Whitstable

I had a trip to the sea-side yesterday, Whitstable to be precise. The reason for my visit was that I had volunteered to represent West Kent CAMRA at the Kent Regional Meeting (KRM), that was being held there.

KRM's take place every couple of months, and provide a chance for members from all over the county to get together, report on their branch's activities and discuss things such as campaigning issues, beer festivals and Kent breweries (more about the latter later). There are 10 local branches within the county, and each branch takes a turn at hosting the meeting. The pre-requisite for these meetings is a pub (or club), with a separate meeting room away from the main part of the pub, so that the business can be conducted without interruption from juke-boxes, fruit machines, TV's etc. It is also important that the meeting should not disturb the pub's own customers. It was Canterbury, Herne Bay & Whistable Branch's turn yesterday, and the venue for the meeting was Whitstable Labour Club. This was quite ironic, coming just two days after the inconclusive General Election result, and the place seemed quite quiet and subdued when we arrived.

Whitstable isn't the easiest place to get to by public transport from where I live, and the journey took over two hours, and involved two changes of trains. Still the weather was unseasonably cold for early May, so it wasn't as though I was missing out on a day in the garden! Whitstable Labour Club is a converted, former pub, so it was good to see the building still being used for the sale of food and drink. There were four hand pumps adorning the bar, but only three beers on sale. Unfortunately two of them weren't of much appeal to CAMRA members (Courage Directors and Shep's Master Brew); but the other beer, Rudgate Mild, was the saving grace so far as most of us were concerned.

I hadn't been to such an event for over a year, so it was good to meet up with colleagues from other branches and catch up as to what was occurring in their neck of the woods. As West Kent's representative I was able to inform the meeting about the two breweries that are about to start production in our part of the county. Wearing my other hat, that of Brewery Liaison Officer for Larkins, I gave a short update as to what's happening at the brewery. About two thirds of the way through the proceedings, we adjourned for lunch; lunch being a buffet of sandwiches, sausage rolls and pork pies. After that it was pretty much plain-sailing through to the end of the meeting.

Once the day's business had been concluded, it was farewell to the Labour Club and off to sample a few of Whitstable's pubs. First port of call was the Ship Centurion, a one bar free-house and a former Kent CAMRA Pub of the Year. Several cask beers were on sale; I opted for Hopdaemon Incubus, whereas others opted for Elgoods Black Dog Mild.

On leaving the Ship, we made our way to the Smack, a Shepherd Neame house, tucked away down the myriad of narrow lanes and alleyways between the High Street and the sea. At the meeting the Shep's Brewery Liaison Officer had told us about the pilot scale brewery the company have installed. She also described some of the interesting beers being produced on the plant. One of these was on sale at the Smack; Crab & Winkle Celebration Ale is brewed using a proportion of smoked malt, which was evident in the flavour. It was rather good, as was the pub itself; a quirky sort of place with an island bar, comfortable seating and all manner of posters and other adornments on the wall.

From the Smack it was a short step to Pearson's, a Good Beer Guide-listed pub that was shown as selling a range of Gadds (Ramsgate Brewery) beers. Unfortunately there was no Gadds available and the bar-staff were unable to tell us why, but the Harveys was quite tasty all the same. The main thing that struck me about Pearsons though, was that it was full of Whitstable's answer to the "beautiful people"; and that, more than anything else was my lasting impression of the town, an impression that was reinforced by the next two pubs we visited.

The Royal Native Oyster Stores is owned and run by the Whitstable Oyster Company Ltd, and this "gentrified" establishment, housed in the firm's original premises, is now their flagship outlet. Oysters galore were in abundance, being split open and served up on dishes of flaked ice by a couple of chefs. Crabs and lobsters were also being prepared behind this glass counter, ready to be served up to the "beautiful people" in the dining room next door. The Whitstable Oyster Company is associated with the Whitstable Brewery, who brew some extremely good beers. The Royal Native had a cask of East India Pale Ale behind the counter, to complement the keg taps offering Whitstable Bohemina Pilsner and Oyster Stout, so we settled for the former and stood watching the proceedings with a certain fascination.

Our last port of call was the Duke of Cumberland, another Shepherd Neame pub, and one that also seemed home to Whitstable's "Nouveau Riche". I remember this pub from 25 years or more ago as a rambling old hotel, full of character. One of my companion's recollections were much the same, including having to pass through the billiard room en route to the gents! Still, our window seat did give us a good vantage point from which to watch the comings and goings along the High Street.

What appears to have happened is that in recent years, Whitstable has become second home territory for an increasing number of affluent Londoners; colour supplement readers Guardianista's and the like! There has been the inevitable rise in property prices, and this influx of high-spending "outsiders" has led to a sharp increase in what pubs and restaurants are charging their customers. Whitstable isn't quite Southwold (yet), but it's fast becoming so. I'm certain this is good for local businesses and, hopefully, local people, but when such "gentrification" takes place then I can't help feeling that much of the local character and individuality (the very things that attracted the newcomers in the first place), disappears.

The journey home was long and tedious, and again involved a couple of changes of train. Still, at least I got the chance to travel on one of the new High-Speed Trains (but not along the high speed tracks). I am not sure when I'll next get the opportunity to visit Whitstable, but when I do I'll be interested to see how much further the town has progressed in its upmarket direction.

Liverpool 2010

It's probably the best part of 30 years since I last visited Liverpool, but my recent trip to the Isle of Man afforded me sufficient time in this vibrant port city to see a few of the sights and, more importantly, sample some of its pubs. I say sights; apart from the Albert Dock complex, down on the Mersey, I didn't do a lot of sight-seeing. Walking back from Albert Docks, I could see both the Anglican and the Roman Catholic (Paddy's Wigwam) cathedrals dominating the skyline, but I had visited both on previous trips, and this time I was more concerned with some serious beer drinking!

I had a lot more time to spare on the outward journey than on the return leg, and quite a bit more cash available as well, so after making my way down to the Mersey, and viewing the aforementioned Albert Dock, I carried on along the waterfront to visit Liverpool's only brew-pub, the Baltic Fleet. With its red and black-painted chimneys, this wedge-shaped pub looks like a ship, and is very in keeping with its location. It didn't seem that busy when I called in on a bright and sunny Wednesday lunchtime, but once the language barrier was overcome (broad scouse!), I was soon enjoying a pint of the well-hopped, 3.5% Hurst Street Bitter, one of four house-brewed beers on sale that day. All the beers are brewed on the premises, and when I arrived at the pub I noticed the cellar hatch was open with the pleasant aroma of mashing wafting up from below.

There wasn't a shortage of tables, so I made myself comfortable and ordered myself a plate of the day's special. For the princely sum of just £4.95 I was tucking in to two tasty Lincolnshire sausages, served with petit pois on a bed of mashed potato with the whole thing drenched in onion gravy. I thought another beer would be a good idea, and what better than a pint of 5% Smoked Porter to help wash the meal down. The porter wasn't as highly smoked as its name might have suggested, but was still very pleasant all the same. The other thing that needs mentioning were the very keen prices charged at the Baltic Fleet; £2.25 and £2.65 respectively!

After leaving the Baltic Fleet I headed back into the city centre, heading for a pub called the Richmond Hotel. In the previous pub I had picked up a copy of the local CAMRA news magazine, Mersey Ale which informed me that the Richmond normally had Southport or George Wright ales on tap, but after looking through the pub window I could see no sign of these, and whilst Bass, Cains and Timothy Taylor's were on sale, I decided to put plan B into action and visit the unspoilt White Star instead.

I was glad I did, as this excellent traditional Victorian pub certainly ticked all the right boxes. I sat in the comfortable back room admiring the early Beatles memorabilia on the walls. I also enjoyed a couple of pints of White Star Pale Ale, brewed specially for the pub by the Bowland Brewery. After leaving the White Star I popped in to Boots to take advantage of their "Meal Deal" offer, thereby securing myself a sandwich, packet of crisps plus bottle of water to sustain me on the sea-crossing to Douglas. That done I thought it best to slowly make my way towards the ferry terminal.

En route I called in at Thomas Rigby's, one of two adjacent pubs in the city belonging to Okells. As would be drinking a lot of Okells later on the Isle of Man I gave their beers a miss and instead opted for a pint of Molly's Chocolate Porter, brewed by the College Green Brewery in Belfast. As I sat in the outside courtyard, enjoying my pint, I was please to see a good number of people drinking Weiss Bier. I had noticed that the Thomas Rigby offers a range of these beers, as several Belgian ones, so it was good to see the good citizens of Liverpool enjoying these.

It was a fifteen minute gentle stroll from Thomas Rigby's, down to the ferry terminal, but I arrived in good time for the 19:30 sailing to Douglas. I arrived in the Manx capital at around 10pm, and made my way straight to my pre-booked guest house.

After spending four, very enjoyable days on the island, I did the trip in reverse, catching the 07:30 fast cat, Mannannan from Douglas to Liverpool. Unfortunately the vessel developed engine trouble an hour or so into the voyage and we were 45 minutes late in docking. Even without the delay I had less time to spare as I was booked on the 13:48 train to Euston. Fortunately Wetherspoons came to my rescue, in the guise of the Richard John Blackler, a huge, cavernous JDW outlet right in the city centre and just a stone's throw from Lime Street station.

After a coffee, I got stuck into a couple of the festival beers, before leaving in good time to catch my train. These two brief visits had been a good re-introduction to Liverpool and its pubs, and whilst I would have liked to visit a few more (the Dispensary, Philharmonic and Peter Kavanagh spring to mind), I was quite content with those that I did manage to take in. I'm not quite sure when I'll next be passing through Liverpool, but whenever that may be I will certainly give these other outlets a try.

Isle of Man Travel Arrangements

I made the right decision 10 days ago, when I journeyed to the Isle of Man in readiness for the CAMRA members weekend. My pre-booked Apex Super Advanced Saver ticket on Virgin Trains allowed me to travel from my home town of Tonbridge to Liverpool and back, for just £14 each way. On top of this I had booked a return crossing from Liverpool to Douglas for £37. courtesy of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

I say the right decision, because on waking on Thursday morning I received a text from my wife alerting me to the chaos that was unfolding in the wake of the Icelandic volcanic eruption, and which would soon ground all flights within UK airspace, and indeed beyond. As I had return ferry and train tickets this did not, of course, bother me, but I knew that several friends had flown over the day before and some others were supposed to be flying over the following day. Their travel plans would obviously be affected, and lots of other people were in the same boat. Whilst some were unable to make it across to the Island, many did by switching to the ferries..

Those of us who had made it to the Isle of Man had a brilliant time. The weather was fair, the island scenery was a delight to behold and the pubs, the cheap beer and the friendly locals only added to a most enjoyable stay. As for my return journey, that passed as smoothly as the outward one.

I have posted, in more detail, about the member's Weekend on my main blog but I will be writing in more detail about some of the places I visited on my recent trip. Watch this space!

The Red Lion, Snargate

The Red Lion at Snargate features on CAMRA's National Inventory of unspoilt Heritage Pubs .Known locally as Doris's, after its legendary and long-serving landlady it is a pub where time really has stood still. The building itself is believed to date back to 1540, but unlike many old pubs of a similar age, the inside has not been modified and there are a series of inter-connecting rooms. The walls are decorated with a series of original World War II posters, and other memorabilia, and the rooms are also home to a selection of traditional pub games, such as "Devil Amongst the Tailors" and "Shut the Box". Although there is a set of three handpumps on the bar-counter, they have not been used for many years. Instead all beers are served direct from casks kept stillaged behind the bar. Local beers feature prominently on the menu, with Maidstone brewer's Goachers being a firm favourite.

I have known the pub over many years, and whilst I don't often visit it, I do so whenever the opportunity arises. Last Saturday, my son Matt and I joined a couple of friends in travelling by train down to Romney Marsh in order to visit the Red Lion. After alighting from the Marsh-Link train at Appledore Station, we had a slightly hair-raising, 30 minutes walk along the busy A2080 before arriving at the pub shortly after opening time.

Doris's daughter Kate was behind the bar, and we were pleased to see a good selection of Kentish ales on tap, awaiting our attention. Eric went straight in on the 6.5% Audit Ale from Westerham. The rest of us plumped for a beer called Red Top, from the Old Dairy Brewery. The latter is a brand new micro-brewery, based somewhere in Kent (their website doesn't specify where), that only commenced production at the beginning of the year. The Red Top was a copper-coloured, quite malty brew, with a distinct hoppiness to balance. It certainly seemed to slip down well. Later on that lunchtime I also sampled the Goachers Mild as well as their Imperial Stout, before returning to the Red Top for my last pint of the session.

The pub was packed; a mini-bus party from Whitstable having arrived shortly before us. There was also a good sprinkling of "locals", including a chap from Tunbridge Wells plus a cyclist from nearby Warehorne. Doris herself put in an appearance shortly afterwards, although she left the serving to Kate and her partner. Apart from crisps and nuts, the Red Lion doesn't serve food, but Doris was quite happy for us to sit in the games room and eat the sandwiches we had brought with us.

We stayed until closing time at 3pm. We were not particularly relishing the prospect of waking back along the busy A2080, so were therefore extremely grateful when we were offered a lift back to Appledore Station by a group of regulars. We piled into two cars, and in next to no time were deposited safe and sound back at the station. We had nearly half an hour before our train was due, so we popped into the adjacent, and very welcoming, Railway Hotel for a quick pint of St Austell Tribute before catching our train.

That wasn't quite the last pint of the day. We had decided to travel back to Tonbridge via Hastings; breaking our journey in the seaside town. I won't recount our afternoon and evening in Hastings apart from saying that we ended up in the FILO (First In Last Out), an old established home-brew pub in the Old Town. It was a good place to finish up at after what had been a most excellent day out.

A Day In Maidstone

I spent the day in Maidstone last Saturday. Our local CAMRA branch had organised a crawl around some of the county town's best pubs, so I tagged along. I had a particular reason for attending though, having lived in Maidstone during the early 1980's. I bought my first house there, and it was the town I settled down in following my return to Kent after a six year absence. I was especially keen therefore to re-visit some of my old haunts and to see how much things had changed during the intervening quarter of a century.

The plan was to start at a pub called Drakes, an old half-timbered building that dates back to the 17th Century. It was formerly known as the Lamb, but towards the end of my stay in Maidstone was given the full renovation treatment by then owners Whitbread, and was re-named Drakes Crab & Oyster House. Decorated with a bare-boards, exposed brick-work and old beams theme, and lit largely by candle-light, Drakes proved especially popular with the younger generation. That was 25 years ago, and looking at the outside of the pub yesterday, not much in the way of renovation appeared to have been carried out since. I say outside, because that's as far as we got, for despite being advertised as opening at midday, the pub remained well and truly closed.

Eventually we gave up waiting for it to open its doors, and made our way instead to Druids. On the way we passed the large Fremlin Walk shopping centre, with the brick entrance arch forming all that now remains of the huge Fremlins Brewery that once occupied the site. The brewery itself had ceased production back in 1972, following the takeover by Whitbread, and a decade or so later was pulled down to allow a modern distribution depot to be built in its place. I remember watching the wrecking ball and bulldozers at work and thinking what a waste of a fine brewery, who's ales were once justifiably promoted under the banner of "Kent's Best". At least the brewery buildings had lasted a lot longer than the characterless, shed-like depot, which was torn down a few years ago to create yet another identi-kit shopping mall.

I digress; Druids is a former Hogshead Alehouse that is now run by Greene King. Apart from the usual GK offerings of IPA, OSH and Abbot, there was the extra choice of Holdens Golden, Okells Olde Skipper and GK's seasonal ale for spring. Myself and a friend opted for the Holdens, as this is a beer not often seen in this neck of the woods. Unfortunately it was on the turn, so after handing it back we plumped for the Okells instead. This was a pleasant enough beer, but was not particularly outstanding. However, I will need to get used to it when I visit the Isle of Man next month.

The next port of call was the Muggleton Inn, one of two Wetherspoons outlets in the town, and one of my favourite JDW's. This tasteful conversion of a large cavernous former insurance building occupies two floors. Unlike many of the company's outlets, where service can be a bit slow, we didn't have to wait long to get served. We also found ourselves a table, as several of us wanted to eat. I enjoyed a very good pint of Grainstore Triple B, but there was also an interesting beer from Saltaire on offer called Rye Smile, which is brewed using rye malt. I had a coffee after my meal, before we moved on to the next pub on our itinerary.

The Flowerpot lies on Sandling Road on the route out of town. I remember it as a Truman's pub that offered the full range of the beers produced during the company's short-lived return to the real-ale fold. They were, from memory, rather good and even included a dark mild. I think it must have been some time during the late 1980's that Truman's ceased brewing; a great shame as they were the oldest brewery in the country, and made great play of their foundation date of 1666 in their advertising.

These days the Flowerpot is a free-house and a very good one at that! The pub was Maidstone CAMRA pub of the year for 2009, and whilst we were there we learned that it had also won this prestigious award for 2010 as well. What I remember most about the Flowerpot was the dark-stained wood paneling which gave the place a bit of a gloomy feel. This has now all been painted a creamy colour which gives the pub a much more bright and cheerful appearance. As one would expect from a POTY entry, there was a range of interesting beers on. These included Gold Star from local brewers, Goachers and OTT from Hog's Back, an excellent dark beer, but at 6% perhaps not the wisest beer to be drinking on a pub crawl. The beers that caught my eye though were a couple from a brewery called Bays. Even our well-travelled former branch chairman had to admit this was a new one on him. Together we tried them both, with the 4.3% Gold scoring higher, in my opinion, than the 4.7% Breaker. Both were good though, and it was encouraging to see a pub offering something unusual for a change. Some of our party also sampled the Flowerpot's food, and had I known that it would be as good as it looked I too would have forsworn the standard JDW fare for something a little bit different.

We spent several hours in the Flowerpot; some of us wanted to sample the full range of the pub's beer, some wanted to stay and watch the rugby, whilst some wanted to do both. By the time we left it was getting dark and starting to rain. We made our way to the Society Rooms, Maidstone's other Wetherspoon outlet. This was my first visit to this relatively new JDW and the contrast between this and the Muggleton could not have been more striking. The latter is a characterful and stylish old building, whilst the Society Rooms are an unashamedly modern glass-fronted building, housed beneath an imposing office block. Strangely enough though, the concept works and what's more the pub is a surprisingly popular meeting place. I spotted Batemans Salem Porter on sale, and as I rarely see this excellent dark beer my mind was swiftly made up. Others in our party went for the Gaelic-sounding offering brewed from peated malt, from Hilden Brewery. Just like drinking Laphraiog said Scottish Iain, but the sassenachs amongst us weren't convinced.

There was just enough time for one final pub before catching the train, or bus, home, and it was an absolute gem. The Rifle Volunteers is one of only two pubs belonging to Goachers Brewery. I remember it from its days as a Shepherd Neame house, even though I have re-visited it several times since it swapped brewery. It is an attractive, street-corner local, constructed out of blocks of locally quarried ragstone. Inside there is a single plainly-furnished bar, with three handpumps plus, for those that want it, a Hurliman Lager fount. Three Goachers beers are served: Fine Light, Real Mild plus Crown Imperial Stout. There are no noisy fruit machines, juke box or other electronic disturbances, and the proceedings are expertly looked after by the original landlord whom I remember from the time I lived in Maidstone.

I tried the Fine Light and the Imperial Stout; both were in excellent condition, which is hardly surprising given the pub's regular listing in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. Shortly before leaving, we were joined by several members from Maidstone CAMRA. They had been on a bus trip down to Lewes, which explains why they were unable to join us earlier in the day. Unfortunately we weren't able to stay and chat as long as we would have liked, owing to train and bus departure times, but it was good to see them nevertheless.

So ended an excellent day out, enjoying a few of the County Town's best pubs. There were quite a few others, of course, that we did not have time to visit, but there's always another occasion when this can be done. For me the day was especially enjoyable, allowing me to re-visit several old haunts, plus one or two new ones.

A Visit to Crouch Vale Brewery

I originally wrote this article some fifteen years or so ago, following an excellent day's visit with West Kent CAMRA to the Crouch Vale Brewery in Essex. The day also included visits to two excellent pubs. Read on, and discover a bit more about this unspoilt rural corner of Essex.

Whilst I have enjoyed visiting many of the new micro-breweries which have sprung up in recent years, I find that they do not have quite the same appeal and attraction attached to them as their more established counterparts. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with the beer they produce. On the contrary, I have found that much of it compares well with the products of the established breweries. Some of it is even better. What I am getting at, is more to do with the architectural designs of the buildings rather than the products produced in them.

The older, established breweries are invariably housed in purpose built structures, which are both attractive in appearance and functional in design This form of industrial architecture reached its peak with the classic Victorian tower brewery, where gravity is put to good use, allowing the flow of ingredients from one stage of the brewing process to another. In addition, such breweries often tend to be home to all sorts of interesting pieces of plant and equipment, ranging from teak-clad mash tuns, to functioning steam engines.

With a small number of exceptions, none of this applies to the new breed of micro-breweries. Although I can think of micro-breweries that occupy old barns, converted farm buildings, and redundant railway stations, new breweries, in the main, tend to be housed in modern, light industrial units, of the type which are commonplace throughout the length and breadth of the kingdom. Such buildings are functional, relatively cheap to construct, and easy to maintain. Unfortunately they have none of the embellishments, or indeed character, of their Victorian predecessors.

Crouch Vale Brewery, at South Woodham Ferrers in Essex, is no exception to this rule, and it was outside just such a unit that myself plus a dozen or so fellow CAMRA members found themselves on a sunny February morning, back in 1994. This was the prelude to a trip round this small, but well respected micro-brewery. However, if the outside of the building looked plain and functional, the inside was anything but.

We were met by Colin Bocking, one of the two original partners who had set up the brewery in 1981. Realising that we would be thirsty after our mini-bus trip up from Kent, we were each given a pint of Crouch Vale Millennium Gold, before beginning the tour. As its name suggests, this particular beer is gold in colour, and is a well-hopped brew of 4.2% abv. Whilst we were enjoying our beer, our host gave us a very interesting talk on the brewing process in general, followed by details of how it is carried out at Crouch Vale. He also gave us a potted history of the company, and described how it was just entering into a period of expansion, thanks largely to the “guest beer” rule. All this was interspersed with amusing anecdotes, underscored by Colin's very dry sense of humour.

It is always encouraging to hear of success stories, and that of Crouch Vale certainly fitted the bill. As stated earlier, the brewery was founded in 1981 by Colin and his partner, Rob Walsted and after steady, but unspectacular expansion had reached a stage where it was ticking over nicely. Then along came the 1989 Beer Orders, which opened up the guest beer market to the new breed of micros, and the company has never looked back. Rob Walsted left, several years ago to set up his own beer agency and concentrate on the wholesaling side of the trade. He also bought his own pub - more about that later. Today, Crouch Vale supplies over 100 free trade outlets, as well as its own tied house. At the time of our visit this was the award winning Cap and Feathers at Tillingham, but the pub has since been sold and another purchased – the Queen’s Head in Chelmsford.

The talk was followed by a look around the brewery itself. Every available square foot of the unit seemed to be pressed into use. Most interesting was the brewing copper, sited on a mezzanine floor above our heads, and fired from below by direct gas flame.

After a further pint of Millennium Gold, it was time to leave our host to get on with the brewing, and depart for the next stop on our day out. This was to be lunch at the aforementioned Cap and Feathers. The pub took a fair bit of finding, despite having been given directions from Colin, but the perseverance of our driver, and the map reading skills of the navigator within our party brought about our eventual success. So after a pleasant half hour's drive through the winding lanes of this lesser-known part of Essex, we arrived in the picturesque village of Tillingham, and parked outside the Cap and Feathers.

The Cap and Feathers was everything a village pub should be, with old oak beams, open fires, traditional pub games and a quiet, unspoilt atmosphere, enjoyed by a varied and appreciative clientele. Not only did we enjoy lunch here - courtesy of the brewery, but we were also able to sample several more beers from the Crouch Vale portfolio. These included Woodham IPA, Best Bitter and, for the braver souls amongst us, the head-banging 6.4% ABV Willie Warmer, described by the Good Beer Guide as "a meal in a mug".

It was therefore, with some reluctance that we left, come closing time, at 3pm, but where to go next? That question was answered by our then branch chairman Dave Aucutt, who was able to guide us to the third stop on our itinerary, a pub called the Prince of Wales, in the tiny hamlet of Stow Maries. Dave, at the time was also director of East-West Ales Beer Agency, and through the course of his work, collecting beer from small independents and delivering it to freehouses throughout the region, knew the area well. We were therefore able to locate the pub without any problem.

I must admit that before we arrived at the Prince of Wales, the beer was beginning to catch up with me, and the prospect of drinking yet more starting to appeal less and less. However, once we reached the pub all such thoughts vanished, for housed in a white-painted, weather boarded building, constructed in typical local style, was one of the best pubs I have been in. The Good Beer Guide describes the Prince of Wales as a rural gem, and it was therefore hard to believe that only a few years previous the building had been more or less derelict. It had been beautifully restored by its then owner, who turned out to be none other than Rob Walsted - the former partner in Crouch Vale, whom I mentioned earlier.

What I particularly liked about the Prince of Wales was the way in which it had been divided up into a number of separate, but inter-connected rooms. The floor was part wooden and part quarry tiled, with an open fire burning in one of the rooms and, from what I recall, a stove in another one. The decoration was provided by a number of old brewery advertisements, some of them from long defunct concerns, but they were just the right sort of thing to hang on the walls of this marvellous old pub.

There was no piped or other recorded music to disturb one, or to detract from the gentle hub-bub of conversation, and on a cold February afternoon, the pub seemed to possess a really relaxing and tranquil atmosphere. Moments such as these are to be cherished, especially when one is in good company, and whilst it is easy to romanticise when one has enjoyed a considerable number of pints, I have extremely fond memories of that Saturday afternoon in the Prince of Wales.

We spent a couple of hours in this wonderful pub, sampling several of the different ales that were on offer. All were in good condition, and it was with considerable reluctance that we took our leave. The journey back to Kent was uneventful; I fell asleep, and missed my first trip across the then recently opened Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at Dartford.

So ended an excellent day out; just the thing to lift one’s spirits at, what can often be, a depressing time of the year. I would like to return one day to the Prince of Wales; something that could quite easily be achieved, now that the pub offers bed and breakfast accommodation.

Footnote: Crouch Vale moved to a new site, still in South Woodham Ferrers, back in 2006. Looking at the pictures on their website it really looks sate of the art.

Getting to the Isle of Man and Back

As anyone who has read the previous posting will know, I'm off to the Isle of Man in mid-April, to attend the National CAMRA members' weekend. I thought that arranging transport there and back would be relatively straight forward, but this turned out not to be the case, as I am about to relate.

After what seems like days of searching around, logging on to various websites and comparing options, prices, dates and times etc, I’ve finally booked my ticket to the Isle of Man. When I say ticket, I should actually say tickets, as I’ve opted for the overland and then sea-crossing route, rather than my preferred option of flying there. The reason has largely been one of price, coupled with my sheer frustration and annoyance at the total lack of transparency of the main carrier to the Island, Flybe.

I’m fully aware that certain budget airlines advertise extremely low prices, but then sting you with a raft of hidden charges. Ryanair, for example, are well known for this, and it is now almost par for the course when booking a flight with this airline to expect some additional fees. Call me naive, but I did not expect this from Flybe.

I live fairly close to Gatwick, so flying from there seemed the best option. Flybe are the only carrier operating the IOM route, and when I looked, earlier in the week I found I could get a return flight, for my required dates, for £94 (incl. taxes). Slightly on the dear side I thought, but still within my set budget. I then proceeded to book. Oh dear, what’s this an extra tenner each way for baggage? Well I’m only going for four days, so I’ll manage with just hand luggage. On checking the airline’s maximum size limits for cabin baggage, I discovered that the smallest case we have was still too large, even though it is supposed to fit in the overhead lockers on most aircraft. Not Flybe though; my wife’s handbag, on a good day, might just have qualified but no chance for a normal size piece of cabin baggage.

Oh well, I’ll just have to stump up the readies and pay the extra twenty quid. Next step, choose a seat. Picked a seat next to the window for both outward and return flights, but alarmed to see the total had suddenly increased to £126! Why I thought? Checking the small print showed a further charge of £6 each way for a seat – so after you have paid for the flight, you then have to pay extra for a seat! No option to stand of course, health and safety reasons don’t allow this.

The final straw was a charge of £3 per flight, card-handling fee (there’s no other way of paying online!), plus an additional fee of £1.50 if the translation is by credit card! The total cost has now reached £133, an increase of over 40% on the advertised price!

Time for a re-think, and the overland option. Fortunately the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and National Rail Enquiries came to the rescue. The former operate a fast Seacat service out of Liverpool and offer foot passengers a return fare of just £37. Ok there’s still the task of getting to Liverpool, so let’s see what National Rail can offer in the way of special tickets? By booking in advance I could get a return ticket to Liverpool, from my home town in Kent, for the princely sum of just £28.

Job done, tickets booked, total cost £65; less than half what Flybe wanted to charge me, and on top of that was the coat of getting to and from the airport. Ok, the journey might be slightly longer, but not that much when you take account of check in times and security checks at the airport. What’s more, my itinerary allows time for a stop-off in Liverpool – plenty of time hopefully to check out a few pubs and enjoy a few pints!