We were due another trip down to Kent to see Nan so off we went - Mum, Sophie and I. It was another glorious day with high temperatures and lots of sun and I'd planned to visit an area of Kent where my great great great Grandfather lived, in a village called Ightham. I'd found out there was a lovely pub in the village so after a quick cup of coffee, we set the SatNav to find it. I knew the village was near Sevenoaks, but Gladys took us a completely different way and it was only my faith in her that kept me from turning around!
The route to the village was beautiful, though, through avenues of trees with gorgeous views of the farmland and gently rolling downs. The village itself was very pretty but we couldn't find the pub I'd looked up so we went to The George and Dragon instead which was lovely. It's a very old pub and apparently Guy Fawkes was supposed to have hatched his plot to bring down Parliament there (despite a pub in Ashby St Ledgers in Northamptonshire having the same claim to fame!) as well as being visited by Queen Elizabeth I. The staff were extremely friendly and it was busy with lots of lunchtime diners sitting outside in the sun.
We had a delicious lunch - very generously filled sandwiches for Mum, Sophie and me and a chicken salad for Nan which she thoroughly enjoyed. We didn't get much of a chance to look around the village itself (I'll save that for another time) but we did drive to the hamlet of Oldbury where my ancestor worked as a Blacksmith. There were some beautifully renovated Oast Houses there and I'm sure that at one time the whole area was covered in hopfields.
From Oldbury we drove into the village of Seal very briefly, where another of my family once lived and then headed back to Nan's flat along some very narrow roads! I was just glad I didn't meet another car!
We had a very good journey home, which was a bonus, and then I sat down with a much needed glass of wine!
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