Swiss Cottage Re-Visited

I made a trip up to London on Friday; my first visit since the summer. I'm not sure why I left it so long, but with Christmas and then the calamitous start to the year, it's perhaps not surprising. The attraction which drew me to the capital, was an invitation to taste Budvar's Fresh Hop Imperial Lager.

This is a very special beer, brewed once a year using freshly harvested hops, and then matured for a period of 200 days. I will be writing about this special tasting event later on, but as it wasn't scheduled to start until 1.30pm, I had a few hours free time on my hands.

I decided to use the spare time by making a nostalgic visit back to an area of London which I knew well from my childhood days. The area known as Swiss Cottage, is named after a famous landmark pub. My maternal grandparents lived just up the road; their house being situated in a small side street, off the Finchley Road. I have fond memories of visiting them and of staying with them during the school holidays.

My grandparents were regular pub-goers, and their local was an imposing Victorian pub called the North Star, situated opposite Finchley Road Underground Station. I imagine they would also have visited the Swiss Cottage pub as well, from time to time but, of course have no proof of this. Reading up on the Swiss Cottage I discovered it is now owned by Yorkshire brewers, Samuel Smiths, so this seemed a good enough reason to make a return visit.

I had been in the Swiss Cottage on a couple of occasions as a teenager. This was when a school friend and I had stayed at my Nan's place during one of the summer holidays. Neither of were legally old enough to drink, but that wasn't too much of a problem back in the early 1970's. Even so, we'd been refused service at a small pub just up the road from my grandmother's, so with only our pride to lose we decided to give the Swiss Cottage a go.

I remembered from earlier visits to my grandparents that the pub had been re-built just a few years previously, so when we stepped inside we were impressed with what we found. The Swiss Cottage was a free-house and, given its modernity, stocked all the latest keg brands. We were served without any trouble, and whilst I obviously can't remember which of these beers we drank, I have a gut feeling it may have been Worthington E.

We returned to the pub a few days later, this time with my Nan and her friend Kit in tow. It was a good evening, and my Nan really let her hair down, especially after she'd had a few G&T's. Pub visits would have been a rare occurrence for her, following the death of my grandfather who had passed away a few years previously, so it was good to see her enjoying herself. There was some good old fashioned singing on the way back to Nan's, including a couple of rather amusing and slightly risqué ditties.

That visit would have been in the summer of 1972, and until Friday, it was the last time I'd set foot in the Swiss Cottage. It was therefore with a mixture of excitement and nostalgia that I entered the pub. Before describing my visit, it's worth taking a look back at the Swiss Cottage, and its impact on the area named after it.

 

The Swiss Cottage was built sometime between 1830 and 1840; depending on which history you read. There was an earlier pub on the site known as the Swiss Tavern. This functioned as a coaching inn, and seeing as the Swiss chalet look was popular in the first half of the nineteenth century, it would have been no surprise for the  new pub to have been built in this style and given its current name.

During the latter half of the 19th Century the area grew up around the pub. In 1850 it was the terminus of the General Omnibus Company for their route to London Bridge, and in 1868 the underground railway arrived; the station being named after the pub. The current station, which today serves the Jubilee line between Finchley Road and St John's Wood, opened in 1939.

In the 1960s, the Swiss Cottage was redeveloped and extended as part of a local road widening scheme — a far cry from its roots in the fields surrounding London, but still maintaining its alpine charm. Today the pub is a chalet-style building, with wooden pillars and balconies. Shutters surround the windows and hanging baskets complete the alpine look.

This wasn't really how I remembered the pub, but then the surrounding area also seemed much altered and certainly much smaller than it did when I was a child. I arrived just after 11.30am to find the doors well and truly locked and no signs of life inside. I guessed that the pub would be opening at midday, so to kill time, I crossed the road and took a walk along Finchley Road.

Across the road I could see the aforementioned North Star, where my grandparents used to drink. The pub looked tacky and unloved; the Sky Sports posters plastered over the outside not helping its image. I then walked past the former John Barnes department store, where my mother had worked prior to starting a family. John Barnes was part of the John Lewis group, so it is not surprising that it is now a large Waitrose store. The upstairs floors, which were once part of the store, appear to have been converted into apartments.

It was time to turn round when I reached Finchley Road Underground station. Before doing so, I noticed the flower stall was still there. Back in the day, it had been run by my Nan's friend Kit, and then by her son Michael. My grandfather also operated a flower stall, up on Hampstead Heath.

The Swiss Cottage was open when I arrived back and there were already a couple of customers sitting inside. This was a good sign, as I hate being the first customer of the day/session. Any seasoned pub-goer will know the trepidation which comes from the thought of, has the beer been pulled through properly, or even at all! Will I be served a pint of dull-looking ditch water, or will that pint be the one I am looking for to quench my thirst and set me up for the day. It was then that I noticed the other customers all drinking lager, which wasn't such a good sign.

Being a Sam Smith's pub there was just the one cask ale on offer; the legendary Old Brewery Bitter. My pint took a fair bit of pulling through, but I don't know whether this was because the beer was overly lively, or it was the effect of pulling it through that tight sparkler which Yorkshiremen seem to love. When the beer finally settled in the glass it was slightly cloudy, but it tasted fine. I scored it at 3.0 NBSS. It was priced at £3.20 a pint, which although slightlymore than I remember for Sam's Smiths, was still good value.

I was spoilt for the choice of a table to sit at; choosing one within sight of the bar. It was quite dark inside the pub, and I had trouble reading in the dim light, but I sat there enjoying my pint along with the packet of Sam Smith's "own brand", ready-salted crisps. The lattice windows with an imitation oil-lamp on each window sill, added to the effect of a Swiss Chalet. I only stayed for the one pint, as I needed to get back into central London for the Imperial Lager tasting, so I left the pub and headed back down to the Underground.

I'm pleased to have made a return visit to the Swiss Cottage after four and a half decades, but having done so my curiosity has been satisfied and somehow I don't think I'll be going back for a second time.

Pub of the Year Tour - Part Two

Well the winner of the West Kent Pub of the Year has at last been confirmed, but I’ve been requested not to reveal its identity until the pub  has been informed. Fair comment, we will instead carry on from where we left off last time, by looking at the other three finalists.

Some time after 2pm, our chartered mini-bus headed back into Tunbridge Wells in order to visit the fourth pub on our itinerary. Finding a place to park on a Saturday afternoon was always going to be a problem, but fortunately there is a row of designated spaces on the edge of Tunbridge Wells Common, reserved for coaches and tour buses. Our driver decided our vehicle qualified in the latter category, so after parking up, we walked up the hill towards our destination.

On the way we passed the site of the old Kent & Sussex Hospital, now being re-developed as a collection of “high-end” houses and apartments. Just past this on-going development is the George, an attractive old coaching inn, which can trace its history back to the Georgian era, when Tunbridge Wells was first being developed as a town.

After an unfortunate period as a rather tacky night-spot (Liquid Lounge, TN4), the pub has been lovingly restored to something approaching its former glory, and reverted, thankfully, to its original name. The George is now a smart, friendly free house, which provides an exciting new venue at the "top end" of Tunbridge Wells.

The pub features a range of seven cask ales, most of which are from small brewers. There is also an extensive selection of "craft beers", along with a couple of traditional ciders. Two beers caught my attention, Marble Pint and 360º Stout. The first beer gave me the opportunity to utter the immortal words, "a pint of Pint, please"; the second was a very tasty half to finish up on.

There are several distinct areas inside, with wooden floors and panelling, and plenty of comfortable seating. A couple of open fires provide a welcoming warmth in winter, and for the summer months there is a patio area in front of the pub, plus a hidden, “secret garden” down some steps at the rear of the building.

After ordering our drinks, most of us opted for something to eat; my Cajun Chicken Melt was particularly tasty, and was just the right portion size so as not to impede further drinking. The stop-over also afforded a good opportunity to catch up with some friends who I hadn't seen since before Christmas. It was then back on the bus for the last leg of the tour; the final two rural pubs.

The first of these was the Windmill at Sevenoaks Weald, a pub which needs little in the way of introduction to readers of this blog. It’s hard to believe now that the Windmill was once under the threat of closure, but after being given a new lease of life six years ago following its acquisition by sympathetic new owners, it went on to become branch Pub of the Year. It kept this title for four years running, and in 2014 reached the final four of  CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year competition.

Licensees Matt and Emma have achieved this success through attention to detail and a strong emphasis placed on customer service. This, combined with their sensitive restoration of a fine old Victorian pub, has made this reborn village local a real destination pub. The Windmill's six hand pumps dispense a range of beer styles and strengths, alongside a number of real local ciders.

Unfortunately our visit that Saturday was not quite the full-on "Windmill experience" we’d been expecting. The England v France clash in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament was in full flow when we arrived, and the pub was packed with supporters, all cheering on the home side. It was therefore standing room only.

Now don’t get me wrong, under different circumstances a Six Nations rugby game would have grabbed my interest, so I am being unfair and just a little hypocritical to be moaning about it here, but I believe the packed pub interfered with my ability to judge it as objectively as I might otherwise. I didn’t mark it down, but being squashed into the lobby next to the restaurant didn’t exactly enhance our visit. This did mean there were certain areas where I had to rely on past visits in order to make my score.

I was somewhat relieved when we left, and headed in a south-westerly direction, up into the High Weald for the final pub of the tour; the wonderful unspoilt Queen’s Arms a.k.a. Elsie’s. The Queens Arms is listed on CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, and a visit there really is like stepping back in time.

Nothing much has changed in this simple country ale-house since the 1930's, but its future had been under threat for some time after Elsie, the long-serving landlady, had to move into a care home. The pub was then run by a dedicated band of locals for nearly 5 years, until 2014, when it was bought and restored by its present owners.

Elsie is sadly no longer with us, but her spirit lives on in the pub she was not only born in, but had also lived in for virtually her entire life. It is worth noting that the Queens Arms has one of the last remaining totally unspoilt rural public bars, which dates from the Victorian era. Apart from the paintwork, this  step back to an earlier time has been almost untouched since the end of the nineteenth century.

It was this bar which accommodated our party, and it was a relief to be able to escape from the Six Nations rugby match being shown in the other bar. There was just the one beer on; Larkin’s Traditional, which was on fine form, but apart from the community spirit, there was little else in way of attraction, and no food apart from crisps.

This did lead several of us to query, at least to ourselves that despite its obvious historical, why was a pub like the Queen’s Arms included in the Pub of the Year competition? It may well be a “national treasure” but it is run as a “hobby pub”; the current owners both having full time jobs.

All the same it was nice to finish up there, but realistically speaking it was never going to win, and probably just as well given its limited opening hours. For a trip back in time though, the Queen’s Arms is well worth a visit, and further information regarding its history and character can be found here, on Whatpub.

It was around 7pm when the bus dropped us back in Tunbridge Wells. Several people went on to the Royal Oak, whilst a couple of others popped into the Bedford, next to the station With a busy family Mother’s Day event taking place the following day, I decided I’d had enough beer I called it a day and caught the next train back to Tonbridge,  after an enjoyable, but rather hectic day out.

Pub of the Year Tour - Part One

With still no word from the West Kent CAMRA Committee regarding the winner of branch Pub of the Year, I can only assume that the news embargo is still in place. So not wishing to upset the apple-cart, I won’t be releasing the name of the winning pub until it’s officially announced.

What I can do though is provide a write up of the six pubs we visited 10 days ago and, for the time being at least, leave readers to draw their own conclusions. As the write-up is quite lengthy, I have divided it into two halves, with each part detailing three pubs.

The Pub of the Year tour got off to a sticky start. The plan was for the mini-bus to pick participants up outside Tunbridge Wells railway station, before setting off on a carefully planned out route. Well you know what is said about the best laid plans, and this one hit a snag right  from the off.

The station at Tunbridge Wells has two entrances; one on each side of the tracks. This meant a couple of people keeping lookout on one side, whilst the main part of the group waited on the other. 

The 11.30am pick-up came and went, and at first the non-show of the bus was put down to heavy traffic; not exactly an unusual occurrence on a busy Saturday, but as the time crept on, it was time for the group coordinator to phone the bus company. The office was closed, but somehow the driver's number was obtained.

There had been a mix-up regarding the pick-up time, and the driver was still making his way down the A21 from Bromley. An "executive decision" was  then taken to head up to one of the two Tunbridge Wells pubs on the list, and start judging. The bus would be able to catch up with us from there.

We walked up the hill towards Fuggles Beer Café, which was now the first pub, and ordered our first beers of the day. From our point of view it was good to find the place quiet. The opposite normally applies, but the lack of people milling around afforded a good opportunity to assess the pub, without any distractions. I liked the feel  which Fuggles had during this quiet period, as it allowed time to peruse the artwork and admire the display of enamelled Belgian beer signs.

There was the usual selection of six cask ales on, and whilst some of us might have been tempted by one of the "craft keg" options, this was a CAMRA competition and, for the time being at least, cask was the type of beer which the pub would be judged on. One member of our party, who is renowned for a love of strong beers, went straight in with a pint of Great Rift Milk Stout; a 6.0% beer from Wander Beyond Brewing. Knowing there was long day ahead I, rather more sensibly, opted for the Eponymous; a 3.2% “Table Beer” from Eight Arch Brewing.

Pale in colour, but packed with flavour, in spite of its low strength, this refreshing beer was just right to kick off what would prove to be lengthy session. Having dutifully completed our voting times there was precious little time to sit back and relax, because we received a call that our mini-bus would soon be with us. We dutifully filed outside, ready to pile into the bus as soon as it arrived.

Our bus headed out of town towards what should have been the first port of call. This was the Halfway House, an unspoilt, rambling old alehouse, just down the hill from the village of Brenchley. The Halfway is a previous winner of  Pub of the Year, and offers a wide range of gravity-served beers. It also holds two annual beer festivals; one in May and the other in August.

Local ales feature prominently amongst the range at the Halfway, so it was no surprise that I opted for a refreshing pint of Goacher's Fine Light, from Maidstone. Our party split into two groups, one choosing to congregate around the bar, whilst the rest of us sat up in a part of the pub which is on a different level, and almost cut off from the rest of the building. We sat and filled in our scores, and some members took the opportunity of re-charging their glasses.

I like the Halfway House, and have fond memories of the beer festivals I have enjoyed there over the years, but it is a real "mish-mash" of a place which never quite seems to fulfil its own potential. There wasn't much time to dwell on this though as before long we were marshalled back onto the min-bus to make the short journey to the third pub of the day, the Dovecote in the tiny hamlet of Capel.

The Dovecote is a small, narrow pub situated in a row of terraced cottages. It has the appearance of having been converted from one or more of these dwellings. Like the Halfway House, the Dovecote also serves its cask ales by gravity. This is no surprise to those who know the history of the pub, as the former landlord is now the licensee of the Halfway House. 

It was at the Dovecote that the landlord first perfected his unusual, but rather innovative method of storing the beer in a temperature-controlled room, and then serving it by means of "long-reach" taps, which poke through a series of strategically placed holes in the wall between the "cellar " and the bar.

The Dovecote is also noteworthy for selling Gales HSB. Although HSB is now brewed by Fuller's, it is a beer which brings back happy memories of a short break taken by a student friend and I, along with our respective girlfriends. My friend’s mother owned a holiday cottage, deep in the Surrey countryside, to the south of Godalming, and the four of us travelled down from Manchester to enjoy a long weekend in the country.

There was a Gales pub in the next village, stocking several of the company's cask beers, and it was here that I first sampled and enjoyed HSB. It may sound strange, but I can still remember how good that first pint tasted, so seeing HSB on sale at the Dovecote meant I just had to have a pint.

I wasn’t disappointed, but there wasn’t time to stay for another as the pub was packed out with diners, and there was nowhere to sit. Instead we clambered onto the bus and headed back into Tunbridge Wells for the fourth pub of the trip.

To be continued………………………….

CAMRA is not alone

Reading carefully through all the “Special Resolution” bumph which came with this month’s “What’s Brewing”, and also looking at the “manifestos” presented by the candidates for the National Executive election, I was reminded, yet again that the biggest problem facing CAMRA today is not that of where to focus future campaigning, or indeed whether the organisation should embrace “other types” of beer.

Instead, the elephant in the room, which no-one seems to know how to address, is that of a declining active membership;  along with that of an increasing aged one. Rest assured though, for CAMRA is not alone in being hit with this double-whammy. Other membership based organisations are equally affected, as I  discovered last week.

For some time now I have wanted to become more involved with the activities of the town where I live, and find some way of contributing towards what goes on in Tonbridge. A friend of mine belongs to a group which carries out voluntary work at the local Haysden Country Park, but this involves a regular monthly commitment, every second Saturday.

My friend is retired, so is able to give more freely of his time than I am, and whilst the outdoor work does sound appealing, the monthly involvement  is something I am unable to commit to at present. Instead the idea of becoming a member of Tonbridge’s twin-town association seemed more appropriate.

 

Tonbridge has been twinned with the German town of Heusenstamm since 1984,  and there are established links between many local groups with their opposite number in Heusenstamm. These include music and theatre groups as well as schools and sports clubs, and these participate in shared activities, including exchange visits and joint ventures.

The Heusenstamm Friendship Circle, aims to bring together those who are interested in twinning, to encourage people to take part in visits to Heusenstamm and to receive visitors from Germany. It also helps and advises those who wish to make private visits, and to meet socially.

Heusenstamm lies in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region to the south east of Frankfurt am Main, and is one of several towns in the Offenbach district of the state of Hesse. It has a population of around 18,000 people, which is just under half that of Tonbridge. Both towns have a number of historic buildings, including a castle each.

As someone who visits Germany on a fairly regular basis, the idea of joining the Friendship Circle seemed a logical one, particularly as  Heusenstamm is situated in a part of the country I am not familiar with. I am reasonably fluent in German, so I thought this also would be of mutual benefit. I consequently filled out my membership form and posted it off with my £10 annual membership fee.

A few days alter I received a call from the secretary, thanking me for my application and welcoming me to the group. She informed me the association would be holding its AGM the following week, and asked if I would like to attend. I said yes, and so last Tuesday evening I walked down the town’s Rose & Crown Hotel, ready to meet some of the group’s members.

It had been explained to me earlier that the AGM would take place after the Circle’s Annual Dinner. It was too late for me to have booked a place, but this was not a problem as far as I was concerned. On arriving at the Rose & Crown, I was shown into the function room, and introduced to the secretary and chairman.

So far so good, they both seemed very pleasant and helpful people and were obviously pleased to welcome a new member to the group. Their pleasure was no doubt enhanced by the fact that not only did I represent “new blood”, but compared to the rest of those present, I was positively youthful.

Now I am no spring chicken, but looking around, I can safely say that with the possible exception of the town mayor (who was probably present  in an honorary capacity anyway), I was by far the youngest person in the room. And I thought CAMRA had a problem!

I sat and listened politely as the meeting worked its way through the AGM agenda. In many ways it was similar to a CAMRA AGM, with reports from the chairman, secretary and treasurer, the presentation and approval of accounts etc, and when it came to the election of officers, the similarities became even more striking.

There were no takers for either the position of chairman or that of secretary. This was despite both incumbents having expressed a wish to stand down. It transpired that both had served over 20 years apiece; small wonder that they fancied a rest! With no possible successors coming forward, they both agreed to carry on, but as the secretary confided to me after the meeting, being an octogenarian is all well and good, but the group was definitely in need of some new blood.

This of course was blindingly obvious, especially to a newcomer like me, but being a newbie I had no intention of putting myself forward; not until I had learnt a great deal more about the group and its German counterpart.

And therein lies the problem facing voluntary groups today, as for whatever reason, people don’t want to get involved to the extent they would have done when such organisations were founded. I include CAMRA here, of course, as well as the Heusenstamm Friendship Circle, and there is no easy answer.

I left the meeting, as soon as it was polite enough to do so, and made my way to Fuggles. I ordered myself a well-earned pint of Larkin’s Porter and sent a text to Eileen, advising her that I was the youngest person present at the meeting. “You won’t be going again, then?” was her response.

I didn’t reply straight away, in fact it wasn’t until breakfast time the following morning that the matter came up again. “I’m not sure,” was my honest response. I don’t mind getting involved when the group have visitors over from Germany; that way I can put my language skills to the test and get in some much needed practice.

I would also be quite happy to travel over to Heusenstamm, when the town holds its traditional Christmas Market, known as the Nikolausmarkt. That way I can get to know people better, and also lend a hand with the English Produce Stall which the Friendship Circle run at the market. But joining the committee would be a completely different ball-game and not one I wish to contemplate at the moment.

As with CAMRA the problem is all too obvious. Both groups need to attract younger people to their ranks, or they are doomed to wither and die. No-one seems to know the answer, but the simple fact remains people just don’t want to get involved with voluntary organisations anymore.

In some ways I felt relieved that it wasn’t just CAMRA who are affected by this lack of involvement, but I feel the answer is much more than just a generational thing.  Society today is much more fractured than it was a few generations ago, and people seem so much more wrapped up in their own little bubble.

Whether this bodes well for society in general, remains to be seen.

.

Waiting for the white smoke

Well rather like waiting for a decision from the College of Cardinals, there’s still no word from the West Kent CAMRA committee as to the winner of the Pub of the Year,  and whilst I have an inkling of the pub which was selected, I don't want to reveal its name until the official result has been declared.

From what I understand, the voting was very tight, with possibly three pubs in contention for the title; and it’s all dependent on how the scores are assessed. This is because CAMRA attaches more importance to certain categories than to others. It’s all very complicated, and quite frankly rather anal, but as soon as I know officially which pub came top, I will let you know.

As one friend, and tour participant  posted, “At the start of the tour it was not important to me which pub won and I went to support the branch, catch up with people and have a good day”. I felt exactly the same,  remaining detached from the outcome, secure in the knowledge I had scored each pub, and each category, as fairly and as objectively as possible.

I had a good day as well, catching up with friends and acquaintances, many of whom I hadn’t seen since before Christmas. These days the social aspect is, for me, what CAMRA should be about. I've done my time in the trenches, surveying pubs, attending branch meetings and filling in endless forms, and I'm sure there are many people who feel the same.

The Revitalisation Project might be about to reach its conclusion, but whatever happens visiting good pubs and enjoying good beer in the company of people I like, will always be the main attraction of CAMRA for me. If I needed confirmation of this, Saturday's bus trip was it, but other events such as walks to country pubs, visits to beer festivals serve to reinforce this view.

I ended yesterday evening by enjoying a couple of glasses of Larkin's Porter at Fuggles Tonbridge. Given the time of year, it was almost certainly one of the last casks of Porter of the season, but was none the worse for that. Smooth, dark  and full of rich chocolate and coffee flavours Larkin's Porter is one of the finest winter ales around, and was a good beer to finish on.

Just to keep you guessing

Saturday’s Pub of the Year tour worked out well in the end, despite a mix-up over the initial  pick-up time, which saw us milling around outside Tunbridge Wells station, kicking our heels and champing at the bit.

Fortunately all was not lost, as having been advised of the revised collection time, we were able to reschedule our itinerary and  “knock off” one of the Tunbridge Wells pubs first.

We had a really good day and visited six excellent pubs; all potential winners of Pub of the Year, and all fine establishments in their own right. One thing many of us found, and I know I did, is scoring pubs according to the strict criteria laid down by CAMRA, is hard work. People might scoff at this, but it really does require a lot of thought and consideration to  score pubs accurately and as objectively as possible.

I would like to think I did this to the best of my ability, and I’m pretty certain that my travelling companions will have done the same. It’s all a lot different to the situation the branch found itself in a decade or so ago, when several regulars from one particular short-listed pub, booked themselves on the tour, and then promptly awarded that pub full marks in each section. As if they hadn’t already revealed their bias towards their favourite pub, they then proceeded to give low marks to the remaining five pubs.

Fortunately this attempt at vote swinging was so blatantly obvious, that it stood out like a sore thumb, and the votes of these individuals were discarded. Regrettably, it left the branch feeling wary of running this type of tour in the future, so Saturday’s trip was  deliberately kept low-key, in so much that it was not widely advertised, and restricted to members who were known and trusted.

Some might view this as elitism, but in truth the fact that such a tour was taking place, was made known to all those who bother to attend socials, or other branch events, and therefore those who put in the effort to turn up at CAMRA functions were those given the opportunity to participate in this important selection process. Personally I think this is not only fair, but also a just reward for all those who make the effort in the first place.

A full report of the pub tour will follow in due course, but for now I'll just say that whilst all six finalists were of a very high standard, there was one pub which for me, stood head and shoulders above the rest. Whether my fellow travellers/pub surveyors, thought the same, remains to be seen, but we will find out the results soon enough.

In the meantime the photos might provide a few clues as to the identity of the six finalists; especially to anyone living locally, or familiar with the pubs of West Kent.