GBBF Day One

Tuesday, my one and only visit to Earls Court this year. It's more than a few years since I last attended GBBF for the Trade Session. Although strictly speaking I'm no longer actively involved with the licensed trade, I still have quite a few contacts, so it was quite easy getting hold of a couple of tickets. I travelled up with a friend from work, but once inside the hall we soon met up with a number of other West Kent CAMRA members who'd had the foresight to grab a table. We made this our base for the rest of the day, and there were enough of us to ensure the table wasn't left totally unoccupied whilst the remainder of us went off foraging for whichever beers (and food) took our fancy.

My strategy this year was to start off with a few milds and weaker bitters, before moving on to the porters and stouts. Having done this, I would then move across to the imported beers on the Biers sans Frontieres stand. The inter-active beer lists on the GBBF website, which allow one to select and save those beers which take your fancy, and then come back and edit it later on, were a great innovation. How much easier it was to produce one's own "wish list" at the click of a mouse, without having to print off and copy out great chunks of text.

The strategy got off to a poor start, with several of the beers I wanted to sample not available. No problem, I had brought a reserve list, which just happened to be the first one I had knocked up. As this contained over 50 entries, I had sensibly whittled it down somewhat, but in the end it came in handy. The other really good innovation about this year's festival was the use of colourful "chalk-boards", displaying lists of all the beers on sale at each bar - full marks to the person(s) behind this idea.

We missed the announcement of the Champion Beer of Britain (CBOB) results, but whilst I wouldn't want to take anything away from the winners, Rudgate Mild doesn't really strike me as Supreme CBOB. I met up with plenty of old friends, including several members of Maidstone & Mid-Kent Branch. I also had a brief chat with Phil and Debbie Goacher, plus their brewer Simon and his girlfriend.

For lunch I enjoyed a pasty from the Crusty Pie Company, followed by a mature cheddar roll from the Traditional Cheese Company. Much later on, and plenty of beer later, I had an excellent red Thai curry, courtesy of Nuch's Kitchen. I have to say that my two favourite beers of the festival were both from the Czech Republic, and both from the same brewery. Brewed in the Moravian town of Humpolec, Bernard Brewery's excellent Cerne Pivo (dark) and Sveltly Pivo (light), both unpasteurised, and in the case of the latter, unfiltered as well, really hit the spot so far as I was concerned, and have whetted my appetite for a long overdue return visit to the Czech Republic. The best home-produced beers I sampled were Yates Fever Pitch, a 3.9% bitter, Grain Tamarind, a really tasty 5.1% IPA and the Bristol Beer Factory's 4.5% Milk Stout, who's name speaks for itself!

I have been looking at comments posted on other blogs, including those of the festival organisers. Several have drawn attention to the large percentage of female visitors, estimated at around 40%. Whilst I too noticed this phenomenon last year, as an ordinary punter, Trade Day seemed much more of a male preserve, reinforcing my admittedly somewhat prejudiced view of it as a glorified "publicans outing". Nevertheless it was an extremely enjoyable day out, and from CAMRA's point of view a highly successful one, with numbers significantly up on last year. The organisers and all the hard working volunteers should be congratulated for the truly professional event that the Great British Beer Festival is today.

Footnote: now that I've had a couple of days to recover I'm sorry that I won't be attending the festival again tomorrow (Friday). Unfortunately, with a holiday in Bavaria fast approaching I don't really feel justified in spending another full day at Earls Court, much as I would like to. However, I'm extremely heartened by what I experienced, and by all the positive feedback about the event that I've read to date. Well done, CAMRA!

Shoreham Pub Crawl

I can't think of many better ways of spending a wet and windy July evening than visiting a pub. Last Wednesday's CAMRA social surpassed this by taking in not one but four pubs. The village of Shoreham is situated in the picturesque Darenth Valley, between Sevenoaks and Swanley, and only a few miles from the M25. It is however, a world away from the frantic pace of the country's busiest motorway, ranking as one of the most attractive and prettiest villages in this part of Kent. With small, narrow streets, stone-built and half-timbered cottages and the River Darent running through its centre, it is hard to believe that London is less than 30 miles away.

Shoreham is readily accessible by train, so it proved the ideal venue for a crawl around its four pubs. There used to be five pubs in the village, but the Royal Oak, which many CAMRA members regarded as the best pub in Shoreham, unfortunately closed its doors for the last time several years ago. Still, four pubs in a village this size isn't bad going, especially in today's economic climate, and I am glad to report that on the night of our visit, all four were pulling in a reasonable trade.

This was the first time I have visited Shoreham in daylight, as previous pub crawls here have always been held either earlier or later in the year. It was good therefore to be able to walk down from the station along the unlit country lane without needing a torch! As we entered the vilage we passed Ye Olde George Inne, the first of Shoreham’s four pubs. The plan was to head for the furthest pub and then work our way back here, leaving ourselves handily situated for the short walk back up the hill to the station. Crossing over the fast-flowing Darent, and passing both the Kings Arms and the Two Brewers, we made our way to the Crown for our first pint of the night.

The Crown is a rambling old building with low ceilings and plenty of exposed beams. Somewhat unusually in this day and age it still has two separate bars. We chose the lower, and larger of these, and after discarding our wet weather gear, settled down to enjoy a beer or two. Greene King Abbot and Westerham Summer Perle were the beers on offer. Most of us opted for the latter, finding it an ideal summer pint; the only thing missing was summer itself!

From the Crown it was back to the Two Brewers. This pub, with its one large L-shaped bar, open-plan layout and red and gold wall-paper reminds me more of a restaurant than an actual pub. It was certainly quite busy with diners when we called in. Sheperd Neame Spitfire and Greene King IPA were the beers on tap. I am not a great fan of either of these beers, but opted for the IPA over the Sheps.

We then moved on to the white weather boarded, 16th Century Kings Arms; an altogether smaller, and perhaps more intimate pub. Although some of the internal walls have been removed, the pub effectively still has two bars. The Harveys Best was the beer of choice here, and to my mind was probably the best pint of the evening. All too soon though it was time to brave the rain again and move on to the final pub on our crawl, Ye Olde George.

The George had been closed on my previous two visits to Shoreham, as for some reason the previous licensee had kept strange, and rather erratic opening hours. Happily this is no longer the case following a change of ownership that has given the pub a new lease of life. Ye Olde George Inne lives up to its name, with low-beamed ceilings, and uneven floors, but what we found most attractive was the Batemans XB on sale. Although the brewery's stronger XXXB is occasionally seen in this neck of the woods, its weaker, but by no means less tasty stablemate is a real rarity. It was something of a pity then that we had to leave before last orders in order to catch the last train back to Sevenoaks.

So ended what had been a most enjoyable, but somewhat hectic tour of one of Kent’s prettiest villages.

War & Peace

No, not the lengthy novel by Count Leo Tolstoy, but the world's largest military vehicle and World War II re-enactment event. Held at the former Whitbread Hop Farm, over at nearby Paddock Wood, the "War & Peace Show" attracts thousands of visitors, and exhibitors from all over the world.

I was in Paddock Wood for most of last week, taking part in a First Aid Course, and throughout the week the numbers of vintage military vehicles driving up and down the High Street, and the numbers of uniformed personnel dressed in appropriate military costume, steadily increased. Some friends of mine, most of whom are members of Maidstone & Mid-Kent CAMRA, belong to one such re-enactment society; in their case the Home Guard. Every year they set up camp, alongside hundreds of other exhibitors, over at the Hop Farm, and spend the week under canvas living the sort of life that servicemen would have done sixty or so years ago, (without the danger from real bombs and bullets of course).

My wife thinks it's all a bit sad, but they enjoy it and they're not doing anyone any harm. In the case of those enthusiasts who turn up with a fully restored Tiger or T-34 tank, then it really is an example of "boys and their toys"! My son likes going to the show though, so this year like several others before, we joined the thousands of visitors thronging the Hop Farm on a sunny and very warm Saturday. We watched a couple of re-enactments taking place in the large arena at the top of the farm. The gun shots and explosions were both noisy and realistic, as were the battle scenes that were taking place.

Afterwards we wandered up and down the aisles perusing the dozens of stalls selling everything from army surplus to spare parts for your 1945 Willy's Jeep, plus everything in between. There were stall holders from all over Europe, and even a few places beyond. We dropped in on the Maidstone Home Guard re-enactment group, knowing that they usually have a couple of casks of decent ale tapped in their mess-tent. Unfortunately we caught them at a busy time, and they were unable to break off from guard duty (collecting on behalf of the RAF Benevolent Fund) to stop an offer us a beer. No problem we thought, we'll check out the beer tent, but not holding out too much hope of a decent pint. Sure enough there was the usual fizzy rubbish on sale - Fosters, John Smiths and the like. Not wishing to lower my standards, despite a raging thirst, I headed for the nearby Vegetarian Stall which I remembered last year was selling bottled Belgian beers. This year a small blackboard next to the stand was advertising the presence of "real ale". Not seeing much evidence of this on the stall itself I made further enquiries and was shown to an adjoining display of Bottle-Conditioned beers, specially brewed for the event under their own Bi-Veg label. I chose the 3 Strikes London Chocolate Porter, which at 5% abv, was just right. The bottle was nicely chilled, and although I had to pour it into a plastic glass, it slipped down a treat. £3.30 for a 500ml, hand-crafted BCA at a show like this wasn't bad. Unfortunately I wasn't able to ascertain who had brewed this interesting range of beer, which also included an Organic Pilsner and an IPA, but the beer I had was outstandingly good.

All this set me thinking, why do us Brits put up with such appaling mass-swill at these sort of events? Surely there is room for a few more entrepeneurs here, like the Bi-Veg crew, to offer something different and more distinctive. I can't imagine shows and events taking place in Germany, for example, without a decent drop of local beer on tap, so why not here?

First Aider

I only spent one day at work this week; the other four were spent attending a First Aid at Work Course run by the British Red Cross. Today (Friday) was our assessment, and I'm pleased to report that we all passed. There were only seven of us on the course, but they were a nice bunch of people, from very different and diverse backgrounds and it was good to mix with people I perhaps wouldn't have done otherwise . The best bit, of course, is that we've all been trained in the basics of First Aid, and if push came to the shove would be able to step in and help people when they're injured or taken ill. I hope none of us are ever put in an extreme situation, but who knows one day we may even go that stage further and end up saving someones life!

Spa Valley Railway

I've been out and about again today, trying to persuade outlets to take our new pub guide. I must say I'm glad I don't earn my living as a salesman as I'm not naturally a pushy person.

This morning I visited the Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells, as our CAMRA committee thought this prime tourist attraction might be interested in stocking the guide in their shop. They are, in principle, but it has to be done through the right channels. This means a formal written approach through their commercial director. OK I can understand where they're coming from, but why does everything have to be so dam complicated these days?

Speaking of which, I was talking to a couple of the staff in the railway's well-stocked shop, and asked them how the extension of the line down to Eridge was progressing. Well, nearly everything's in place now they told me; the infrastructure's all there, but because their newly-laid section of track runs alongside that of Network Rail. and because they are leasing one of the bay platforms at Eridge station from said organisation, the bureaucracy and red-tape is seriously delaying things. The railway had hoped to be running trains from Tunbridge Wells right through to Eridge, thereby connecting with the national rail network, by spring this year. It now looks as though this will not happen until October, just when things are starting to run down at the end of the tourist season and we head into winter. I really felt for the people who run this attraction. Like most heritage railways they rely almost exclusively on an army of unpaid volunteers. Despite all their hard work, it now looks like they will miss the all-important summer season, through no fault of their own. I wish them well; I don't want to sound like an anorak but if I ever win the lottery and can afford to retire early, I will go down and volunteer myself, as projects like this one really do deserve to succeed!

As a bit of background, the line from Tunbridge Wells West to Eridge only closed in 1985; a victim of the Thatcher government's obsession of trying to make British Rail turn in a profit. Although the West Station was originally constructed as a terminus, a short length of line was laid in the late 19th Century linking it with the town's other station, which used to be called Tunbridge Wells Central. When the line from Tonbridge down to Hastings was electrified in the early 1980's, BR used this as an excuse to sever the connection to the West Station and proposed closing the rest of the line. A severe backlog of maintenance on the Eridge line didn't exactly help either, but many cynics, myself included, believed that the main reason for closure was the substantial area of land occupied by the West Station. Sure enough this land was sold to developers following the line's closure, and a large Sainsbury Superstore now occupies much of the site.

As is so often the case, there was strong local opposition to the closure, but this counted for nothing so far as the then Transport Secretary, Nicholas Ridley was concerned, and he duly approved the closure order. Now, after a gap of over twenty years, trains will soon be running again all the way down to Eridge. This means that local CAMRA members will once again be able to travel by train to the Huntsman pub, next to the station. This former King & Barnes is well worth a visit, especially as Badger Beers are quite rare in this part of the country. It is also worth noting that the Spa Valley run special "real ale" trains, similar to those on the Keighly and Worth Valley Railway, alongside their "fish and chip" specials. The Crown at Groombridge is another fine pub, that is well worth travelling to by train, as is the High Rocks, set in its own spectacular location just outside Tunbridge Wells.

If you are in the area then, it is well worth checking out the Spa Valley Railway.

A Typical Saturday in Tonbridge

I've been out and about a bit today. I was supposed to be out trying to sell copies of our newly published "Gateway to Kent" pub guide. I did manage to sell a few, one to a friend who I met up with in our local Wetherspoons, plus several to the owner of MR Books, a fascinating and slightly quirky independent bookshop, tucked away just off the High Street, near the old market quarter of Tonbridge. I was glad I popped into the bookshop; not only did I have a lengthy and very interesting chat with owner Mark Richardson, but I also managed to pick up a copy of a book I had been looking for for ages. (Now I've got something interesting to read on holiday!)

As well as running his bookshop, Mark is also the author of the Tonbridge Blog, which is a very useful source of gossip regarding what's going on in the town. The comments and feedback also make for interesting reading, especially if they're a bit controversial. Being a former small-business owner myself, we compared notes and swapped a few tales - mainly regarding the incredibly long hours worked by most small-business owners, for very little financial reward.

I was going to pop into the Ivy House afterwards, but decided against it it in the end. The Ivy, as it is known locally, is an attractive old pub, at the top end of the town, that has recently re-opened after an extensive re-fit. It used to be a good "drinkers" pub, but now mainly caters for diners. As I still haven't been in there since the pub re-opened I don't really feel qualified to comment too much, except that I'd heard they are charging £3.50 a pint for their guest beer, and that the food prices are also a "little on the dear side". Quite what Tonbridge will make of the place remains to be seen, but it is either extremely brave or extremely foolhardy to be opening such an upmarket establishment in the middle of a recession. Nevertheless I am pleased that the pub has re-opened and wish the new owners well with their venture.

My main reason for not visiting the Ivy House though, was not one of tightness, rather the fact I'd already had a couple of pints in Wetherspoons. As I knew I would be driving later in the day, I did not wish to imbibe further, for obvious reasons. Having had to endure some of the clientele in Wetherspoons though, I can perhaps understand the Ivy House's new owners policy of charging higher prices; if it keeps the riff-raff, DSS (sorry, taxpayer)-funded underclasses out, then perhaps it is well worth paying the extra! This may sound rather elitist, but my friend and I had to queue for what seemed like forever at the bar to get served in Wetherspoons, as there were not enough staff behind the bar. This is nothing new for mid-morning on a Saturday, and may explain why Spoons manage to keep their prices so low. I can live with that, and the short measure pint I was eventually served with, but I can do without some of the more obnoxious characters that seem to be a permanent, all-day fixture. In the end though, like so many things in life, it boils down to paying your money and taking your choice.

Larkins Brewery

I nipped over to Larkins Brewery yesterday. It's only a short drive from where I work and I wanted to deliver in person the brewery's Trade Tickets for the Great British Beer Festival. Owner and brewer, Bob Dockerty was pleased with the tickets, but doubts he'll be able to spare the time to go. He told me that Larkins have just recorded their best June ever in terms of beer sales, and on top of the pub trade he has been kept busy supplying local beer festivals. The recent SIBA Festival, held in Tonbridge featured four of the company's beers, and Mick the drayman had been over to Canterbury the day before, delivering beer to the Kent Festival.

It is worth recording that this is the 35th such festival to take place under this name, making the Kent Beer Festival the second oldest such event in the country. As far as I am aware, Gill Keay has been the organiser for all 35 festivals, which is a pretty remarkable achievement! Unfortunately, due to family commitments, I will be unable to attend, but the festival, which is held on a farm just outside Canterbury, is one of the most popular and best attended beer bashes in the calendar.

Larkins will also be supplying their beer to the Great British Beer Festival; this year it is their Traditional Ale that has been selected. This 3.4% session beer packs in a taste way above its modest gravity. Bob poured me a pint which I enjoyed whilst we sat and chatted. He has recommenced growing his own hops; the harvest will not be particularly large this season as this is the first year that the bines will have produced a crop. The dry weather has not helped, and Bob told me he was out watering the hop garden the previous evening - by hand!

I love calling in at the brewery, as it is such a laid-back, easy going place. Office Manager, Guy's dog, Humphrey can often be found curled up asleep on a chair in the office, whilst Bob's desk always seems to be buried beneath a pile of well-thumbed Morning Advertisers and other such publications. Being a warm day when I visited, Bob had the rear door of the brewery open, affording a view right across the valley of the aptly named River Eden. This truly is a rural idyll if ever there was one.

Larkins, unfortunately, do not have a website, but the CAMRA Good Beer Guide gives full details of their range of beers. As they carry out their own distribution and do not use wholesalers, their beers are restricted to within a thirty mile radius of the brewery. This means you will have to visit this very pleasant corner of the Garden of England if you want to try them then. If I have tempted any of you, then drop me an e-mail and we can meet up for a pint or two of "Kent's Best Real Ale"!

Gateway to Kent Pub Guide

I had thought that there wasn't much to post about at the moment, but on reflection there's been quite a bit happening behind the scenes. Had a quiet weekend after the rather hectic one the week before. Attended a CAMRA committee meeting last night, held at the Sennockian - Wetherspoons outlet in Sevenoaks. The pub was packed, mainly with youngsters celebrating the end of their exams, but looking at some of the girls in particular. we had to wonder how many of them were of legal drinking age! Having said that, there was no trouble and no real signs of over-intoxication.

The meeting went on longer than intended, but we had a lot of business to get through. It's been an exciting time for the West Kent Branch with the publication of our new "Gateway to Kent" pub guide. Produced in conjunction with our neighbours from Maidstone & Mid-Kent CAMRA, the guide lists 500 real ale pubs across the region, with dozens of full-colour photographs. The guide is not just aimed at CAMRA members, but at the many tourists that visit the area - hence the name "Gateway to Kent".

To assist with this aim, there are articles on walking and cycling in the area - which happen to take in a choice selection of good pubs. Another article concentrates on travelling to the pub by bus or train, plus of course the usual campaigning articles about CAMRA, real ale and real pubs. At just £4.99 it represents terrific value for money.

My contribution to the guide was rather modest; consisting of carrying out some pub surveys and writing a couple of articles, but after the hard work put in by the editorial team and the guide committee, the equally hard task of selling the guide now has to be undertaken. Some members are off to Canterbury this coming weekend, where the 35th Kent Beer Festival is taking place. I will be visiting the Spa Valley Railway, in Tunbridge Wells, to try and sell some copies to this preserved Heritage Railway. That's apart from getting on with decorating the spare room, and finishing the preparation for our new patio - you know, all the domestic, but very necessary stuff that still needs doing!

By the way, copies of the guide will be available from CAMRA Headquarters, and will be on sale at the Great British Beer Festival. Copies can also be ordered through the branch.

Three Beer Festivals and a Trip North

It's been a very hectic seven days. Last week saw me making a whistle stop business trip to West Yorkshire, whilst back home there were three local beer festivals on over the weekend. This coupled with the long awaited publication of the "Gateway to Kent Pub Guide", meant that my feet have hardly touched the ground recently. Now that I've had time to catch my breath, it's worth looking back over these events.

I didn't get much chance for some serious ale-supping in Yorkshire. The two business colleagues I travelled up with are not really cask-beer drinkers, and by the time we found our hotel in the small pleasant town of Brighouse, checked in and enjoyed an excellent Italian meal in the adjoining restaurant, there wasn't much of the evening left. The local Wetherspoons though was quite a revelation, being a conversion of a Grade II listed, former Methodist Chapel. If you are ever in the area, then check out the Richard Oastler. They had a good range of local ales on sale, including offerings from Goose Eye and Elland Breweries. There just wasn't the time to sample as many of them as I would have liked! Our business visit the following morning, to nearby Elland, was also successful, and was well worth making the 500 mile round trip for.

As mentioned earlier, there were three beer festivals taking place back home. The first was the 3rd SIBA South East of England Beer Festival which this year was hosted by Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club. The previous two events were held at the former Whitbread Hop Farm (now known as the Hop Farm Country Park), near Paddock Wood. Tonbridge, with its excellent rail connections is a much better place to hold such an event and whilst not actively invovled with the organisation of the festival, West Kent CAMRA were invited along to assist, where necessary, and to run a stall promoting both the campaign and our newly launched pub guide.

I was there on the Friday evening, which was perhaps a bit quiet for the opening night, but there was a good atmosphere and some cracking beers on offer. For the number of people who attended over the 3 days there were far too many beers (100 + from 30 different breweries) but it is worth remembering that these SIBA events are primarily run as competitions for their members, and with some eight different categories of beer to be judged many breweries will supply quite a range of beers in order to enter as many categories as possible. The beers are also supplied at the brewer's own expense, so any financial losses to SIBA, and the host organisation, are kept to a minimum. Even so, for a beer lover like myself it is heart-breaking to see so much unsold beer left over at the end of an event.

On Saturday, a number of us did a similar spell at a beer festival in nearby Sevenoaks. This event was organised by the local Lions Club, as part of the Sevenoaks Festival and, with just 30 firkins of beer, was a far more modest affair. As a CAMRA branch we had tried to disuade the organisers of this festival from holding their event over the same weekend as the Tonbridge one, but their hands were tied by the dates of the town festival. and the availability of the venue. As their first attempt at such an event though it was quite successful, and I understand is likely to be repeated.

A local pub was also holding a festival; the Beacon at Rusthall, just outside Tunbridge Wells ran their own, slightly more modest event. A couple of branch members were present at this do as well, once again promoting CAMRA and selling our new guide.

The three events did stretch our resources to the limit though, and I think in the end worked against each other by spreading the attendance of drinkers too thinly. We were quite pleased though in having sold around 100 of our guides, but next year please can the organisers of these events try and avoid clashing if at all possible?

Another Friday, Another Ramble, Another Pub

I've had one more day's leave to use up, and fancying another long weekend booked last Friday off. I arranged to meet up with two companions who I'd done the walk to Plaxtol with the previous week. The plan this time was less ambitious; we would walk across country, to the Dovecote at Capel.

There had been thunder overnight and the air was still very warm and humid when we set off. We walked up through the Somerhill Estate, crossing the bridge overlooking the ornamental lake, and then on through the park and up the hill towards Somerhill House. For non-local readers, the Somerhill Estate is the former manor house and surrounding parkland, which up until comparatively recent times, was the principal manorial estate, controlling a large part of both south Tonbridge and the nearby village of Tudeley. Today the imposing stone-built, Jacobean-style country house is home to a private school, but as various footpaths criss-cross the area, much of the estate is open to the public.

We passed the school by means of a sunken pathway, lined on both sides by a high stone wall. One of my friends told me that this type of structure was constructed to prevent livestock gaining access to the grounds of the house, without spoiling the landowner's view with a wall or fence. It seemed a pretty expensive means of keeping tabs on your cattle to me, but when you're Lord of the Manor, then I suppose money's no object! We passed through some woods and an orchard before crossing a field of ripening barley. We swore that we could detect a malty smell in the air, which may have been due to the effect of the high temperature and humidity on the maturing grain. It certainly had us anticipating the pint awaiting at the end of our journey!

We stopped en route at the tiny All Saints Church in Tudeley, to admire the contemporary stained glass windows which are the work of Russian emigre artist, Marc Chagall. The windows were originally commissioned by the then owners of Somerhill House, Sir Henry and Lady d'Avigdor Goldsmid, in memory of their daughter Sarah, who died tragically in 1963 as the result of a sailing accident. She was only 21.

The church was being decorated for a wedding, and it was nice and cool inside. We were tempted to linger, but the thought of that pint drove us on and we continued across another barley field, and then through a paddock. We crossed the busy B2017 road close to the George & Dragon, an attractive old weather- boarded inn. We would have popped in if the pub had been open, but as there were still some minutes to go until opening time we carried on. We walked through another churchyard, this time that of St Thomas a Becket at Capel. The church is no longer in regular use, although occasional services, such as weddings and funerals are conducted there.

Eventually we reached our goal, and passed inside for a welcoming pint. The Dovecote is not that much to look at from the outside. I was going to take a photo for the blog, but the pub's sign is currently being re-painted, and without this feature there is little to suggest that this row of white-painted cottages is home to one of the best pubs in this part of Kent.

The Dovecote serves its cask beers by gravity. The casks are housed in a temperature-controlled room behind the bar, and the special long cask taps pass through the wall into false wooden barrel fronts, mounted on the wall. The result is a perfectly served pint, kept at the ideal temperature. Harveys Best, Young's Bitter, Taylor's Landlord and Gales HSB were the beers on sale that day. I started with the Youngs before moving on to the Landlord. One member of our party stuck on the HSB for the whole session, but I find this beer a bit too malty for my taste.

We sat outside on the partially covered patio, at the rear of the pub, soaking up the hazy sunshine whilst enjoying our pints. We treated ourselves to a light lunch; my prawn baguette with chips was especially nice. The pub was bustling with a good mix of both diners and drinkers, proving that even in a recession pubs offering the right mix of good beer, good food and good service will continue to do well.

We walked back by a slightly different route, climbing up through orchards and then into woodland. Some of the sweet chestnuts had been copppiced recently, and we came across a workshop in a clearing, where the poles were being made into fencing posts and other useful items. Eventually we picked up the path again through the back of the Somerhill Estate. We noted, with some amusement, the wooden shelter built to protect the little darlings from the elements whilst they wait for mummy or daddy to collect them after school in the family Mercedes, or "Chelsea Tractor", but all joking aside I am glad the former manor house is being put to good use. (Just think, it could have become the headquarters of a religious cult, or a training camp for fundamentalist extremists!).

A short while later we were back in Tonbridge. Although it had only been a relatively short walk ( seven or eight miles at most), the high levels of humidity had made it seam a lot longer. It is a walk however, that I intend to repeat in the not too distant future.

A Good End to the Week

I managed to get away from work last Friday and enjoyed a glorious day's rambling in the Kent countryside. Four of us did the walk, travelling by bus to the village of Mereworth, and then climbing up through the woods that are named after the village. Despite having lived in this part of Kent for thirty odd years, this was the first time I had walked up through the woods which cover this section of the Greensand Ridge. What was particularly appealing was the number of isolated dwellings, set down narrow side roads seemingly miles from anywhere, that we came across. We were especially taken with the aptly named Keeper's Cottage, set in a clearing all on its own - like something out of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

Eventually we left the shelter of the trees passing through orchards instead. This small area of the county is the centre of the Kent Cobnut growing industry and it was good to see the trees already laden with small, immature nuts indicating a good harvest come September. Our destination was the Golding Hop, a wonderfully unspoilt pub, in an idyllic rural setting, which lies on the opposite side of the Bourne Valley. We reached our goal shortly before one o'clock, and entered keen to sample one or more of the gravity-drawn beers.

The choice that Friday included Adnams Bitter, Thwaites Nutty Slack Mild, Marstons Ashes, plus a beer from Springhead Brewery, who's name escapes me. For those not in the know, the Golding Hop is run by Eddie and his wife Sonia, and has been for the past twenty five years or so. The pub itself is built into the side of a hill, overlooking a narrow lane, and is over 300 years old. As mentioned earlier, the beers are served by gravity from casks stillaged in a room behind the bar. The Golding Hop is also famed for its cider, and as well as varieties like Westons the pub produces its own "rough cider", from a recipe that has been handed down over the years from one licensee to the next.

We sat outside on the small terrace in front of the pub, enjoying the late spring sunshine, but in winter the interior of the pub, with its low beamed ceilings and wood-burning stove is equally appealling. On the other side of the lane is an extensive garden, complete with swings and climbing frame for the kids, plus a large car-park; such is the popularity of the Golding Hop on summer weekends. A small, limited menu offers basic pub-grub of the chips and baked beans with everything variety. The food is good value though, as are the beers. The most expensive were the Adnams and the Marstons at £2.60 a pint; the Thwaites was the cheapest at just £2.20, with the Springhead somewhere in between. With these prices it is hard to believe towns like Sevenoaks are just a short distance away, whilst London itself can't be more than thirty miles distant!

We reluctantly said goodbye to the Golding Hop just after the 3pm closing time, and set off to walk into the nearby village of Plaxtol. On the way we passed some very attractive and expensive looking properties, and before entering the village were rewarded with some spectacular views across the Bourne Valley. Plaxtol itself is quite a large village but without an obvious centre. We passed the former Rorty Crankle pub, now sadly a private dwelling, before coming upon the Papermakers Arms.

We hadn't intended to stop for another pint at this stage, but the pub was open and looked very inviting. It is probably getting on for thirty years since I last had a pint in the Papermakers so a return visit was long overdue. Internally the pub has one large bar, divided into two distinct halves. The servery is to the right, whilst to the left is a carpeted area, complete with a red-beige pool table, plus some comfortable sofas. Leading off from here is the pub's dining area. Two cask ales were on offer, Harveys Best - dispensed from a cask behind the bar, plus Timothy Taylors Landlord. We opted for the latter, price £3.10 a pint, and in excellent condition.

We were the only customers in the pub that afternoon, but we had an interesting chat with the landlady, who told us she was planing to switch over to gravity dispense, using a system similar to that of the Halfway House at Brenchley. The food menu at the Papermakers looked good and reasonably priced, with fish cooked in beer batter their speciality. At the rear of the pub is an attractive and well-laid out garden area, with a" play cottage" for the kids. We were all impressed with the pub, and were glad we called in.

It was onwards, and in this case, downwards to our final destination, the Swan on the Green at West Peckhham. First we had to get there though, so we descended down towards the valley of the River Bourne. which in reality is nothing more than a stream. We were joined on this section of the walk by a mother and her two boys, plus the family dog, who were making their way home from school. The mother confirmed we were on the right path, and we walked with them towards their family home. When we parted company, we all thought how refreshing (and unusual) in this day and age of molly-coddling children, to walk home with them, across the fields through some very attractive countryside, instead of turning up at the school gate to whisk them home in the family 4x4!

Climbing up the other side of the River Bourne, we made our way along the Greensand Way, which follows the line of the ridge of the same name. We passed fields of both strawberries and raspberries, the latter ripening under large poly-tunnels. This is a renowned soft fruit growing area, being ideally suited with warm south-facing slopes and easy draining soils. Eventually, just before 6 o'clock opening time, we reached the tiny village of West Peckham. This really is a settlement on the road to nowhere; a turning off the Mereworth-Plaxtol road leads into the village and stops abruptly at the attractive village green. The latter has a cricket pitch, and is overlooked by the small church plus, of course, the village pub.

The Swan in the Green is a brew-pub, and has been so since the start of the millennium. A range of 10 different beers are brewed in the small micro-brewery at the rear of the pub, including a mild, a porter and a lager, which complement the various bitters and pale ales that are the pub's mainstay. What's more, the beers are all realistically priced. Having consumed a fair amount of beer already that day, I sensibly stuck to the weakest beer on offer the Fuggles, which as its name suggests is a well-hoped session beer at 3.6%, costing a very reasonable £2.50 a pint. My companions tried a couple of the stronger bitters, which included Cygnet at 4.2% and Bewick at 5.3%. The latter was still good value at £2.90. I can thoroughly recommend the Swan; despite having an accent on food at one end of the pub, it still functions as a village local. Drinkers are every bit as welcome as diners, and the pub-brewed beers are well worth sampling.

We left the Swan whilst it was still light, and walked back along the road to Mereworth. Here we were just in time for the 8.40pm bus back to Tonbridge, although we nearly boarded a bus taking a group of weary fruit-pickers back to their accommodation by mistake. It had been a truly excellent day out, and one that had taken us through some magnificent countryside. The fact that such unspoilt rural vistas are virtually on our doorstep made us realise just how lucky we are living in this part of the country. That there are still some wonderfully unspoilt and thriving pubs around, selling good beer at reasonable prices makes me feel that well-run rural pubs still have a future. I could go on to contrast the prices we found on our walk with those encountered just a couple of days previously, and only a dozen or so miles away, but I appreciate I have waffled on long enough. Thank-you for your patience; I hope you have enjoyed my description of our walk through the Garden of England.

The Start of a Good Week?

Yes, as predicted, it hasn't been too bad a week. Sure there were a few problems that cropped up at work, and by Thursday evening I was pleased I had booked the Friday off. However, none of the problems were intractable, and none of them distracted from the serious business of the week, namely a couple of good drinking sessions.

On Wednesday evening a small group of us caught the train over to Penshurst, and walked across the old WWII airfield to the Greyhound pub, situated in the tiny hamlet of Charcott. This was the venue for the West Kent CAMRA social. The Greyhound is a pleasant bright and breezy local, with views across the fields towards the hills that form the start of the High Weald. It has a separate restaurant area, as like many country pubs these days it relies heavily on the food trade. There still seems to be three distinct areas in the main part of the pub, although the divisions that marked the former bars are long gone. During the winter months, open fires supplement the central heating. The couple and their family that run the pub are very pleasant, and they seem to attract a reasonable trade. The Greyhound is close to where I work (yes I am lucky to be employed in such a rural idyll), and I often walk by during my lunch break and note the substantial number cars parked outside. There is a secluded garden to the left of the pub, plus benches and tables directly outside.

On the night of our visit two beers were on sale; Summer Perle - a seasonal, single varietal hop beer from Westerham Brewery, plus that old favourite Harveys Best The Summer Perle is a particularly refreshing, pale coloured and well-hopped beer, but at £3.30 a pint it was perhaps a beer to savour, rather than swill down The Harveys was slightly cheaper at £3.20, but this is still some 30-40p more than one is used to paying in Tonbridge.

Worse was to come though price-wise. We left the Greyhound whilst it was still just light enough to walk back across the airfield; our destination being the Little Brown Jug at Chiddingstone Causeway, directly opposite Penshurst Station. One of the quirks of the Victorian railway era was that many stations were often several miles from the places they were named after. Penshurst is no exception, with the village being some two miles or so away, but with the coming of the railway, a settlement grew up around the station, and became known as Chiddingstone Causeway (Chiddingstone Village is about three miles away). Confused?

The pub opposite the station was originally called the Station Tavern, and functioned for most of the last century under this name until it was bought by a jazz and big-band enthusiast and renamed Little Brown Jug, after the well-known Glen Miller tune.

I've known the pub over the years, especially as it's easy to reach by train. It's had several changes of owner since the name change, and it's been extended and knocked about internally as well. Its most recent incarnation took place in February 2007, and I must say the design team did a pretty good job on it. The Jug, whilst tied to Greene King, is owned a small chain of pubs that include several other well-known local hostelries, all renowned for their food, and there lies the rub. The food is very good; I've eaten there on quite a few occasions, but mainly when someone else is paying! By someone else, I mean the company I work for. Being so close to our workplace, the Jug is the venue of choice when entertaining visitors, and was also the place where last year's Christmas Party took place.

You will probably gather that the food is towards the dear end of the pub-grub spectrum, and you would not be far wring. Still in the case of the Jug you get what you pay for, and in this case the portions are generous and the food is of the highest quality. What I don't quite get though are the beer prices When we walked in last Wednesday evening, we were pleased to see that Brains Reverend James was the guest beer. What we were not so pleased about was the price, £3.40 a pint! The Abbot was the same price, but as no-one tried the IPA, despite the fancy new handpump, I don't know how much that particular beer cost.

The shame of all this is that I really like both pubs, especially the Greyhound, but can't understand the prices they are charging for their beer. Both seem to be thriving; the car park of the Jug is always full when I walk by at lunchtime, so they must be doing something right. Perhaps they are merely charging what the market will stand, as people seem prepared to pay these prices. Look out for my next post where I discover, not a million miles away, two pubs at the opposite end of the pricing structure.

A Good Weekend & A Good Week To Come

It's been a good weekend. The weather was just right and whilst I didn't indulge in much beer drinking, I feel I achieved quite a lot.

I have just about finished laying the base for our new patio; I finished clearing my greenhouse out - following years of neglect, and planted some tomato plants I'd been given by a work colleague; I re-jigged the guttering and down-pipes on my shed so that the rain water will now run into a water-butt, rather than straight onto the ground. I also mended the garden tap that had been leaking since being damaged by frost back in January, and replaced the rather tattered flag of St George that flies on my shed with a brand new one.

We went shopping in Maidstone on Saturday. I bought a replacement cartridge for my turntable, allowing me to play my old vinyl LP's again - much to the rest of the family's annoyance! I'm on a bit of a "save-it" campaign at the moment, putting money aside for our Munich trip later in the year, so was pleased to see ASDA's selling 500ml bottles of Czech Lager for 91p. Not a bad drop either.

Off to the pub for a CAMRA social on Wednesday evening though - we are walking to the Greyhound at Charcott, an unspoilt pub in a tiny hamlet, close to where I work. When I popped in the other week I was surprised to see Woodfordes Wherry on sale, alongside the Westerhan Summer Perle and Harveys Best, although at £3.20 a pint you can perhaps understand why I'm drinking ASDA's Czech lager!

As I've got a couple of day's leave to take before the end of the month, I'll be taking Friday off. Another walk is in the offing; this time a long postponed ramble to the Golding Hop near Plaxtol. This is a wonderfully unspoilt pub, in a remote and idyllic rural setting, run by a landlord who's a real character and something of a local legend. Will report back on these trips when I get a spare moment.

I'm Still Here!

Haven't posted for a while, as have been taking advantage of the light evenings to sort my garden out (amongst other things!). Have been to two CAMRA presentations recently, one for West Kent CAMRA pub of the year - the Rose & Crown at Halstead, and the other for the joint runner up- the Anchor at Sevenoaks. Landlord, Barry Dennis was also celebrating 30 years behind the bar, making him the longest serving licensee in the area by a long chalk. Congratulations Barry - you wouldn't get that for murder!

Had some good beers, in both pubs, and enjoyed some very pleasant company. Looking forward to a weekend in the garden, and hopefully the odd beer or two!

Halfway House Beer Festival

The Halfway House at Brenchley held the first of its twice-yearly beer festivals over the bank holiday weekend. A selection of 50 beers was on offer; some in the pub itself, with the others served from a marquee in the garden. The weather was kind, the setting was superb and the beer and the company were both first class.

I walked over to the pub with a group of friends on the Saturday, and met up with several members of West Kent CAMRA branch. We ended up staying longer than originally planned, primarily because we were waiting for the pub's kitchen to re-open following its afternoon break.

My favourite beer of the festival had to be the superb Thornbridge Jaipur IPA, closely followed by Holden's Golden Glow. After my long anticipated meal of liver and bacon, I ended the session with a glass of Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild. At 6.0% this was a good beer to finish on.

We left the pub around 8pm, walking back to Paddock Wood station across an abandoned golf course, through the slowly fading light. Landlord Richard Allen will be running a further festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend, as he does every year. I should be back from Germany that weekend, so have it in my diary to make it to the beer festival.

South Downs Way - The Final Day

The last day of our walk along the South Downs Way saw us visiting a real gem of a pub, and one that I had wanted to return to ever since my first trip there back in 1983! The Royal Oak, at Hooksway is an isolated old inn that is reached by road via a narrow track off the B2141 just north of Chilgrove. I remember being taken there one Sunday lunchtime, by my former in-laws twenty-six years ago, and marvelling then at just how busy this basic, isolated pub was. Whilst planning our trip earlier in the year I looked the pub up in an old CAMRA Sussex Beer Guide, and then did a web search on it. I was delighted that it looked much the same as I remembered it, and this was confirmed to me by a fellow CAMRA member who had visited the Royal Oak during his time in the T.A. He had been walking the South Downs Way, with a group of fellow soldiers, and the landlord had allowed them to camp in the field opposite the pub.

Eric and I had little trouble finding the Royal Oak. We diverted off the trail and began a long, slow descent through the woods, eventually reaching a clearing, and there it was before us. Our fears that the pub would not be open (it was still only quarter to twelve!), proved unfounded, and after removing our muddy boots we entered inside.

We received a warm welcome from the landlord and were soon downing the first beer of the day - Sharps Doom Bar. The current landlord, who has been at the pub for the past 20 years, is only the third licensee at the Royal Oak during the last 100 years. The pub was lit by oil lamps for most of the 20th Century, with electricity only being installed during the mid 1970's. Even today, the pub's water supply is drawn from a well, deep underground.

After a light lunch, and a further couple of pints, it was time to bid farewell to the Royal Oak and rejoin the trail. We still had a fair way to go to the village of Buriton; the end of this particular stretch of the walk. We also had to get home that evening as well! We made our way back to the South Downs Way, rejoining the path via a long dry grassy valley. For a while the trail follows the line of the escarpment, and we were rewarded by the sight of the village of South Harting below us. This village was the official end of the trail until 1989, when the SDW was extended to Winchester. We therefore felt that we had at least walked the original South Downs Way!

Pressing on through woodland, and then descending into rolling countryside, which consisted mainly of arable farmland, we passed along a succession of flint tracks, which were very hard on the feet, and then on to a couple of metalled by-roads. Eventually we broke away from the trail and descended via a steep, narrow chalk track and then across a couple of grassy fields to our goal, the attractive village of Buriton. As we walked across the fields, the rain, which had been light, and intermittent since leaving the Royal Oak, suddenly came on a lot heavier. We weren't worried, we had reached the end of our four day walk without having to don our waterproofs, so a drop of rain wasn't going to bother us now!

There are two pubs in Buriton, but unfortunately there was another half-hour or so to go until opening time. We needed to get to Petersfield, where we could catch a train to London and then home. We had missed the last bus from the village, but at the B&B the night before I'd had the foresight to pick up a card with the number of a local taxi firm. A quick call, followed by a short wait saw our saviour in a taxi arrive, and transport us the three miles or so into Petersfield (I don't think either of us could have walked this additional distance at this stage).

Our driver dropped us at a Fullers pub, called The Square Brewery, right in the centre of town. He said that it was one of the best in Petersfield, and he wasn't far wrong. The Fullers Discovery was cool and refreshing, and we then moved on to the Gales HSB. Walking up to the station, we stopped for fish and chips, which we ate out of the wrapper whilst waiting for the London train. An hour or so later we were at Waterloo, and after a short hop across to Waterloo East we were on a train bound for Tonbridge. We didn't bother stopping for a pint when we got back; as I said in an earlier blog there just didn't seem anywhere appropriate!

A warm welcome back from the family, followed by a relaxing hot bath and I was ready for bed. It had been an excellent four days' walking, and we are both looking forward to completing the South Downs Way later in the year!

South Downs Way - Days Two & Three

Tuesday dawned, dull and overcast, but thankfully still dry. After a hearty breakfast we left the pleasant town of Steyning and began the long climb back onto the trail. Our destination was the village of Amberley, situated just off the River Arun. With the strong easterly wind behind us we headed towards the well-known downland landmark of Chanctonbury Ring. This Iron Age hill-fort was formerly crowned with an attractive ring of beech trees, but many of these were blown down in the Great Storm of 1987, giving the structure today a somewhat ragged, and dis-jointed appearance.

Roughly halfway into our journey, the trail descends to cross the busy A24 trunk road, so we took full advantage of this loss of height to make a pub stop. The Frankland Arms in the village of Washington was a welcome break, even if the beer range of Flowers IPA and Fullers London Pride wasn't all that inspiring.

After a couple of pints of Pride and a baguette each, we left the pub and began the long ascent back up to the top of the downs. I must admit I found this particular stretch of the trail rather hard going, as did my companion. We kept going though, generally following the line of the escarpment, and eventually were rewarded by the sight of the Arun Valley spreading out before us. We could see Amberley in the distance, and began the long, slow descent. Walking downhill uses a different set of muscles, and is especially hard going on the feet. Eric was finding the going particularly tough, and as we made our way into Amberley he was relieved to find the Black Horse pub open. We had booked accommodation in the village's other pub, the Sportsman, but decided that a drink first in the Black Horse would be a good idea. Apart from the landlady, there was only one other customer in at the time. The four of us had an interesting chat, and the Harveys was particularly welcome.

We obtained directions to the Sportsman, and set off along the final half-mile or so of our journey. We received a warm-welcome from the Sportman's landlord and were shown to our comfortable en-suite accommodation. The current licensee has turned round the fortunes of this unspoilt country pub, having rescued it following its closure by the previous landlord. It offers three well-kept cask-ales, which at the time of our visit included Dark Star Mild and Langham Halfway to Heaven, alongside Harveys. There are two bars, plus a separate restaurant and conservatory. The pub was packed that evening, playing host to the local Mini-Cooper owners' club, as well as a poetry reading event which took place in the conservatory. The kitchen was kept very busy that night fulfilling orders, but despite this there was only a short wait for our tasty and well-cooked food.

A good night's sleep, followed by another hearty full-English breakfast saw us setting off for what proved to be the longest section of the walk. There had been rain overnight, and it was still a bit damp when we left the pub. After stopping to buy sandwiches at the village stop we headed off to rejoin the South Downs Way. I have to say I was really impressed with Amberley; most of the buildings were made out of local stone, with several half-timbered and thatched examples. We crossed both the railway and the River Adur, and then began the familiar long climb back onto the trail. This climb seemed particularly arduous, but eventually we reached the summit. There was a long hard walk ahead of us, with no prospect of a pub stop to break the journey. The only pub remotely close to this section of the trail is the Foresters Arms at Graffham, but that would involve a lengthy, and time-consuming detour. Unfortunately there would be no welcoming pint awaiting us at the end of our journey either, as the village of Cocking, our destination that day, has recently joined the growing band of dry villages with the closure of its only pub - the Blue Bell.

The trail was very undulating, with long stretches through woodland. Low cloud marred much of the first part of the walk, spoiling any prospect of enjoying the views. It did help to add an eerie silence, which was only punctuated by the noise from the occasional aircraft overhead. We stopped and ate our sandwiches, roughly half-way, but it was getting on for six in the evening when we arrived footsore and weary at the charmingly named Moonlight Cottage Tearooms and B & B.

With no pub in the village the tearooms offers evening meals to its guests, and we had wisely pre-booked ours. The B & B was packed with two other couples who were also on foot, plus a party of five intrepid cyclists. The packed restaurant that night lent itself to some lively conversation, and after an excellent meal of fillet of salmon, followed by homemade apple pie and custard, it was time to prepare for the following day's walk, followed by an early night. We were now three-quarters of the way through our walk, and so far had been lucky with the weather. Would our luck hold out for the final section the following morning?

South Downs Way - Middle Leg, Day One

Having walked the first stage of the South Downs Way last year, my friend Eric and I have just returned from the next stage of the walk, which for us was four days' walking from Clayton to Buriton. Last Monday therefore, we caught the early morning train from our home in Tonbridge to Hassocks (near Brighton), which allowed us to re-join the trail at Clayton; the point where we had finished up at last year.

The weather was bright and sunny, but with a strong easterly wind blowing - something we would be glad of later. Despite each carrying heavy rucksacks, we made good progress and by lunchtime were at the well-known local beauty spot of Devil's Dyke. Our original intention had been to press on towards Fulking and then drop down off the escarpment in order to visit the Shepherd and Dog at the foot of the downs. A look at the map though showed us the folly of this plan, which would have meant a steep descent of several hundred feet, followed by an equally steep climb, after the pub stop, back up to the trail. The spacious, modern-looking, Devil's Dyke Inn at the head of the dyke therefore seemed a better compromise, even if it is the sort of place that appeals in the main to car-borne visitors.

Unfortunately the only cask beer on sale that lunchtime was Shepherd Neame Spitfire, as according to the barman the Harveys had only been delivered that morning. Having compromised on the pub we compromised a bit on the beer. Spitfire is definitely not my favourite pint, so I opted for Staropramen lager instead. Eric joined me, but at 5% we decided that one pint was enough before setting off towards our stop for the evening, the attractive small town of Steyning.

This section of the walk is across classic downland terrain of short springy turf, with very few trees, but with the strong easterly wind behind us we made good progress. We sheltered in the lea of a large barn to eat our sandwiches, before eventually beginning the long descent down into the valley of the River Adur. The South Downs are dissected by several valleys, some formed by rivers, whilst other, now dry valleys were formed by glacial melt-waters. These valleys, which typically run from North to South, form communication gaps through the downs and are usually occupied by roads and sometimes railways. The long descent down to the valley floor inevitably means a long ascent back up the other side. Although all three of our overnight stops were in settlements situated in the valleys, there are other places along the trail that involve these changes in altitude, and this we found was quite a feature of this particular section of the trail.

Once down from the escarpment, we crossed the Adur by means of a footbridge, and then switched footpaths: the Downs Link path, as its name suggests, is a path linking the South Downs with those in the north. For the approach into Steyning, the path follows the course of a disused railway line, one of many closed by Dr Beeching. We found our bed and breakfast accommodation without too much trouble, and after dropping our rucksacks and freshening up we set off to explore this attractive town.

The Good Beer Guide listed Chequers Inn proved the ideal refreshment stop. The Dark Star Best and the Timothy Taylor's Landlord were both excellent, as was the home-made steak and ale pie. What we especially liked about the Chequers was the fact that it has two bars. Thus the younger crowd in the larger bar could play pool and watch the football without disturbing the conversation in the smaller right-hand bar. After our meal, we got into conversation with a Belgian lad from East Flanders, who was walking the trail in the opposite direction to ourselves. As well as swapping travellers tales, he was able to confirm that our next night's accommodation stop, the Sportsman at Amberley, was everything we hoped it would be.

We left the Chequers shortly before closing time, a little weary and slightly footsore after our first day's walk. It had been a good re-introduction to the delights of the South Downs. A cup of coffee before bed, followed by a good night's sleep set us up ready for the following day's stretch of the trail, from Steyning to Amberley.