Are There any Good Pubs in Reigate? Part 1

I don’t go to the pub that often. Perhaps it’s a generational thing. I only go when it has been organised and I know I am meeting people there rather than wondering down and meeting people on the off chance or even for a solitary pint. Of course, it may be that our culture is changing and I alluded to this in my post about the Parish Church. Entertainment and communication are largely screen or telephone based these days so perhaps there is less of an urge to catch up down the boozer.

The statistics of pubs closing – 6 every day – is perhaps testament to our changing attitudes to drink and where we consume it. It is always the growth in the supermarket trade in alcohol that is blamed for the demise of the pub but it goes deeper than that. Yes it’s cheaper than the pub but what are we missing from these venerable institutions that is making us leave them in droves?

Firstly, I guess, are they any good? Do they provide the sort of place we want to go and spend the evening at? What’s the attraction of staying at home rather than going out? Secondly, beer; we used to go the pub sometimes in search of a “good pint”. Is that still the case? Let’s look at the first of these in relation to Reigate and see if I can drag myself back to the title of this post.

My personal view, perhaps controversially, is that there are no good pubs in Reigate. I have written about the Skimmington Castle and whilst it is now a better place to eat it’s not as good a pub as it once was. It has been seduced by modern minimalism in pub interior design. I, like most people, go because it is a fine walk and there is the opportunity to sit outside, not because it is a good pub.

What about the town centre pubs? Coming from the direction of the Skim the first pub one comes upon, whilst not quite in the town centre, is the Black Horse. I remember various incarnations of this place from plastic seated dive to esoteric Vietnamese food vendor. The current pub looks very pretty if you like the up market Arkle Manor, what used to be considered, Yuppy look. The people who run the place used to run the Skimmington Castle before it went downhill and had to close and the focus is very much on the food. It’s all dark leather, high back seats, wooden floor and upscale food – Kobe beef burger anyone? Again though, it’s not somewhere I would go for a swift pint.

Further up West Street is the Blue Anchor, again, like the Black Horse, subject to many a business saving transformation. When I worked locally back in the 80’s this was the pub we nipped out to at lunch to for a quick pint (sadly a dying indulgence now). It is also the only pub I have ever been thrown out of. Because of the inefficiency of the staff, our group, having had a good few rounds, decided to stack the empty glasses on our table. For this heinous crime we were summarily ejected and to this day I still feel slightly piqued. I am not sure if it was because we were a health and safety crime in waiting or we were just showing up the poor management. I did have my Stag Party there which ended up in a rather raucous and jolly singing competition between two halves of the pub so I do have some good memories of the place.

Anyway, currently it too has wooden floors and the welcome has not changed a jot. The people behind the bar are a surly lot which is a great shame as the beer garden out the back is certainly the best in Reigate with a great view over the cricket ground. And the food is pretty grim too. Fine if you are 10 years old and like Macro bought frozen curly fries. To be fair the beer was good. I can’t remember what was available exactly but it was a pleasingly eclectic selection of local brews.

A brief stagger up the road is The Red Cross. Now I must admit to not knowing much at all about this place. It always used to be the teenagers’ hang out on a Friday night years ago and  so I have only ventured there once some six or seven years ago. My visit, with a good pal, was memorable because of my first experience of absinthe. The place had only just been taken over and we went there because the food selection written on the board outside looked appetising. Sadly we were told that food wasn’t starting until the next day whilst the new chef got his kitchen in order. We sat at the bar, had a pint and chatted to the new owner and somehow got onto the subject of absinthe, a bottle of which we noticed on the shelves and a drink I had never tried. The owner very kindly offered us a glass on the house. There was some ritual preparation involving heated sugar and a spoon but I really can’t remember. I do however recall it being very green. We thanked out host and headed for Lal Akash for a meal. Strangely all the dishes we chose seemed to be green as well. Feeling we had drunk our fill that night we staggered home sheepishly apologising to my wife for being so late home. Whereupon she gave us a bemused look. It was only nine o’clock and we had been out a mere hour and a half. I haven’t drunk absynthe since.

I will continue the pub crawl of Reigate and consider the changing role of beer in the next post.

The Character of Reigate

Do towns have characters? Is Oxford preppy, is Brighton avant-garde, is East Grinstead er, dull? If they do what constitutes a towns’ character and what of Reigate?

I am finding it hard to put my finger on it but what has prompted this introspection is a comment from a friend of ours who was distressed, angry and frustrated at the groups of people who come to enjoy the Priory Park then just leave all their litter – bags, wrappers, the detritus of a family day out – where they sat. Of course we can say that they are the minority but so often it is the minority that are the defining character of a place precisely because they stand out.

What strikes me most about this is not just the littering but the underlying feeling that the people in Reigate who leave their mess behind them do so with the expectation that someone else will pick it up for them. Why, after all should they go to the effort of picking up their rubbish when people are employed to do it and they pay their taxes so that these people can be employed to do it? What kind of character does this demonstrate?

A few months ago I made the mistake of driving – well, trying to drive, down Chart Lane, past St Mary’s Prep School at 8:30 in the morning. It took me half an hour. Why? Because the road was clogged with mother queuing in their 4×4’s so they could drop their little darlings off, not just at the gate but the very door to the school. At least four women nearly came to blows when one couldn’t get to the drive and stopped on a double yellow to drop her child off, blocking three other mothers, one in what looked more like a tractor than a car – it was big enough. Why on earth they couldn’t drop them off on Blackborough Road or somewhere else less congested and let their kids walk the, admittedly, agonising 200 yards to school is beyond me. Again, to me it was the palpable sense that these people felt it was their right to do so and they probably bemoaned the fact that the roads were clogged with other people’s cars.

So what character traits would I assign to Reigate as a result of these two examples? Probably selfish – self-centred and self-serving. I noticed in the local press that reported crimes are up 12.7% in the Borough compared to last year. There are many reasons for crime and in economically difficult times, statistically crime increases but one of the reasons for petty crime and theft is selfishness, we live in a society where we expect to be able to have anything we want. get a credit card and pay for it later. Now that credit is not so readily available perhaps the temptation in Reigate where wealth is so conspicuous is too great to resist for those who aspire to such material wealth.

I mentioned on a previous post about the Easter project at St Mary’s Church, providing meals for the homeless and needy and there are many other worthy and selfless schemes where people give of their time and resources for nothing in return. Let this be the defining character of Reigate, the so called Friendly Town at the Foot of the Downs rather than one famous, as one web-site said, for being well to do and well off.

I think I will have to get off my soap box for the next post!

Heritage Open Days

Reigate has 14 venues to visit during the annual Heritage Open Days event. Well worth having a look at some of the historical treasures Reigate has to offer, some of which are seldom open to the public like the Cranston Library which I have mentioned before. This was Englands’s first ever lending library named after the vicar of the time over 200 years ago. It still contains over 2,000 books some of which are many hundreds of years old including a handwritten manuscript from the 14^th century penned by a monk called Stephen Byrchington and a prayer book belonging to Lord Howard, one of Reigate’s key historical figures. The library itself is in a small room above the Tudor vestry of St Mary’s Church – also part of  Heritage Open Days so take the opportunity to look around.

Also included in the list of venues in Reigate is Baron’s Cave. I love a good cave. There is something mysterious, sometimes foreboding about subterranean spaces. I remember vividly the caves at West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire when I was a child. The caves were supposed to be the secret venue for the infamous Hellfire Club of the 18th century where rakes and dilettantes would meet to cook up some dreadful deed of debauchery. Benjamin Franklin was a one time member so maybe they were just coming up with new kite designs and were no more dangerous than 18th century train spotter but the fact they met underground lent them an air of mystery.

As far as Reigate’s caves go I remember back in the 80’s there used to be a wine bar called On The Rocks which could only be accessed through a door at the back of what I am sure was an Italian restaurant (well it had red chequered tablecloths) in what must now be the Westerley Restaurant – or Reigate Kebab House. The door opened onto a twisting staircase that seemed to go on forever but which eventually opened up into a warren of alcoves where you could sit at tables drinking cocktails and lean back and get sand in your hair from the untreated stonework. I remember on particular cocktail called Witches Brew which came in a regular pint glass, was the colour watered down concrete and could kill a man if not treated with respect. Sadly, I believe the caves wre filled in as they were posing a risk of subsidence for the main road above. I haven’t ben to Baron’s Cave but will certainly try to go along this weekend.

Another intriguing event is the Heritage Tree Walk. Now forgive me for thinking of the comic possibilities of such an event. I can’t help but imagine people turning up with their saplings in pots on wheels expecting a gentle perambulate through Priory Park; or perhaps some Ents from Lord of the Rings frightening children in the playground.

I also notice Reigate Cricket Club is on the list. I am not sure how much there is to see but it is a lovely spot. Our sons used to be members but were driven out by an attack of the cliques.  The chief attraction is the Club House and bar which, throughout the summer, was a wonderful place to be on a Friday evening as the various groups practiced and parents wondered in to raise a glass to the end of the working week and another to the prospect of a weekend all to the backdrop of the beautiful North Downs.

Do take advantage of all the activities going on this weekend and let us know what caught your eye.