I met a chum in Westerham on Tuesday night. A two hour bus journey followed by a short walk to the General Wolfe Pub. I was a little apprehensive about this pub as it is run by Greene King and they produce my least favourite beers. There were three beers on tap, one from the Whitstable Brewery and two Greene King beers. After a quick taste I decided to have a pint of Greene King General Wolfe beer. It had the distinctive Greene King flavour but was just acceptable to my palate for two pints. We moved on to the Grasshopper pub on the Green. This had three beers including Adnam’s Broadside, Courage Best and Timothy Taylor Landlord. No prizes for guessing which I chose and the TT was as good as ever.

Both pubs were inviting and traditional in the style of decor and architecture. The bar staff were friendly and helpful in both pubs and I would recommend them if you are in the area.

Pub websites:
http://www.grasshopperonthegreen.co.uk/ and

http://www.generalwolfepubwesterham.co.uk/

This weekend some friends suggested meeting in the Orpington Liberal Club for a drink. This club has won many CAMRA awards and accepts visitors who are CAMRA members.  I therefore joined CAMRA and met my friends for a couple of beers at the suggested venue. The club is in a large house with a hall attached.  Inside there is a small bar and several tables spread around a brightly lit room.  There were three cask beers on offer and I chose Tonbridge Brewery Coppernob.  It tasted good and had a distinctive flavour that was very similar to the Tonbridge Rustic I had drunk a few week’s earlier.  The website of this club is http://orpingtonliberalclub.co.uk/

The following day, by coincidence, I found myself in another drinking hole with a political link.  I was visiting friends near Rochester, Kent and we had a couple of pints in the Crown Pub.  This was made famous (notorious) recently by the appearance of the UKIP leader, Nigel Farage.  He was accompanied by Mark Reckless, a Tory MP who defected to UKIP in September 2014.  They were both on the campaign for votes for the up-coming by-election.  The pub was quite traditional with good bar staff.  It was quite busy as one would expect for a Saturday night but we easily found a table.  The beer was pretty boring though with Doom Bar being the best of a limited bunch.  Pedigree and Bombardier were also available but I am not keen on these.  The website is http://www.thecrownrochester.co.uk/index.php#

Just to finish off it is worth saying that Rochester High Street is a lovely town centre with lots of history and many old buildings dating back several hundred years.  The town changes dramatically at night and swarms with groups of young people.  Unfortunately the Rochester pubs have not caught up with the standard of the pubs in London.  The King’s Head had no beer.  Another pub close to it just had Doom Bar and London Pride and had an odd smell.  In my experience, many pubs in and close to London that had a similar approach to beer provision closed due to lack of interest.

I arrived at The Princess of Wales pub at noon on a Tuesday and there was plenty of room. The friendly barman Ben, who is an actor when not serving beer,  allowed me to try several of the beers on offer. This pub always has a good range of beers including the ubiquitous Sharp’s Doom Bar.  I plumped for a pint of Roosters Yankee Pale Ale.  I was impressed with the flavour and had several more during the afternoon.

As time progressed a few more punters arrived including a few mothers with noisy children in push chairs.  We decided to have lunch before the beer filled us up and picked Ox Cheek Pie and Mash.  This was really good and the flavour  of the vegetables was far superior to any pub food I have tasted.  They were also cooked to absolute perfection. The pie had sufficient filling which was tender and tasty.  The attentive barmaid enquired about our level of satisfaction on the food front and our reply was positive.  We finished with a salted caramel tart which was also good.

The Princess of Wales is just outside the main part of Blackheath Village and has a nice view over the heath.  There is seating inside and outside and on hot days people sit on the heath opposite the pub.  It hasn’t changed much in the thirty or so years that I have frequented it and it maintains a good pub atmosphere.  I would recommend a visit.  The website is: http://www.princessofwalespub.co.uk/

Harvey’s beers are, in my opinion, amongst the finest beers brewed in this country. Harvey’s brewery has two pubs in London; and the Royal Oak in Tabard Street near London Bridge is one of them.  I have visited this pub on several occasions during the last twenty years.  It has hardly changed in this time and maintains the Victorian style that its earlier renovation captured so superbly well.  No SKY Sports or loud music here- a great haven for those, like me, who have no interest in football when a major soccer competition is running.

Despite being near London Bridge I have always managed to find a seat on a Friday night. The Harvey’s beer selection is good and includes seasonal ales as well as the regular beers.

I visited last Friday evening with some work chums and was very impressed with the Sussex Pale Ale.  It actually trumped the Best Bitter which is my normal favourite here.  A tradition with the group I visit this pub with is to have salt beef sandwiches with a gherkin. This night was no exception.  The salt beef sandwiches are fantastic and provide sufficient bulk for an evening as well as being made with tasty tender beef and delicious crusty white bread.

To find the Royal Oak visit this website.  It is really worth a visit.  http://www.harveys.org.uk/pubs-tenancies/find-our-beer/the-royal-oak-london