Westcourt Arms, Gillingham

An unusual pub in that its cellar is on the opposite side of the road, connected to the pub by a tunnel. This may have something to do with its medieval origins: West Court was the Western half of a large estate owned by a local family, and the pub now sits on the site of farm buildings which were demolished in the 1880s. The pub opened in 1888. It's a large, impressive building on a prominent corner site, and has been refurbished in recent years. The barman was friendly, although it's very much a locals' pub. There was no real ale on, and no food, so there was no real point in staying after a token half of John Smith's. With so many nearby pubs closing, this one really needs to sort its act out if it wants to survive, as there is currently no real reason to come here.

The Westcourt Arms is a good sized L shape pub, but the décor is basic and there was only one other customer at 22:00 on Monday night – and he was annoying and plastered. The barmaid was polite, but I think that the last place she wanted to be was behind the bar. There is a jukebox that wasn’t that loud and signs on the walls stated that Sky Sports is coming soon. The bar is stocked with standard draught and one of the hand pumps was unused leaving Blond Witch and Doom Bar as the cask options. It didn’t look like any ale had been drunk for some time so I opted for a half lager. I will give this place a miss when next in the area.