The Little Gem, Aylesford

The Little Gem is appropriately named. Whilst it sounds like it should be a micropub, it's actually a quaint and very old (12th century) village local, nicely restored and re-opened by Goacher's. We sat at the bar and enjoyed good conversation with the locals, despite us already having consumed more than our fair share of beer and cider throughout the day. Beers were all from Goacher's. Their Fine Light Ale is a regular. They also had their Mild & Imperial Stout. Ciders from Turner's were Medium, Elderflower Cider, Rhubarb Cider & Apple Pie. My Mild was enjoyable. Watch out for the low ceilings and doorways here. I nearly took my head off on the way to the toilets! If you can keep your head, this pub is well worth seeking out, being just one stop from Maidstone Barracks station and 2 from Maidstone West and then a 15-minute walk from the station eventually crossing the village's medieval bridge.

How wonderful that this iconic pub is open again, and that I was able to go in and enjoy it some 40 years after my previous visit. It’s also one of the first pubs where I ever binged, when Old Peculiar was 33p a pint, and the alternative was Young’s Special at 28p a pint. It’s certainly been cleaned up since I last came in, and I have to admit that the trip down memory lane was marginally devalued by the new, clean tiles in the gents’ which replaced the old graffiti – which if the legend is true is where the old saw about Old Peculiar was first recorded: ‘I used to think the bottom was dropping out of my world, then I drank 4 pints of Old Peculiar, and now the world’s dropping out of my bottom’. Now a Goacher’s pub, there were 2 on draft and 3 on gravity. All the beers were predictably excellent, the staff were welcoming, and there was good chat to be had with the regulars (I can no longer consider myself a local). I shall certainly be coming back now whenever I come to Kent.

Facebook page of The Little Gem - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Little Gem - www.facebook.com