I can't seem to stop writing about the Romney Marsh. Not only does it offer beautifully mysterious scenery, eerie winds, stunning old churches in tiny villages, fields full of rough-coated Romney sheep, strange little roads down which one surprisingly never gets lost, and some great legends about smugglers and phantoms, but it's also a perfect place for nature walks and birdwatching. Best of all for Marsh pubgoers is the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. Opened in 1927 as "The World's Smallest Public Railway", this miniature steam-operated train boasts one-third-scale cars and runs at an average of 25 mph between Hythe and Dungeness with four stops in between. The complete return fare as of the 1999 season was £8.90, with an extra 25 pence tacked on if you want to ride First Class, i.e. in the bar car. And this is definitely the place you want to be because as you enjoy the ride you can chat with the bartender (who's a wealth of information) and sip a can of Bishops Finger.

As the train pulls out of Hythe one of the first sights you'll see to the west is Lympne Castle. Eight miles down the route the train will make a stop at New Romney, where you can debark and walk down to the High Street to The Cinque Port Arms, named after the fact that New Romney was one of the head Cinque Ports for many years, being an important fishing and sea trade center. The pub, which hasn't changed for over a hundred years, has low beamed ceilings and is quite comfortable. Last year I stopped in with a couple friends and had pints of Greene King's 1799 Special Bicentennial Ale (4.5% ABV, from Greene King, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk). This is a dark, almost sweet beer with a tangy finish; it brings to mind the image of a dark brown orange squeezing its way through a weathered wooden barrel. This is a good beer for conversations about cars and airplanes and car airplanes and airplane cars. But the darkness and sweetness gets to be a bit much, and I simply couldn't finish my pint.

Sadly the miniature railroad doesn't go to Old Romney. But seeing as how it's only two short miles down the A259 from New Romney, it's definitely worth the detour to visit the Rose & Crown. There used to be a small island where the town of Old Romney now stands, but fortunately it's much easier today to reach the pub. The Rose & Crown, which dates from 1689, started life as two farm dwellings; at that time the only other structures in Old Romney were ten other buildings and St. Clement Church. The house was owned by a succession of farmers, saddlers, and carpenters until 1806, when both dwellings merged and the inn started selling ales. It was granted a full license in 1848 and is now owned by David Ball and Brian Cole.

The Rose & Crown, open all day, is a nice friendly place, and at lunchtime they're quite busy. The barkeep who served us on our first visit had gorgeous tattoos on his arms, and he seemed quite proud of the beers, a sentiment we've found in the entire staff. There are always five real ales on tap, although the owner may cut down to four, putting Fuller's London Pride (4.1% ABV, Fuller, Smith and Turner, London) on two taps. On our first visit we tried pints of Hoppy Holly Daze (4.6% ABV, Rother Valley Brewing Company, Northiam, East Sussex). This is a dark bitter with a peppery leather taste, very warming like the roaring fire near which we were sitting. The first sip elicited a "ROW-arr!" belch from my drinking companion. Since we'd heard the pub serves the best London Pride outside of London, we next had to try a pint of this. It was an extremely drinkable pint, a surprisingly drinkable pint, a pint that one doesn't often come upon. My companion said it was a very good pint of London Pride -- perfect, in fact, and extremely close to what you can get near the brewery in London. And at £1.85 it's a good value as well.

Oh yes, and the sandwiches we had were excellent: the cheese tasted like a good farmhouse Cheddar, and the pate was nice and chunky.

Back on the train you'll toodle on to the final stop at Dungeness, another village that used to be an island when most of the marsh was under water and for many years was a pilot station. Just before Dungeness you'll pass Derek Jarman's old house on the beach. Once you arrive at Dungeness you'll be greeted with the startling sight of the old lighthouse (built in 1904) standing against the scenic backdrop of the Dungeness Nuclear Power Plant. (I've been told this is an excellent spot for birdwatching, especially around the gravel pits, but you can't eat the local shrimp. I wonder why...)

Alas, at some point you'll need to catch the last train back north to Hythe. There are several worthwhile pubs there as well, but I'll cover them in a future column.