Warm welcome from villagers

Thirty years ago I was a student at the University of Kent. I had a great four years in Canterbury and then life took me off on my journey and I haven’t been back to the area until this week. My partner and I landed at The Loft, a fantastic Airbnb in Stodmarsh run by Catherine and Frank.

When we stopped at the Red Lion pub to ask directions, Sarah, the new owner, told us she was having a locals-only opening night that evening.

“If you’re staying with Catherine, then you’re temporary locals too, so why don’t you come along,” she said.

We settled in at the Loft, a lovely barn set in beautiful countryside on the edge of a farm, just two steps from the local nature reserve. Later that night we walked down to the Red Lion, feeling honoured to be invited into the heart of the community.

That night we learned that the Red Lion has had a colourful past. Stodmarsh local Sarah took the Red Lion on after a recent period of closure, determined that the village would not lose its pub, like so many other villages have around the country.

The Red Lion was full that night, warm and vibrant like a pub should be, with great beer and friendly smiles. The décor was classy and traditional, a comfortable blend of warm wood and stone. Catherine introduced us to her neighbours, all of whom were interested and welcoming and made us feel like we were in our own local. We sampled the pub’s excellent snacks, drank at the bar and laughed ourselves into a fuzzy walk home.

You hear stories about the kind of community we found in Stodmarsh. We would like to say a huge thank you to Catherine and Sarah and everyone in Stodmarsh who made us feel so at home.

We need pubs like the Red Lion. We could have stayed there all