A B&B in a pub seems the best of both worlds, particularly when the pub in question is a drive away…read morefrom anywhere. Ideally, you have good food, good beer, good company and a nice room. The Duck Inn provides most of this.
The Duck Inn is a true country pub near Canterbury, in the wonderfully named 'Petts Bottom'. It is surrounded by fields, and indeed, the back garden contains chickens and a thriving vegetable patch (though the hose wants to be careful - the Malamute dog attacks it mercilessly).
The interior is well appointed. The rear has a restaurant feel, whilst the front feels more like a traditional country pub. The bar isn't huge, but, notably, behind the bar sits gravity fed barrels of beer (and cider). Sadly, on my visit, not all were in use, and so we were restricted to the sadly ubiquitous in Kent Shepherd Neame Master Brew - not one of my favourite ales. However, on the second night, they had the Tiger on gravity feed, which was a much nicer pint. It would be good to see a larger and more consistent selection of ales, however, speaking to the young landlord (Jon), they normally do have more. Just our bad luck, I guess.
The food is good. There is a wide selection, from pub standards such as pizza and burgers, to more 'gourmet' style offerings of steak or monkfish. The food was good, though, in truth, not amazingly so (sorry Jon and Vicky!). The breakfasts, on the other hand, were superb. We couldn't have asked for fresher eggs, as they came for the aforementioned chickens.
The room was airy and pleasant, though it is worth noting that the bathrooms are not en-suite, but there is a large bathroom next door to the double room we occupied, complete with both a bathtub and an independent shower unit, along with two sinks (and, of course, a toilet). The bedroom had a low to the floor, but large double bed, and a sofa. The furniture was, I believe, modern Ikea, but it was comfortable and inoffensive. The room had a couple of major lacks though - a lock on the door (not that we were worried about theft, but it does give a feeling of privacy) and a mirror. Also, whilst there were tea and coffee making facilities, there was no milk, so it was black coffee all around.
This doesn't yet sound like a ringing endorsement, does it? The welcome we got was unparallelled, and more than made up for any deficiencies. Not only were Jon and Vicky (and their baby son) warm and hospitable, but the Friday night locals treated us like long lost relatives (the good kind). They bought us drinks, played Jenga (there is a good selection of books and board games. As an aside, many of the books are James Bond books, because Ian Fleming apparently drank there, and wrote one or two of his novels there), laughed with us, and made us feel more welcome than I can remember feeling in a long time. The pub stayed open late, and Vicky even brought out bacon sandwiches for the hungry yet wobbly patrons still remaining at that late time.
You do need a car for this pub. There is nothing around it. However, it is within easy reach of the nearest village (Bridge), and close to both Canterbury and Whitstable - two very pleasant Kent cities/towns. There is a good sized car park in the back.
It would be good to see more beers there. The food could have been slightly better. A lock on the room would have been ideal. Yet I spent a thoroughly pleasant two days there. I would go back at the drop of a hat, and recommend you do the same.
