Drink 5/5 Decor 5/5 Food n/a Price 5/5 Atmosphere 4/5 Staff 3/5

IT'S not everyday you venture down the boozer and find yourself sitting in a plush reception area but such was the popularity of Cobham's Leather Bottle there was nowhere else to perch.

It has been a while since PubSpy headed to the far outreaches of Shopperland, so I decided this historic village near Gravesend was the perfect location.

I decided to take pot luck and pop into the first pub I could find.

I should have bought a lottery ticket that day because my luck was well and truly in The Leather Bottle is a top-class boozer.

The pub is steeped in history. Dating back to the times of Charles I, it was a regular bolt hole of Charles Dickens and actually features in The Pickwick Papers.

The Leather Bottle is also a 10-roomed hotel with what looked like a very good restaurant.

And here lies my only real criticism the bar area is just too small, struggling to cope with a 40th birthday bash taking place during my visit.

The punters in the crowded bar seemed friendly enough, although I did have a mini-altercation with a harsh-faced woman who looked like she could be the warm-up act at Guantanamo Bay.

The well-stocked bar was staffed by two smiley barmaids.

To plump for anything other than real ale would have been sacrilege amid such fine surroundings, so I settled an excellent pint of Courage Best priced at £2.22.

Finding myself blocking people's access to the bar, I asked one of the smilers' whether I could rest my weary bones in the restaurant.

I received a resounding no' and a suggestion (which I'm still not sure was serious) to go and sit at a table in the hotel's reception.

So I did, to the obvious horror of a receptionist whose look of abhorrence made me feel like a hillbilly at a Buckingham Palace banquet.

So I supped up and left.

Although it was brief visit, I would certainly recommend a trip to the Leather Bottle it really is a class act.

The only tip I would give visitors, however, is to get there bright and early to make sure you can get a seat probably best to leave home about 10am.