The Bull Inn, Cranbrook

This pub is ably described by Wittenden, so no need for me to repeat it all. I would add that as well as all the cricket memorabilia, all the beams in the left hand bar are decked out with wreaths of hops which gave the place a more horticultural look, and the room on the right seemed to be used as a dining room, or at least it was during my visit. There is some outside seating in a fenced area in front of the pub, as well as few picnic benches next to the tiny car park and a small, but beautifully planted, courtyard garden at the rear of the pub. The breweries from which ales are sourced seem to be consistent with Wittenden’s experience. Darkstar Hophead, Harvey’s Best, and Larkin’s Traditional were all on, but the Old Dairy Brewery offering on my visit was the superb Copper Top – easily my beer of the week. There were a couple of large groups booked in for meals during my visit on Friday lunchtime, which meant that only baguettes were available for the casual visitor. I found these to be of mixed quality for the £7.50 each we were charged. Nice mature cheese, a bit of salad and a decent portion of chips were OK, but the white baguettes themselves were soggy and chewy. But the hot food I saw one of the large groups tucking into looked pretty good. I guess I just caught the pub on a bad day food-wise, but nonetheless the ale choice and quality was excellent. I would definitely visit again.

We seem to visit this pub once or twice a year:we should go more often, as it has one of the best ale ranges in the Weald, and is only a few miles from home.Outwardly, the pub has the air of a cricket pavilion-fitting , really, as Benenden is one of the many original homes of the summer game.Inside, it is a pleasing mix of styles-old beams and timbers,bare boards,and some rather ornate leaded bow windows.Plenty of cricket memoriabia, too. Coming up the pavilion steps, one is offered the choice of the bar on the left, or a pleasantly simple dining room to the right.The bar has a couple of smaller rooms off it, all served from the central serving area. In the main part is an inglenook big enough to sit in, together with a couple of woodburners. As I noted, I consider the range of ales to be as good as any in the area, in as much as they are all sourced from Kent and East Sussex.Today, Harveys Sussex Best and Larkins Traditional were partnered by Dark Star’s Hophead and Silver Top from Old Dairy,who’s home is just up the road in Rolvenden.It has to be a pretty good line up for me to eschew Harveys,but Hophead is a definite favourite, as is Larkins Traditional.We had a couple of pints of the Traditional-first from the barrel: a fine drink,but it didn’t seem to have that toffeeish element that I remember.I followed this with my beloved Hophead, as usual a wonderful foil to the excellent Sunday carvery that we enjoyed.Perhaps the beer of the session was Old Dairy’s Silver Top “cream stout”: a lightish but bible black dry stout, with chocolate and tart fruit notes.Complex and not at all sweet.Served in a Guiness glass, it knocked that overpriced confection into a cocked hat. All these beers were £2.90, a fair price given place and time. On the fizz front, I noticed Whitstable’s Kentish Ale alongside Hepworth’s Blonde, and Curious Brew from Chapeldown Vineyards at Smallhythe-I’ve greatly enjoyed some of their varietal bottle conditioned ales. A proper modern yet traditional village pub-good food, great beer and friendly, informal bar staff. I’m not sure if it’s dog friendly. Good pub.