Two pubs in Hadlow, a community-owned pub on the green at West Peckham, a country pub in Plaxtol, farm shops a mile away, English sparkling wine estates you can walk through with children, and strawberries to pick in June.
Checked 11 September 2026. Hours and prices change, so follow the links to the official sites before you set off. Distances are from Hamptons Farmhouse.
Hadlow has fewer pubs than it used to. The Harrow was demolished, the Two Brewers is closed, and the Rose Revived on the main road became The Kentish Tap in March 2026. What is left is good, and the villages either side of us have kept theirs. Everything here was open in 2026 when we checked; ring before a Sunday lunch.
Pubs within ten minutes
The Kentish Tap at the Rose Revived, Hadlow
The village's main pub on Ashes Lane, renamed in March 2026, with big gardens, a heated marquee and a children's play area.
Kentish Sunday roasts, local ice cream and live music on Fridays.
Rose and Crown, Hadlow
A traditional Shepherd Neame local on Carpenters Lane with real ales, a real fire and a garden. Food to 8 pm, 5 pm on Sundays.
The quiet pint. Ring first.
The Bell, Golden Green
A free house with a garden that opens onto a big field, a games room and a bat and trap pitch.
Space to run while the adults sit.
The Swan on the Green, West Peckham
A sixteenth-century pub on the village green, owned by 463 local shareholders since March 2025. Closed Mondays.
Cricket on the green in summer and benches to spill out onto.
Papermakers Arms, Plaxtol
Plaxtol's only pub, a relaxed country pub and restaurant with a south-facing terrace. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
A separate children's menu and a Travellers' Choice award nine years running.
The Poacher and Partridge, Tudeley
An open-plan gastropub whose glass doors open onto a huge garden with farmland views.
A fully equipped play area, a summer garden grill and a children's menu.
The Moody Mare, Mereworth
An eighteenth-century beamed pub with a large garden, tipis and a playground. The only pub left near Mereworth.
The playground.
Bush, Blackbird and Thrush, East Peckham
A Shepherd Neame pub licensed since 1781, with a big garden in summer and fires in winter. Food Tuesday to Sunday.
Old, low-beamed and welcoming.
The Chaser Inn, Shipbourne
A food-led pub beside the church and the common, with a heated courtyard and a big garden.
Colouring books, a children's menu, and Ightham Mote up the road.
A little further
The George and Dragon, Ightham
A black and white Tudor coaching inn with a Guy Fawkes legend, near Ightham Mote.
Children welcome in the bar until 6 pm.
The White Rock Inn, Underriver
A beamed country pub with open fires, five minutes from Knole Park.
Two gardens with table service, a pétanque piste and bat and trap.
The Railway, Wateringbury
A family-run village pub opposite the station, near the Medway moorings.
River walks from the door.
The John Brunt VC, Paddock Wood
A family-friendly gastropub named after a local Victoria Cross holder.
Children's menu and a dog-friendly garden.
The Black Horse, Borough Green
A Good Beer Guide pub with a large lawned garden.
A children's play area and mother and baby facilities.
The Blue Anchor, St Mary's Platt
An award-winning village pub by the church, serving food all day.
Good value, garden, parking.
The Kings Arms, Offham
A seventeenth-century beamed pub by the village green with its quintain.
Sunday roasts and a pizza van on Wednesday evenings.
The Flying Dutchman, Hildenborough
A friendly two-bar village pub with a big car park and outside space.
On the way back from Sevenoaks.
The Bull, Wrotham
A fourteenth-century coaching inn and hotel with an award-winning restaurant.
A proper children's menu and an enclosed garden.
The Plough at Leigh
A tile-hung sixteenth-century independent pub with local ales and live music.
Playground, big garden, children's menu.
The Five Bells, Seal
A classic eighteenth-century Shepherd Neame local made from two cottages.
Garden, quiz nights and live music.
The Leicester Arms, Penshurst
A Grade II listed inn, recently refurbished and named among the best pubs in the country.
A children's menu and a terraced garden sloping to the Medway. Penshurst Place is next door.
Fir Tree House Tea Rooms, Penshurst
A sixteenth-century cottage tea room in business since about 1930, afternoons only, closed in winter.
Scones in the garden after Penshurst Place.
The Castle Inn, Chiddingstone
A fifteenth-century inn owned by the National Trust, next to Chiddingstone Castle, serving Larkins ales brewed in the village. Closed Mondays.
A secluded garden and a village that looks like a film set.
The Kings Head, Bessels Green
A village green pub west of Sevenoaks with an all-weather garden.
After Knole or Chartwell.
Farm shops
Haywards Farm Shop, Hadlow
Local vegetables, meat and a bakery on the Tonbridge Road.
The morning bread and milk run.
Hadlow College Farm Shop
Produce grown by the students of Kent's land-based college, on Ashes Lane.
Plants and seasonal vegetables. Check the hours.
Pick your own
Farmers Farm Shop, Little Court Lodge Farm, Teston
Strawberries from June, then other berries, on the A26.
Closest to the farm.
Stonepitts Farm, near Seal
Strawberries and raspberries.
Small and friendly.
Lower Ladysden Farm, Goudhurst
Pick your own seven days a week in season.
Combine with Bedgebury.
Vineyards
Kent is now England's wine country, and several estates welcome families for the walk even if only the adults taste.
Balfour Winery, Hush Heath Estate, Staplehurst
Open daily with free self-guided trails through vineyards, orchards and oak woods.
The best one with children. Tastings are for over eighteens and need booking at weekends.
Squerryes, Westerham
An outdoor café, afternoon tea, a tasting bar and a restaurant on the estate.
Lunch with a view of the Downs.
Biddenden Vineyards
Kent's oldest commercial vineyard, making cider and juice as well as wine.
On the Wine Garden of England trail.
Chapel Down, Tenterden
A self-guided vineyard walk, tasting bar, shop and restaurant.
Pair with the Kent and East Sussex Railway.
Gusbourne, Appledore
Tours and tastings by prior booking only.
For the wine enthusiasts in the party.
“Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks are 15 minutes away, with Tonbridge closer still, each with shopping, swimming pools and plenty of restaurants.”
From our Dairy Cottage page
Questions we are asked
- Which pubs are in Hadlow?
- Two in 2026: The Kentish Tap at the Rose Revived on Ashes Lane (01732 852365), with gardens and a play area, and the Rose and Crown on Carpenters Lane (01732 850242). The Harrow and the Two Brewers have closed.
- Which pubs near Hadlow have a children's play area?
- The Kentish Tap in Hadlow, The Poacher and Partridge at Tudeley, The Moody Mare at Mereworth, The Black Horse at Borough Green and The Plough at Leigh all have play areas. The Chaser at Shipbourne and The Bull at Wrotham have children's menus.
- Is there a farm shop near Hamptons Farmhouse?
- Yes. Haywards Farm Shop on the Tonbridge Road in Hadlow is about a mile away, and Hadlow College has its own farm shop on Ashes Lane.
- Can we visit a vineyard with children?
- Balfour Winery at Hush Heath, about twelve miles away, has free self-guided trails through the vines and woods that suit families. Tastings are for adults.