The Cherry Tree, Canterbury

There has been an ale house on this site since the 14th Century, and the current building shows traces of the architectural changes which have taken place since then. It is Spartan inside, with exposed brick walls and tiled floors, basic wooden furniture and a no-frills décor. There is a screen and projector in the back room, and a couple of gaming machines in the front. Food is basic pub grub at a fair price. The locals are a decent bunch, while the landlord was reasonably friendly. There were 4 handpumps on the bar, two dispensing local ciders and one with London Pride, which was in poor condition. Worth a revisit in the hope the ale problem was a one-off.

Compact side-street pub, with a partially opened-out two-room layout featuring alehouse-style furniture and decor. Also has some wooden picnic tables outside in the closed-off street. Four handpumps on the counter, offering Adnams Lighthouse, G2 Southern Cross, Good Heavens from Goody Ales (£3.40) and a Biddenden cider.

The Cherry Tree is an interesting free house, just of the High Street, that seems to attract a diverse range of customers, but was predominantly full of students on our Friday evening visit. Originally known as the Fleur de Lys Tap, the pub changed to its current name back in 1949. Due to being packed when we arrived and even harder to navigate once all 16 of us had filled up any remaining space, I didn't get a chance to properly explore what appeared to be a two bar set up. We stayed in the simply apportioned right hand bar with its two rows of scrubbed tables and tile flooring. It seems that live music is a staple ingredient and apparently the pub's chef took part in the BBC's 'The Voice' programme in 2012. There were a few ales visible through in the other, cosier looking bar, but I didn't get anywhere near close enough to make a note. Unfortunately for me, the best man was ordering the drinks by this point, so I ended up with a bottled Mexican beer called Desperados which tasted terrible. I should perhaps be thankful that he didn't notice the pub's legendary cocktail, a gloopy red mess called The Pig Fucker. I thought this was a fairly unpretentious pub with a few characters milling around and a lively atmosphere. It would be interesting to visit during a quieter moment, but on first impressions I would say it's worth a quick visit.