On Sunday morning we headed off to the in-laws, after the traditional small English breakfast at Hitchin Spoons. Truly, there is nothing sadder than a Spoons before John Smiths Smooth can be served. The biggest obstacle to the 90 minute trip round the M25 and down the A21 to Southborough is remembering the top-up of… Continue reading “MOST IMPROVED PUB”
Tag: Kent
“Have you got the App ?”
You left us in the car park of the Spotted Dog in Penshurst, which I’ve captured here in black and white to show you what it looked like in its 1950s hey day before colour ruined things. Parking at a pub had the massive advantage of an on-site loo. But the real highlight here is… Continue reading “Have you got the App ?”
MORE GREAT PUB BEER GARDENS
We woke in Dereham, refreshed by 8 hours sleep only interrupted by 3 re-fillings of the, er, milk bottle. Baa Baa had kept watch all night, warding off the strange six-fingered creatures who stalk the Brecks, before Stage 2 of the road trip. Kentish Paul knows this journey well, and will be staggered to learn… Continue reading MORE GREAT PUB BEER GARDENS
SUNSET OVER WHITSTABLE
12th January 2020 If Whitstable was in Suffolk I’d hate it and make rude pashmina jokes about the wrong sort of Joules. Last time here I did a couple of micropubs whose owners convinced of their sides chances in the last cup match. West Ham beat Man United but the Black Dog and Handsome Sam… Continue reading SUNSET OVER WHITSTABLE
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WETHERSPOONS
8th January 2020 The month really kicks off now, with what seemed like a week in north Kent. You’ll feel like you live in Ramsgate by the time I catch up, and that’s no bad thing. If Lincolnshire is a tough county to crack logistically, in Kent it’s the threat of more indistinguishable micros that… Continue reading THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WETHERSPOONS
CROCKENHILL’S GOOD CHEQUERS DEAL
I’ve had a complaint about my blog from regular correspondent Mr(s) Spam. Chastised for not updating my blog often enough, you can expect a flood of froth now. Starting with a trip to Proper Pub central; the hard-to-define area between the Dartford Tunnel and the posh Kent/London border towns of Sevenoaks and Bromley. There’s been… Continue reading CROCKENHILL’S GOOD CHEQUERS DEAL
KENT GASTROLAND – SERVIETTES FOR BEER MATS
Next stop, lovely Kent*. No arguments about the quality of this county, anyway ! And you never know quite what you’re going to get in the Beer Guide entries, which is something I like a lot. East of Canterbury, the topography has a similar quality to the Somerset levels, though possibly less celebrated. Mrs… Continue reading KENT GASTROLAND – SERVIETTES FOR BEER MATS
PANTILES PERFECTION
A nice short post to help me clear some more backlog and my conscience. The good folk in the Sussex Arms, Tunbridge Wells, are probably wondering where their write-up is, given they’ve been following my Tweets since a visit that seems like decades ago. Rubbish blog management is the answer. In fact, it was only… Continue reading PANTILES PERFECTION
FIRST-RATE FOLKESTONE
I’m not claiming it’s sunnier than Manchester, but everytime I got to Folkestone I get unseasonably warm weather. Two years ago I had this view from the The Leas, but on Tuesday Bello Gelato had decided to be shut on the hottest day of the year so far. That was a shame, as this is the… Continue reading FIRST-RATE FOLKESTONE
ANOTHER DOVER MICRO, ANOTHER WINNER
Alan’s reflections on his honeymoon yesterday made me laugh (sorry Alan), until I realised my own wedding night was spent in a pub on the edge of Dunstable, and followed by a tour of Southsea’s finest hostelries. It all went downhill when we got to Brittany… The other excursion from Folkestone is, of course, to… Continue reading ANOTHER DOVER MICRO, ANOTHER WINNER
retiredmartin 