Sevenoaks boozers (and Chelsfield)

Sevenoaks is only a twenty minute train ride away from my house, and having never been there I thought I'd pay a visit. One of the great things about living in South East London is how the scenery can change from built up areas to rolling green fields in a matter of minutes, and this train journey was no exception as the dreary suburbia of Orpington gave way to the charming natural scenery of Chelsfield and beyond.

The first pub I visited was in Chelsfield Village, nestled in-between Sevenoaks and Orpington. The surprisingly long walk from Chelsfield station to the village was mainly comprised of lovely green fields high above Orpington and a panoramic if hazy view of London beyond. Approaching the village I was greeted by some huge houses, a clear indication that this is stockbroker territory, using the trains to speed into Cannon Street station in the mornings. To be honest I felt a little out of place and was worried a policeman might appear and ask me politely to leave, nodding down the road saying "Orpington is down that way, it's more for your type."

Nestled among the mansions and across the road from the village school is The Five Bells, a traditional weather board pub. Sadly the beer selection wasn't as charming as the rustic interior. Unusually Doom Bar was on offer gravity dropped from a cask sitting on a bar, but it was not enough to entice me to have a pint of that most boring of beers. There was also Courage Best and a Everards beer on offer. I settled for a pint of Otter Bitter, and although it got the job done it was nothing exciting. This place seemed highly involved in the community with plenty of events on. As it was 11:45am on a Thursday morning I was the only customer in but the staff were friendly and there was a dog pottering around for company. I look forward to returning.

I walked from Chelsfield to Knockholt station to catch a train into Sevenoaks. Even though Knockholt is supposedly still "London," the rolling green fields and farmland are about as far removed from the Big Smoke as you can get. Walking towards the station I was joined by a grumpy old pig walking alongside with me, and it was at this point I refused to believe I was still in Travelcard Zone 6. The ticket office at Knockholt was closed so I had to purchase a "Permit to Travel," a rarely used (in London) "honour" scheme for buying tickets which made everything feel even more old fashioned and less London. When it was time for my train I half expected a steam train to roll into the platform.

I'm not entirely sure what he anchors

In Sevenoaks I met up with a friend of mine and we enjoyed a good lunch at The Black Boy, a Shepherd Neame nestled in the quaint town centre. The food was excellent but the beer selection left a little to be desired. Only Kent's Best, Spitfire and Whitstable Bay were on offer, and my pint of Best wasn't in the greatest condition. Round the corner is The Anchor, a real old fashioned boozer. Walking in after the lunchtime rush only a handful of regulars were in, and they were all crowded around the bar chatting with the lively landlord, Barry. I ordered a pint and took a seat, enjoying the banter. It's a good job there was lively conversation going on as the decor is pretty basic here and doesn't create much of an atmosphere. I completely forgot the name of the beer I was having but it was a pretty good bitter from a small local brewery. The only other options were Doom Bar and Harveys Best. Sevenoaks doesn't seem to be home to adventurous drinkers.

I took a half hour walk from the town centre down to the outskirts of town and The White Hart. This is a Brunning and Price pub, and I had high hopes as I was very impressed with their outlet in Chester, Old Hawkers Arms. Sadly I wasn't as impressed with the Hart. First impressions were good as there were plenty of hand-pulls but on closer inspection most of the beers that were on were of the boring brown bitter variety. The beer I did try, Growler Bitter from the Growler Brewery, wasn't in best condition and there was sediment at the end of the pint. I heard the barman complaining to another customer that they have been short staffed recently so maybe this was affecting the quality of the beer. The pub otherwise was tastefully decorated, quiet and to be honest a little boring, which probably explained why the other groups there were mainly comprised of older ladies.

The last pub on the list was The Chequers. Traditionally furnished, it was building up a steady stream of punters at 4pm on a Thursday afternoon, and they all seemed pretty pleased to be there. The beer selection was the most exciting of the pubs I'd visited, with plenty of local ales on offer. I tried Rustic from the Tonbridge brewery, a dark and comforting bitter with a well balanced flavour. Westerham Azzuri Double was a brave attempt at an Italian style beer. It tasted like a hoppy bitter but with malty undertones, it worked surprisingly well and was a very pleasant sup indeed. With the genial customers, friendly service and decent beers The Chequers was my favourite of the pubs I'd visited.

Next week it's a rundown of the pubs of Rochester. See you on Sunday!

Return to the Tap

I actually remembered to take photos! Hooray!

A welcome return to the Euston Tap last week. Plenty of ales were on offer as always, and as it wasn't raining there was plenty of punters as well. Euston Tap is a fabulous place but as it's located near the station it does tend to attract a varied crowd. Last weeks crazy was a sozzled elder Irishman who managed to grab my friend Tony's arm and started mumbling unintelligibly to him. Thankfully our ales were served just in time to make a hasty exit outside before the tales of the war or famine started. Sadly we managed to walk straight into the path of a couple of smackheads having an argument. I didn't catch what the argument was about but despite my hopes I doubt it was whether F. Murray Abraham provided an accurate representation of Salieri in the hit movie Amadeus. Luckily they departed fairly sharpish and we could enjoy our pints in the relative peace of Euston bus station.

I do love this place.

Things got off to a good start with the Thornbridge “Browne.” The blackboard inside the pub helpfully pointed out this is a dark brown ale. This is the newest beer from the exciting Thronbridge brewery, in fact it was only launched on the 8^th August. It was a delicious beer, with a good combination of light fruity flavours, a nice bitterness and a satisfying caramel finish. Sadly things went downhill with the second pint, the WJ King “Brighton Best.” This ale was bland, bland, bland. I can barely remember the taste except that it had a faint bitterness. There was no discernible flavours. A rare duffer from the Tap, I don't know if it was just a poor beer or in poor condition (I suspect the former.)

I still think it looks like a urinal (the bar, not the young lady.)

Thankfully things were quickly redeemed by the Thornbridge “Kipling.” This was the first time I've tried Kipling and what a spectacular ale it was. Superb grapefruit and citrus flavours come through with a tremendous crisp finish. Apparently the flavours come from a special hop from New Zealand which only Thornbridge use at the moment. Thornbridge market it as a South Pacific ale which probably explains why immediately after drinking I had the urge to wash a man out of my hair before singing a lament about dames and how there is nothing else like them. A pleasure to drink. Me and Tony both agreed it was one of the finest pints we have ever had and also that I should never sing again.

Sunday I paid a visit to another Wetherspoons. The Metropolitan is a functional boozer next door to Baker Street station. The rather grand main room apparently used to be a London Underground recruitment centre. Sadly after my photo frenzy at the Euston Tap I completely forgot to take photos of this pub. Instead I present to you an accurate representation of a Wetherspoons drinker courtesy of the awesome Wangleberry:

This will be me in 20 years time. Oh who am I kidding this will be me next week.

First up was the Otter “Amber” - a perfectly pleasant amber ale with a light bitter taste and a refreshing finish. The other ales on offer were mainly from Adnams. I always find Adnams a little disappointing. Their Bitter just isn't a very pleasant drink with a heavy flavour and a weird chemical after-taste. The Broadside is just plain disgusting. There were a couple of Adnams I hadn't tried before so I gave them a go. “Ghost Ship” was a pale ale which in true Adnams style didn't quite hit the mark. Despite the initial refreshing taste, a rather unpleasant chemical after-taste kicks in. This may have been due to the condition of the ale rather than the beer itself but I wasn't impressed.



I did remember to take one photo. Here's the Otter Amber
hand modelled by The Lovely Jemma.

However my world was turned upside down as I tried a pint of the Adnams “Explorer.” Amazingly this pint was actually very pleasant. The beer had a citrus and flowery nose, and this was followed with a refreshing citrus taste. There was even a nice crisp finish with no unpleasant after-taste. I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed this beer that I expected a cat to start tap dancing on the bar and the surly European bar staff to start smiling as the walls of reality came crushing down around me. Luckily it wasn't all a beautiful dream and Adnams had actually produced a decent pint. On that happy note I shall bid you goodbye. Have a great evening and love to the wife and kids.