A pilgrim's happy rest
I searched online for a restaurant to experience with my partner. First of all I discovered this brilliant website and after a brief, but informative trawl, I decided on the Black Horse Inn.
I decided to telephone as I couldn't see any information about opening times and was greeted with a pleasant young voice informing me that the restaurant was indeed open on a Sunday evening and yes, they could happily accommodate us at 8pm.
We used my Garmin to wend our way from our hotel in central Maidstone. Needless to say, it took us on a mystery tour. Fortunately not too far out of our way. But enough for my partner to grumble as we passed a multitude of eateries. But I held out. I had a good feeling about the Black Horse. We finally found ourselves on a dark unlit, single track road. More grumbling and dire warnings of breaking down in the middle of nowhere from him, calm confidence from me!
The path taken by pilgrims on their spiritual and physically exhaustive trek to the cathedral at Canterbury was indeed a dark and tortuous one, but we were safely ensconced in a car! And before we even realised, there we were. The inn appeared on our left and we parked in the spacious car park to the side of the welcoming building.
Promising real log fires, cosy fireside armchairs, garlands of hops festooning the exposed beams of this wonderful building, it was exactly as I had imagined. The place has history and a feeling of having witnessed time. I won't be it's historian. I will only tell you our reactions. We were made instantly welcome by the smiling waiting staff. We were late thanks to my temperamental sat nav and the waitress showed us a table that was somewhat exposed but at our request she happily acquiesced to our choice of table.
Mr Grumpy was far happier now and even moreso as he viewed the menu' s generous offerings. We declined a starter, not because we didn't like the look of them but because we intended to leave room for desserts! There were so many delicious choices that I didn't know where to start! There were specials on boards around the walls too! Typical bloke, he had the inn' s signature burger. I chose the duck breast. Oh my, when the food reached us there were absolutely no complaints! Desserts followed. Yummy. When our waitress came to check on us I complained that the meal was so delicious that I would have to return!
My partner noticed that the inn also has accommodation and suggested that next time we stay there. Wonderful idea. Then we can sample the ales and wines knowing that we won't have to travel down that darkened lane!
The Black Horse Inn was a fantastic find and one that we are looking forward to revisiting, next time during the day when the locale can be appreciated. We were made welcome in this friendly and relaxed country inn. I recommend it in the hope that anyone venturing down the pilgrims path will find the sanctuary that we discovered.