The Red Lion, Swanley

Situated in the relatively picturesque Swanley Village which is a fair hike from the town centre, the Red Lion doesn’t appear to have physically changed from photos I have seen from the late 19th Century although it now has more of a 30’s Brewery Tudor feel to it. The building actually dates from 1721 but was significantly altered in 1768 (when it was first licenced) and 1830. A full history can be found inside. The village did used to have 6 pubs of which the Red Lion was the only one licenced to sell spirits. Despite the attractiveness of the village and the relatively enticing exterior, the interior comes over is very ordinary décor and furnishings wise. The main bar area is carpeted with banquette seating opposite and a TV over an exposed brick fireplace at one end. A few bits of bric a brac adorned the bar conpy bet generally it is all a bit mundane. On the beer front it’s not too bad with a fairly mainstream range of 3 ales comprising of Doom Bar, Tribute and Brakspears Bitter (£3.20) on my visit. Not exactly groundbreaking but better than most of its competitors for what there is of them. Despite being a long way from the town centre, the pub is blighted by the vocabulary challenged customer base that thronged around the bar and seems to be a trademark of Swanley’s pub goers. The intrusive and unchecked barrage of F and C words won’t exactly endear the pub to non-regulars and may also explain why there weren’t too many punters around for a Saturday evening. With strong management to control the dreg end of the customer base the place would be reasonable for a couple of pints given the poor options in the area but as it stands it’s probably more of a quick pint place for completists and the curious before moving on, like I did.