The Chequers, Swanley

This is a traditional village pub located not too far from the M25 and Swanley, offering a large, opened-out interior with a few smaller seating spaces branching off from the spacious central bar area. The pub is carpeted throughout, with half-height wall panelling beneath plain painted uppers and a few fake dark wood beams crossing the ceiling. The servery runs down the left-hand side and has a chunky, dark wood counter with nicely rounded ends, a basic canopy lined with old pump clips, and a plain, mirrored bar back decorated with blackboards listing the available ales and other drinks. To the front left is a very small public bar with a couple of tables and a dartboard, whilst the front right is a formally arranged dining space set around a simple fireplace, divided by a knocked-through archway now lined with more pump clips. Another seating area can be found to the rear with four or five more tables and plenty of chairs. Traditional rural pub décor is very much the order of the day, with old black and white photos, rustic paintings, framed pump clips and assorted breweriana filling the walls, along with an excessive quantity of Christmas decorations on this visit. A quiet but dreary soundtrack was playing, thankfully at a low enough volume to avoid spoiling the atmosphere. Outside, a tidy garden and kids’ play area offer additional options, and there is also a small car park. Salopian Firkin Freezing, Daleside Old Legover and Harvey’s Sussex Best (£4.90 a pint) were the three cask options available, so I'm not too sure why I chose the Harveys over two lesser-seen options, but it drank very well regardless. The staff were friendly and welcoming and there was a mixed lunchtime clientele, which steadily grew over the course of my stay. This seems like a pretty good village pub that serves the local community well and provides a friendly welcome to new faces. The pub has made it into the Good Beer Guide in recent times and I can see why, with good quality beer and a slightly experimental guest ale policy. The villages around here strike me as under-pubbed, so it's good to know that there are some solid options in amongst the few survivors. Date of visit – 28th December 2024

Very traditional village pub, and whilst no doubt slightly remodelled over the years, it still retains various different seating / dining areas around the central servery. The decoration is probably usually restrained, but livened up somewhat with seasonal elements when I visited. It was good to see all four handpumps in use, offering Courage Best, Black Sheep Pale Ale, Exmoor Gold and Potter's Fields Porter from Southwark Brewing (£4.20).

Official site of The Chequers - chequerscrockenhill.co.uk

Official site of The Chequers - chequerscrockenhill.co.uk