The Real Ale Way… incredibly under-rated

A day off and I was faced with the not-much-of-a-dilemma of whether I tidied the house or visit a new micropub in West Wickham.

The Real Ale Way may not be the most imaginatively named pub, but it is a cracking little gem of a micropub that was well worth a special trip, involving a complicated transit at Croydon and a walk down a road called Station Road that is actually nowhere near a station.

I was happy to leave the debate of whether West Wickham is in London to another time.

While Bromley is a London borough, West Wickham could be classified as Kent.

Micropubs are also a curiously Kentish phenomenon and around half of all micropubs in the country are in Kent.

There are non-descript towns with 1990s-style 69p shops still operating that have three or more micropubs on the same street.

There is actually an East Wickham, an insignificant patch of roads near Welling, also an oasis of micropubs.

Located in a curious place next to a laundrette, The Real Ale Way opened at the end of 2021 and is the sister of the pub of the same name in Hayes.

It is typical of the micropub format: small, one-roomed and simple, although this feels more cosy than others.

As I visit more of these places, I realise that, as with everything else, some are better than others.

I would put The Real Ale Way in the top half for sure.

Its beer selection focuses heavily on Kentish ales, and I enjoyed beers from Larkin’s, Bexley and Iron Pier, all dispensed “by gravity” from a back room.

A few regulars swilled around the simple bar, and when I approached they invoked the barman, “he’s thirsty”, indicating me.

A wonderful foamy porter was immediately produced from the back room. I honesty do not know why these places are not more popular.

Micropubs, like charity shops and cabbage soup, are incredibly underrated.

I love the organic nature of the conversations, nurtured by the absence of music or Sky Sports intruding into the atmosphere, and the one room encouraging others to mingle and chat across space.

I could have easily chipped in my tuppence worth to a conversation that started up about the Northern Ireland Protocol, but equally as content to relax in an armchair and while away my day’s leave, the prospect of me tidying up when I got home diminishing with every pint of porter.

A wonderful afternoon.

Location: The Real Ale Way, 75 Station Road, West Wickham BR4 0PX

 

 

Pictures Bill Lacy