cottage Brewery. Eric went with my decision, and we were both pleased with our selection. The first pint hardly touched the sides, but subsequent pints revealed a deep golden coloured and extremely well-hopped ale, served nicely chilled and good value at only £2.80 a pint.

The Amazon and Tiger (named after two species of butterflies), is an un-assuming looking pub, that was deliberately built back in 1914, to look like a private house - so as not to offend worshipers attending services at the nearby village hall. It is divided into several different drinking areas and is the sort of pub I would like as my local. We watched the first half of the England game and stayed for the start of the second. However, we still had a fair distance to cover, so reluctantly we departed this excellent village pub and made our way towards Wrotham Heath, where we had booked accommodation for the night.

We were foot-sore and weary by the time we reached our destination, and after a shower and change of clothing set off in search of somewhere to eat and drink. I knew that there was a large Hall & Woodhouse pub in the village, but the B&B proprietor warned that it was the other side of the motorway, and therefore a fair trot. We settled instead for the Royal Oak, a large roadhouse and former motor-coach stop that is now a Beefeater Inn. Not expecting much, if anything, in the way of decent beer, we were pleasantly surprised to discover Old Hookey on tap, and what more it was in good condition and selling at £3.00 a pint. We opted for this, and settled down for a few pints and a well deserved meal.

Tonbridge was our destination the following day, and as our route took us through the tiny village of West Peckham, the Swan-on-the-Green, with its excellent home-brewed ales, was the natural choice for a lunchtime stop. We sat outside, limiting ourselves this time to just the two pints. I tried the 3.6% Fuggles, followed by the 4.0% Trumpeter; both were excellent.

It was a long and, at times, quite dull section of walking that eventually brought us back to Tonbridge shortly after 7 pm. The final 4 mile section along the Medway was an absolute killer, particularly on the feet, and by the time we arrived in the town we were just about ready to drop. We called in at the Humphrey Bean, our local JDW outlet, and were pleasantly surprise to bump into a couple of friends there. Later we were joined by a third mate, so we settled down to enjoy a few well-earned pints and to catch up on the local gossip. The beer range wasn't all that inspiring that evening, but the Everards Tiger was pleasant enough and certainly helped to assuage a king-sized thirst!

I met up with Eric the following morning, after a good night's sleep, in my own bed. We followed the course of the Wealdway from Tonbridge Castle, along the Medway, before turning off towards Hayesden. We then began a steep climb up to Bidborough Ridge, on what seemed like the hottest, and most humid, day of the year so far. Ignoring the Hare & Hounds in Bidborough Village and the George & Dragon in Speldhurst (to say nothing of the closed, and much missed Beehive on Southborough Common), we eventually reached the imposing Chafford Arms, in the small village of Fordcombe.

The Chafford is one of those pubs I keep meaning to visit more often, but never quite get round to doing so. Our late lunchtime stop showed me just what I had been missing. For a start the pub still has a traditional Public Bar, and dressed in our hiking gear this seemed the ideal choice. Harvey's Best and Larkins Traditional were the beers on offer; we both opted for the later which, although only 3.4% in strength, certainly hits the spot so far as taste is concerned. Three thirst-quenching pints later, and some interesting conversation with the landlady and her locals and we were on our way again. I forgot to take some photo's of this excellent village local, but check out the pub's website here.

Heading roughly south-west, through some very pleasant rolling countryside, we eventually dropped down towards the Sussex border. After passing under the Uckfield Railway line, we deviated slightly from the Wealdway and instead joined the Forest Way which follows the course of the former Tunbridge Wells to East Grinstead Railway line. Although the path was flat, it was very hard going on the feet, and we were glad when we finally turned off across the grassy meadows towards the tiny village of Withyham, our resting place for the night.

Withyham is home to one of my all-time favourite pubs, the unspoilt Dorset Arms, and on our arrival in the village we called into this tied Harveys house for a well deserved pint, and also to collect the key to our bed and breakfast accommodation opposite. Like the Chafford Arms earlier in the day, the Dorset Arms also sports a traditional public bar, alongside a large, comfortable restaurant. During the winter months the bar is heated by a large open fire, but in the fierce mid-summer heat the doors were wide open, a labrador lay stretched out on the floor, and the bar resounded to the sounds of easy going banter that is the hallmark of a good pub.

After a quick shower and change of clothing at the B & B opposite, we returned to the Dorset for several more pints of Harveys (the company's summer seasonal, Olympia, was in particularly fine form). We also enjoyed an excellent steak and ale pie; the steak being cooked to perfection and just melting in ones mouth. It is comforting to know there are still unspoilt, traditional pubs like the Dorset around, and although it is probably over 10 years since my last visit, I was relieved to find that nothing much had changed.

After a hearty breakfast the following morning, we left Withyham to complete the final stage of our walk. The weather was again hot and humid, so we were glad of the shelter provided by the trees of Five Hundred Acre Wood (of Winnie-the-Pooh fame!). Eventually though we emerged from the trees onto the wide open heathland of Ashdown Forest. Here there was precious little shade to protect us from the fierceness of the sun, but fortunately there was a cooling breeze blowing.

We passed Camp Hill, the highest point on the Forest, before starting the long descent on the other side. Passing through mixed heathland and woodland we found ourselves close to the village of Fairwarp. I knew there was a former King & Barnes pub there, but would it be open? A group of walkers we'd met going in the opposite direction, assured us it would be but after diverting off the Wealdway into Fairwarp and seeing the opening times posted outside, we discovered to our horror that the pub (the Forester's Arms), was closed for the afternoon. There were two women sat at a table outside, one of whom turned out to be the landlady. Having watched us struggle up the hill, with full rucksacks on our backs, she took pity on us and opened up for us to buy a quick pint. The Badger First Gold tasted especially delicious after that, and thirsts quenched we were soon on our way.

After getting lost in a wood, and having to make a slight detour, we eventually ended up in Five Ash Down, which is just outside Uckfield. We were debating whether to call in at the Pig & Butcher in the village when we spotted a Tunbridge Wells bound bus heading our way. We decided to leave the Pig & Butcher for another day, and after flagging the bus down were soon on our way back home.

Three quarters of an hour later we were ensconced in the Grove Tavern, enjoying some quality Timothy Taylor's Landlord in the company of a group of friends from CAMRA, in this most excellent Tunbridge Wells local. This proved to be a fitting end to what had been a good, but rather tiring walk, which had the added bonus of allowing me to re-visit some really choice pubs.

We still have another 32 miles left to follow the Wealdway to its finish at Eastbourne, but that's for another day!

Wealdway Walk

I won't be blogging for a few days (hooray I hear you all say!). I'm off early in the morning for a four day walk along part of the Wealdway long-distance footpath. My friend Eric and will be starting from Gravesend, and then heading due south.

Four days should see us the other side of Ashdown Forest, having traversed the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge. Needless to say there will be a few pub stops en route, and I'll keep you posted about how we get on when I return.

1648 Brewery

Last Saturday saw a small group of beer enthusiasts travelling down to darkest Sussex, in order to visit the 1648 Brewery. Originally set up back in 2003, in out-buildings attached to the King's Head pub in the small village of East Hoathly, the 1648 Brewery has since gone from strength to strength. Today, as well as supplying the adjacent pub, 1648 now supplies around 30 local pubs, and even sends its beer further afield via wholesalers such as Flying Firkin.

For most of us, it was our first visit to this attractive village, and although it involved a couple of changes of buses, it was surprisingly easy to get to. Our first port of call was the King's Head itself; a classic village local that dates back to the 17th Century. Three 1648 beers were on sale, alongside Dark Star Hophead and Harveys Best. Several of us opted for the 1648 Ruby Mild, a fine reddish-coloured mild, with an abv of 3.6%, before being invited to walk round to the brewery at the side of the pub.

We were met by brewer, Dave Seabrook, who took us inside the old stable buildings which house the neat and compact brewery. The plant was designed and built by Rob Jones of Dark Star Brewery, and is unusual in that it doesn't have a hot liquor tank. The brew length is unusual too, at 4.25 barrels (72 firkins). The old hay loft, above the brewery, acts as the malt and hop store and the way everything is shoe-horned into the available space is a marvel to behold. Dave brews four times a week during busy periods, turning out an impressive range of beers, which includes regular monthly specials.

After thanking Dave for his time, we returned to the pub where we were able to sample the other 1648 beers, as well as some excellent home-cooked pub food. I particularly enjoyed the 4.4% Signature, a very pale and well-hopped bitter, alongside the seasonal 4.6% Bee-Head, a golden coloured summer ale, brewed using local Sussex honey. The Cumberland sausage and mash I had for lunch was also extremely good.

We left the pub mid-afternoon, in order to catch the bus back home. Most of us though broke our journey at Crowborough and walked down to the Cooper's Arms; one of the best pubs in the area, and one that specialises in beers from Sussex breweries. Two Dark Star beers were on sale; Hophead and Best Bitter, alongside a beer called Red Ale, from Pitfield Brewery. A wide range of Pitfield's unusual bottled beers were also on sale at the pub, but as I didn't fancy having to carry them home, I made a mental note to return there another time. I have been to the Cooper's on a number of occasions, and its location down a quiet side road on the edge of Crowborough, and the stunning views from the garden at the rear make it the sort of pub I would like to have as my local.

All in all it was an excellent day out in the Sussex countryside, which saw us visiting a couple of really good pubs. A final word though about how the 1648 Brewery acquired its name. Quite simply, as previously stated, the brewery is attached to the King's Head pub. The monarch depicted on the crooked sign that hangs outside the pub is the unfortunate Charles the First. 1648 was the year in which Charles lost his head, so 1648 is the name of the brewery. So now you know!

Bloggers Meet Up

On Saturday I met up with fellow Beer Blogger and all round nice-guy, Paul Garrard. I feel as though I owe a debt of gratitude to Paul, as he was the person responsible for getting me interested in bogging in the first place. Paul has hosted the excellent Real Ale Blog for a number of years, and it was in response to a request on his site for guest writers to contribute articles that led me to become involved. I had been writing articles on beer and pubs, for a number of years, with the aim of eventually getting them published. I e-mailed one of these articles to Paul, and a day or two later, was delighted to see it posted on the Real Ale Blog.

I followed this original post with a couple of other articles, one of which was freshly written on a topical subject. I hadn't at the time, intended to start my own blog, but after looking into it and discovering how easy it was to open a Google account, I took the plunge and set up a blog of my own. The rest, as they say, is history.

Although it's been less than two years since this process was initiated, I feel that I've got to know several fellow bloggers quite well - purely from reading their blogs, posting comments and receiving replies. This is, of course, a reciprocal arrangement and I've had some interesting comments and responses to some of the things I've blogged about. I discovered, quite early on, that I had quite a bit in common with Paul. For instance, he lives in Norfolk, a county I know well as my parents retired there, a decade and a half ago. I also learnt that Paul and his partner ran their own Beer Shop, in Bury St Edmunds. This is something I have particular experience of, as for nearly six years my wife and I ran our own successful Real Ale Off-Licence in Tonbridge. Paul had suggested meeting up a number of times previously, but somehow there always seemed to be a clash of events or prior engagements.

This time though was different. Paul informed me, via Facebook that him and his partner were planning a visit to Maidstone on 5th June, and would I be able to meet up for a drink? Maidstone is only 15 miles or so away from here, and is readily accessible by public transport, so after thumbing through the local pub guide, we decided upon a pub to meet up in. Both of us wanted somewhere that would do food, but not at the expense of the beer, so the Rifle Volunteers, one of only two pubs belonging to the local Goachers Brewery seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

My son Matt and I travelled to Maidstone by train, and as we arrived early we had time for a bit of shopping, before walking up to the the Rifle Volunteers. Paul was waiting for us in the bar, and after introductions we settled down to enjoy a few pints of the excellent Goachers beers on sale in the pub. I used to live in Maidstone, and know the Rifle Volunteers quite well. The pub used to belong to Shepherd Neame, but was sold to Goachers quite a few years ago. It is still run by the same landlord, and apart from the change of brewery ownership, has hardly altered at all over the last 30 years.

We spent an interesting few hours chatting to Paul, mainly about beer, CAMRA, running a beer shop and, of course, blogging. The Goachers Fine Light was especially good, and at £2.70 a pint was excellent value. We parted company shortly before the Rifle Volunteers shut for the afternoon. Paul went off to meet up with his good lady; Matt and I for a further look round the shops. It had been really good to meet up with Paul, and we hope to have a return match in Norwich in the not too distant future.

BBC Wrong Yet Again!

One of the items raised at CAMRA's recent Isle of Man AGM was the concern of members, and the Campaign as a whole, over the use of news clips showing a pint of traditional ale being pulled every time there was a news story about so-called "binge drinking". It was claimed that using "library pictures" in this fashion was not only lazy journalism, but also highly mis-leading. To illustrate a news article about a small minority of highly irresponsible people using images of a product that, in the main is consumed by more mature (in both meanings of the word) and responsible adults sends out the wrong message all together.

Those present were urged to complain to the media every time footage of hand-pumps and real ale are depicted in such a misleading fashion, so following Tuesday's 6 o'clock BBC News, when the very same images were used to illustrate the story about possible plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol, here is my complaint to the BBC. (Actually, I was shamed into writing it after reading Eddie Gadd's post here. For those of you not in the know, Eddie is the proprietor, and brewer of the excellent Ramsgate Brewery.)

"On Tuesday's 6 o'clock News, there was an item relating to plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcoholic drinks, in an effort to curb so-called "binge drinking". Yet again the news item featured a clip showing a pint of "real ale" being pulled from a hand-pump. To depict a product which in the main is consumed by more mature, and responsible drinkers in relation to a story relating to cut-price alcohol being sold as a "loss-leader" by supermarkets, is not only mis-leading but is also an example of lazy journalism.
The people we see fighting and falling over outside trendy bars and nightclubs on Friday and Saturday nights, are not real ale drinkers, but are mainly young people fuelled up on a cocktail of cheap spirits and alco-pops. Properly managed pubs, serving traditional ale, are NOT the cause of the problem, so why depict them in this fashion?"

Not perhaps the most erudite piece I have written, but hopefully it will help put the message across. I would urge others to follow Eddie's example. BBC Complaints Form.

Two Presentations and a Ramble

After a week of fine weather, Saturday's forecast looked certain to spoil things. The first day of the Spring Bank Holiday weekend was billed as a double event for West Kent CAMRA, in so much that we had two pubs to visit and different certificates to present to both.

The Hopbine, in the tiny hamlet of Petteridge, is a former King & Barnes pub, which is now owned by Hall & Woodhouse. As such it offers the rare opportunity of sampling this Dorset brewers excellent ales, but good though the Badger beers are in the Hopbine, the purpose of our visit on Saturday was to present landlord Mike Winser, and his wife "B" with a certificate to celebrate 25 consecutive years in the Good Beer Guide. This is a rare achievement, and there are no other pubs in the branch area that can boast such a prestigious long-running appearance. In fact I would be hard pushed to name any other pub in Kent that can claim such a thing.

The award was a few months late in being presented, as we were originally due to visit the Hopbine back in January. Some of the heaviest snow-fall in years though scuppered that plan, and with a crowded branch calender it meant that May was the earliest date we were able to re-schedule the event.

Half of those attending made the journey to Petteridge by bus, whilst the rest of us, myself included, walked. For me this was the first opportunity I'd had to try out my new hiking boots, and I must say they performed very well. Whilst not quite top of the range, I had spent a considerable sum (for me!) on them, and so would have not been best pleased had they failed to live up to expectations. My companions and I set off from Paddock Wood station to walk the three and a half miles or so the the Hopbine; it's a well-tried and well-trodden route and we were lucky that, apart from a few spots of rain, the threatened deluge didn't materialise.

The Badger First Gold on sale at the pub slipped down a treat. I don't know whether it was the thirst I had built up from the walk or not, but this beer had just the right combination of hop bite and sweet juicy malt to be the perfect post-walk pint. Landlord Mike was delighted with his certificate, and it joins several others, including Branch Pub of the Year, on his wall. Photographs were taken, hopefully for publication in the local papers, but shortly afterwards the promised rain started to come down.

I would have liked to have lingered longer in the Hopbine; it really is the perfect country pub, with a warming log fire in winter, tables and benches outside for summer, and a loyal band of regulars who, together with Mike and his wife, always provide a warm welcome for visitors. We had another pub to visit that day though; one that is a perennial branch favourite, and which this year won the Branch Pub of the Year award. On top of that the Halfway House at Brenchley was hosting its annual Whitsun Bank Holiday Beer Festival!

We got soaked walking the short, cross-country route between the two pubs, but arriving at the Halfway House we found that host Richard Allen was well prepared for the vagaries of the English climate. There were 60 beers on sale, all competitively priced at £2.80 a pint. Normally the pub has up to 10 ales on, all served by gravity direct from the cask. The bulk of the festival beers though were on sale outside, from a booth-like tented gazebo structure which provided sufficient shelter for the people serving the beers, plus those queuing up to drink them.

After selecting our beers, most of us ended up inside the pub, which was heaving. We still managed to find a table or two, as one of many delights about the Halfway House is that it is a maze of small, inter-connecting rooms on different levels, all exhibiting a degree of antiquity and cosiness that is the hall-mark of this pub. After enjoying a large beefburger, cooked outside on a covered barbecue from meat supplied by the village butcher, I started to get stuck into the beers. In the main I stayed with the pale and golden bitters, of which there were more than a few! Despite the damp weather they seemed the right thing to be drinking on this late Spring Bank Holiday weekend, and I certainly enjoyed a fair number of them. Amongst those that really stuck out were Coastal Hop Monster, Phoenix Hopsack, Hawkshead Lakeland Gold, Prospect Gold Rush and Fyne Ales Avalanche. Non golden beers I enjoyed included Lymestone Stone Faced, Wold Top Falling Stone (excellent) and Champion Winter Beer of Britain - Elland 1872 Porter.

Mid way through the afternoon the rain eased off and Iain, our branch chairman, managed to grab hold of Richard long enough to present him with his certificate outside the pub, and also to get some photographs taken. Those travelling by bus departed shortly after half four, but those of us on foot stayed until about seven o'clock.

I don't remember much about the walk back to the station , apart from crossing an abandoned golf course, that is slowly reverting back to nature, and the fact that it was quite wet underfoot. Still my new boots performed well and kept my feet bone dry, and arriving in Paddock Wood we had sufficient time to call into the local chippy for a much needed portion of chips to help soak up the excess beer!

Price Hike at Oktoberfest.

This clip from Wednesday's Telegraph is not good news for anyone thinking of attending this year's Oktoberfest! I've never been to the event myself, although I've been to Munich several times. It's one of my favourite cities and on past visits I have enjoyed sampling the wares of it's big six breweries (Augustiner, Hofbrau, Hacker-Pschorr, Lowenbrau, Paulaner and Spaten), especially in the relaxed setting of Munich's numerous beer gardens. (Incidentally the aforementioned are the only breweries allowed to participate in this two-week festival of beer-swilling and general over-indulgence.) They all brew a special Festbier for the event, and at a strength of 6% abv, perhaps the price doesn't seem quite so steep, but swilling beer of this strength by the Mass (litre), in the infectious, carnival-like atmosphere of the Wies'n may not be quite such a good idea, especially the following morning!

Having said that, I still wouldn't mind going, but as the Oktoberfest is an event that is definitely best enjoyed in the company of friends, I would need to persuade some like-minded companions to accompany me, and plenty of readies to spend on the beer! I'm not going to regurgitate all the statistics about how sausages, roasted chickens, pork knuckles and of course litres of beer that are consumed at the event, or how many million visitors attend, but for the sheer scale of the festival, it would be something to see.

I've already sorted out my holiday arrangements for this year, but if any hardy souls fancy going along in 2011, please get in touch.