Ye Olde Yew Tree Inn, Canterbury

Official site of Ye Olde Yew Tree Inn - www.yewtreewestbere.co.uk

Official site of Ye Olde Yew Tree Inn - www.yewtreewestbere.co.uk

Dubiously claiming to date from 1348, this is still a very old inn with an attractive white-painted and black timbered façade enlivened with hanging baskets. The entrance is now around the back in a small modern (but sympathetic) extension housing the bar counter, beside which there is an attached outbuilding converted to the kitchen. The original part has retained a reasonable amount of character, with exposed beams and traditional decor, and the place was busy with diners on a Sunday lunchtime. Pleasant rear beer garden. Westerham British Bulldog and Wantsum 1831 (£4.00) available from two of three handpumps.

Bearing in mind it's a free house and also bearing in mind 99% of the pubs in the county seem to be Shepherd Neame which sell nothing but Masterbrew, why is this chosen as one of the ales? Perhaps the bar staff are new, but should it really take fifteen minutes to come up with five drinks and three bags of crisps when the pub is deserted? Oh dear, that sounds so negative, doesn't it? It's a good pub – I'd certainly go again, but it's a carbon copy of every other “standard country pub” you'll ever see – there's nothing to make it stand out from the crowd.