Castle Inn, Robertsbridge

I’d say it’s a fair bet that this pub is named after the 1385 ruin over the road, last visited by me in 2001, before that around 1973. Like Bodiam Castle, the pub is owned by the National Trust and is probably late 19th century in origin; it’s a fair size with a substantial carpark and if you’re a customer – and not a member of the National Trust – you can park here and avoid the parking charges imposed by the rapacious National Trust to use their carpark (opposite) if visiting said bat-infested moated ruin. With a huge beer meadow, the interior is traditional if unspectacular, with an aged, boarded floor, smoky blue walls with some very floral wallpaper and wainscoting, with burgundy paint and white wainscoting to the dining room, all with traditional and some old-school furniture, décor by way of random prints; an aged fireplace and mantel is the only obvious item of heritage, but overall it’s a perfectly serviceable pub, presided over by a friendly landlady. A 1970s’ and ‘80s’ soundtrack played, featuring the likes of the Bee Gees, Dexy’s, Police, J. Geils Band and KC and the Sunshine Band et al. My dining companion plumped for the risotto without complaint, my repast of choice being the fish ‘n’ chips (with peas), the chips being a bit McCain and overcooked, charged a whopping £18 for the privilege, tourists well and truly grabbed by the short and curlies. I didn’t have anything other than a Coke as I was driving and with beers courtesy of Shepherd Neame, nothing would have changed had I not been in charge of a car. Worth a visit for those with a fetish for Robin Hood, the food prices making this place the prince of thieves.

Facebook page of Castle Inn - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Castle Inn - www.facebook.com

Located directly opposite Bodiam Castle from which the pub presumably takes it’s name, this is a traditional looking, brick built pub but has clearly been renovated at some point, and now has a fairly generic interior with little in the way of any note. The bulk of the pub is an L-shaped room, somewhat smaller perhaps than might be expected from looking at the outside, although there was a further room off to one side. There was limited seating available in the main room so we poked our heads in here, only to be told in no uncertain terms that all seats in there were reserved. Clearly that’s not actually the case though, as another group turned up shortly afterwards without a reservation and were shown in. Obviously what they meant was that it’s only for people spending money on food, so with all other tables taken or reserved we had to perch on a couple of stools at the bar. That said, one family seemed to have taken over one whole leg of the L, with coats and other paraphernalia draped over all the tables, even though they were only actually using one. Quite why the bar staff didn’t sort this out I don’t know. Décor wise it’s fairly unremarkable, although not at all unpleasant, with plain wooden boards on the floor, deep blue paintwork on much of the walls, woodwork and ceiling and some feature walls with very floral wallpaper. An old brick fireplace off to one side was quite an attractive feature, with a black timber mantle and a slate hearth, and there were a few old black and white photographs of the locale dotted around the walls, as well as an old brewery advert or two. Beers on tap were Spitfire and Whitstable Bay, whilst a third pump had the clip reversed and a fourth appeared unused. The solitary cider meanwhile was Orchard View. Overall, not a bad pub by any means, but the lack of seating and disinterested bar staff mean that I didn’t particularly warm to it either.