These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change quickly. Please check the latest travel guidance before making your journey. Note that our writer visited pre-pandemic.
Home to over 1,000 pubs and Britain’s oldest brewery, Shepherd Neame, locals will tell you that Kent is the spiritual home of England’s medieval pub. The county’s wonky inns, warmed by vast inglenook fireplaces and bedecked with hops, have served locally brewed ales and provided refuge to pilgrims bound for Canterbury and travellers heading for the Channel for centuries.
As you discover Kent’s cosy, candle-lit pubs and flower-filled gardens today, in rural settings such as the North Downs and Kent Weald and urban spots like Canterbury and Sissinghurst, it seems that little has changed. However, contemporary pilgrims can expect local brews in addition to fine dining, gin bars and plush bedrooms complete with four-poster beds, roll-top baths and organic toiletries. Here’s our pick of the best pubs with rooms in Kent.
Five Bells Inn Brabourne
North Downs, England
From
£
120
• The best hotels in Kent
The Dog at Wingham
Wingham, Kent, England
From
£
140
The Duke William
Ickham, Canterbury, England
From
£
120
The Milk House
Sissinghurst, Kent, England
From
£
95
The Corner House Canterbury
Canterbury, Kent, England
From
£
83
Woolpack Inn
Warehorne, England
From
£
80
The Three Chimneys
Biddenden, England
From
£
130
• The best hotels in England
The Barrow House
Egerton, Kent, England
From
£
80
Contributions by Fiona Duncan