The Woolpack, Tenterden

Official site of The Woolpack - thewoolly.com

Official site of The Woolpack - thewoolly.com

An historic,white painted, tile hung rambling pub between the Town Hall and the Churchyard at the centre of a picturesque market town. After a period of closure, prior to which it was the venue of choice for Tenterden’s yoof,the “Wooly” reopened last year. A bare floor, bare beams bar area to the left of the door, and a slightly lower area to the right: I haven’t ventured further back, but memory prompts me that there are a number of further rooms to be found. My fleeting visit (I had been dispatched to buy fish and chips), revealed a welcome refugee from Yorkshire on the bar, in the form of Timothy Taylor’s Golden Best, alongside Hop Back’s Summer Lightening of fond memory. I was slightly disappointed in not finding any Kentish beers on sale,given the new owner’s keen promotion of local food and drink.Perhaps I was unlucky. This won’t deter me from returning to what seems a friendly and well run house.

If a definition of a good pub is one that you feel as comfortable in as your own home, then this is definitely a good pub: quiet (occasionally background music, but I'm training them!), excellent (albeit reassuringly expensive) food, a selection of real ales, newspapers to read, welcoming bar staff - a true home from home. It is as good for a gathering of a score or more friends as for a quiet drink alone with a paper in the corner. Beer quality is 6 or 7 out of 10, as on a few occasions it has been slightly off, but the staff are trained to replace without quibbling, and the other aspects bring the pub as a whole up to a good 8.

Good to see the Woolpack open again after a worrying period of closure. This fine old inn, right in the heart of Tenterden between the church and town hall, has been refurbished to leave bare boards in bar and a stone floor in an opened-out room forming a lower seating area. Dark green and purple paintwork, with exposed beams above and limited decor apart from a few rustic prints. Wooden patio tables out front. Three handpumps offering Broadside, TT Golden Best and the inevitable Harveys, but I was pleased to see a cask of the local Old Dairy Gold Top at the end of the bar (perhaps a bit warm, but good value at £3.20).