‘AND THE WINNER IS ….’

WEST KENT PUB OF THE YEAR 2020

With that nasty COVID-19 interfering with all aspects of our lives the little matter of who won the Region’s Pub of the Year (POTY) accolade for 2020 unfortunately got left to one side. With all the uncertainty over when pubs could open and the social distancing requirements once they did it has not been possible to have any formal presentations. The plan is to have a one-on-one presentation of certificates to the various winners and something more celebratory once restrictions (notice how we’ve stopped say ‘when this is all over’ !!), with full “press coverage” and photos.

BUT in the meantime below are the winners of the West Kent Region’s Pub of the Year for 2020 (drum roll please):

PUB OF THE YEAR 2020          THE NELSON ARMS, TONBRIDGE

RUNNER-UP         THE GEORGE, TUNBRIDGE WELLS

CIDER POTY 2020                      THE NELSON ARMS, TONBRIDGE

RUNNER-UP         THE BEER SELLER, TONBRIDGE

CLUB OF THE YEAR 2020        THE CONSTITUTIONAL CLUB, TUNBRIDGE WELLS

RUNNER-UP         ROYAL BRITISH LEGION CLUB, LEIGH

Congratulations to all our winners and we look forward to some real celebrations as soon as we can.

Awards Season 2019 !!

With the launch of the Good Beer Guide the branch gets to hand out some awards to some of the hard working people in our branch pubs. Some of the most impressive awards go to pubs with many consecutive years in the GBG.

Pub of the Year 2019 goes to The George in Tunbridge Wells.

For the second year running the award for Pub of the Year for West Kent region of CAMRA goes to The George in Tunbridge Wells. Our picture shows manager Paul Fillis, together with his team, receiving the award from Branch Chairman Trevor Champ. The pub also houses a microbrewery in a downstairs room of the pub, where Paul doubles up as head brewer, producing small batch quantities of real ale to sell in the bar upstairs under the name Fonthill Brewing Company. The pub has eight hand pumps, two of which are dedicated to real cider, whilst the other six offer a changing range of ales from far and wide. Well done guys – keep up the good work.

A Double Celebration for The Greyhound

 The weekend of 13^th and 14^th July saw the second anniversary birthday party for The Greyhound at Charcott. Fran and Richard took over the pub in April 2017 after it had been under the threat of closure, and made it their home. They have worked very hard and diligently, refurbishing the pub to include many quirky rustic features and earn the popularity it enjoys today.

The attractions organised for the birthday celebrations included a BBQ grill, children’s entertainment, an array of bands performing live music and for the thirsty, an outdoor stall offering a good selection of beers and ciders in addition to their hand pumped beers.

West Kent branch were only too happy to take this opportunity to present the award of ‘Pub of the Year Runner Up’ during a break between bands on the Sunday and many members came along to support the event and show their appreciation to Fran and Richard. Ian Davidson, presenting the award certificate, explained the different elements that go towards making a ‘Pub of the Year’ and congratulated the couple on their success and how they have made such a big impact in such a short space of time. In response Fran thanked all of the customers for their support and made particular reference to the important role played by their staff over the two years.

For anyone who has yet to pay a visit to the pub, you will find much engaging information on the website https://thegreyhoundcharcott.co.uk/      

Including notification of forthcoming events. It is well worth noting that despite the pub’s rural location it is easily accessible by train by alighting at Penshurst station, on the Tonbridge to Redhill line. On exiting the station with the Little Brown Jug facing you, turn right and walk along the pavement until just past the church where you turn left onto a surfaced flat path across the fields and the Greyhound beckons in the distance – a 10 minute walk from the rail station. Trains runs regularly until late.

The Nelson Arms in Tonbridge completed the podium in 3rd place and congratulations to all award winners, in what is becoming an ever more competitive competition.

Cider Pub of the Year 201 goes to The Pantiles Tap – for the third year running, thanks to its mighty “Great Wall of Cider” offering cider and perry from a wide range of producers. Coming up fats on the rails was The Nelson in Tonbridge and it is good to see ever more outlets for quality cider in the area.

 Previous Winners