Red Lion, Romney Marsh

This country pub set in Kent marshland has long been one I've been looking forward to visit. When the day finally came, it did not disappoint. The building looks a bit ramshackle with plenty of foliage hanging over it and what looks like a derelict outbuilding to the right-hand side having a 'Ladies' sign on it. Poor ladies! We never did locate the gents. Inside, there are 3 small rooms. The main bar area is to the left, with a room just behind and the third room off to the right. The marble bar top is mounted by 4 antique handpulls that apparently have never been used, but are nevertheless originals. Given that they were the wrong side of a perspex screen from the server, they won't be used anytime soon. All 4 handpulls were clipped to show the beers to those entering the pub. Goacher's Fine Light Ale & Old 1066 Ale were the 2 beer options. Cider was Nightingale Tenterden Cider, Kent Cider Company Henderson's Rhubarb Cider & Merry Moon Strawberry & Thyme Cider. All are served direct from the cask, with ciders dispensed from boxes on the bar top. The walls are lined with old posters and pictures, giving the pub a bit of a cluttered feel, in a positive way. One corner of the main bar area was being used for various tourist pamphlets advertising local points of interest, which gives you an idea of the typical custom the pub gets. Indeed, there were just a couple of elderly locals in one corner, a couple from Lichfield on holiday in another corner, with ourselves getting warm from the open fire. This is the sort of pub where everybody can engage in friendly conversation, without any TVs, music, fruit machines or the like. The pub has been owned by the same family for over a century and the current landlady clearly has many stories to tell whilst you enjoy your drink. Long may pubs like this one survive. For me, they are great way of stepping back in time to see how we used to live and how those locals lucky enough still do!

After a couple of abortive attempts down the years, I finally made it out to this long-term target pub, located on the rather bleak (extremely bleak on the foul day I arrived) marshes of Southern Kent. The pub is comprised of two old cottages knocked together to form a three room layout which has only seen minimal alterations over the years. You enter into the left hand side of the building, which is the main bar area. It’s a bare boarded room with a small, candy-cane paint scheme servery on the left hand wall. Some smashing old wooden beams run across the sagging ceiling, a brick fireplace stands on the wall opposite the bar looking like it might still be the pub’s only heat source, chairs without tables line the perimeter walls and an old banknote collection can be seen pinned to the ceiling. As you might expect of a traditional Kentish house, hops line many of the walls and there is also an ancient looking cash register on the bar and an interesting collection of WWII memorabilia on the walls, the latter courtesy of the pub’s former landlady, Doris Jemison, who served in the Women's Land Army in the war and whose family have run the pub for over 100 years. Unusually, at the end of the bar, there is a merchandise stand selling local beer and produce plus a few Red Lion themed bits – an indication that this pub is a genuine tourist attraction, pulling in punters from all over the UK and beyond. The rear wall is liberally plastered with old Good Beer Guide stickers and CAMRA certificates, all attesting to the pub’s commitment to providing great beer as well as an interesting heritage interior. A door beyond the servery leads through to a rear room, also bare boarded, with some benches serving a few long tables under muted lighting with more hops and traditional rural-themed paintings on display. An upright piano stands at the front of the room, beneath an obscured window lined with all sort of stuff including cuddly toys, horse brasses, various models and the like. A passageway opposite the bar, lined with old newspaper articles and pub photos, leads through to the games room which has tiled flooring and two long tables with bench seating. Traditional pub games such as table skittles and toad in the hole were being enjoyed by a family group on my visit and I think I spotted a dartboard too. There is a nice fireplace to one side of the room and a hatch on the end wall, which perhaps dates back to the time when this part of the pub was used as some sort of village store. There are some nice old handpulls on the bar counter, but all the beer seems to come straight from the barrel, with options on this visit comprising Goachers Mild, DSB (the pub’s house beer) and Gold Star, plus a real cider, with a few more ciders available from boxes further along the bar. The Mild was fantastic and I enjoyed sitting in this main bar room listening to the great chat between the locals and some folk visiting the area and taking in all the interesting bits around the pub. This is a great pub that really rewards those who make the effort to get all the way out here to visit. The interior is so well preserved it was easy to imagine what a busy evening would’ve looked like in here decades ago and the breadth of material collected throughout the pub makes repeat visits a must. The unkempt nature of such an unspoilt interior may be off-putting to some, but this is a must-visit place for anyone interested in historic pubs.

Good to see the pub open again, though sadly the long-time landlady died earlier this year. It remains in the family and from previous descriptions, nothing else appears to have changed - bar a few photos of Doris displayed in the main room. There are four real ales and a cider served directly from the barrels behind the bar, among which I was pleased to see Goachers Fine Light and Real Mild. We arrived towards the end of the afternoon session, so couldn't stop long, but we promised ourselves a second visit (we were staying at Newchurch, a few miles away). Unfortunately the pub is closed between 3pm and 7pm and we never quite managed to be sober enough after our evening meal to make it - or at least, to make it there and back safely. Date of visit: 31 August 2016