The Lifeboat, Folkestone

This is a big Greene King pub serving up IPA, Abbot, Old Speckled Hen and St Edmunds alongside a selection of standard and premium lagers. I found the staff to be ok, but the general ambience in the pub was verging on depressing. There is a plasma screen, but there is no sport advertised so no Sky Sports. I found that the slow jazz music was sucking the life out of me, so thankfully I was able to finish my pint in the reasonably sized paved beer garden out the back of the pub. This place aspires to be a trendy gastro pub where everyone eats tapas and listens to acoustic sets, but in reality it is bland and forgettable and I can't see myself returning.

It's not a place that you'd just happen across but if you are looking for a good real ale experience it's worth checking a map and searching it out. It's a small corner pub quite close to the harbour and the railway bridges. It doesn't open until 1pm on weekdays although I guess that could change in the Summer months. There were four handpumps on with London Pride, Doombar, Sharps Special and Harveys Sussex. We spent a pleasant afternoon in there drinking the Sharps Special and had the place to ourselves until about 4.30 when a couple of other customers came in. Friendly banter and good beer kept us amused as well as trying to find the worst song on the jukebox (my All Night Holiday by Russ Abbott was beaten a short head by Hands Up Hands Up by Zig and Zag, I was gutted). An afternoon lost but not wasted.

Really welcoming traditional pub with five ales on the hand pump and good food. It's a bit off the beaten track, but well worth finding.