The Duck Inn is in the middle of Kentish 'Darling Buds of May' country, in countryside so lush and beautiful it's almost edible. It's one of those remote pubs that is signposted from near a main road (the A2) a couple of miles away, tempting you to keep following more signs down narrower and narrower country lanes to the middle of nowhere with nothing in sight except sheep and empty barns till you are quite convinced you must have passed it. Or maybe it's been demolished and no-one took the signs down. The last sign we saw, 'Duck Inn 1/2 mile' was a black lie - it was at least a mile of single lane windiness till we eventually found it. Also with these 'try and find me' places there is the worry that the finally discovered pub just won't be worth it. Happily not the case here. The building dates from 1623 and the surrounding countryside is, as mentioned above, lovely. We went on a beautiful summer Sunday and it was as close to perfect as you can get. The pub used to be a house and grocer's shop but was turned into a pub at the turn of last century. It has plentiful gardens and two bar areas with biggish windows which are furnished in a wooden and chintzy country cottage way with quite a light touch. Proper fireplaces suggest roaring fires in winter.

Food was excellent and service ranged from good to chaotic but with much warmth and friendliness throughout. We asked for one roast beef and one roast lamb. A waitress brought two roast beefs. I said I had asked for lamb. Away they went. Out came another waiter, who looked about 17. He said they'd run out of lamb. I said beef would be fine. Back came the beef, brought by the original charming waitress who looked about 17 and a half. She said the chef would give us free desserts to compensate for their mistake. The roasts were good - excellent tender beef - and big with plenty of veg and proper roast potatoes. Good value for about £7. We moved on to our complimentary desserts - I had chocolate pudding and my friend had ice cream. They have interesting flavours, including grape. The desserts were a while coming, as were those of the table next door, but when they arrived they were spot on. We finished with fine coffees. We asked for the bill. They had forgotten to tell each other that the desserts were complimentary so back the bill went with promises to get it right next time. This time we were let off paying for the coffees to compensate. I thought we ought to leave before they ended up owing us money. We ended up paying a derisory sum for a very good meal. I left a larger than normal tip, because despite the odd slip-up they were very nice, and I will be back there very soon (they do Beef Wellington in the evening) if I can find the place again. It's a B and B as well and Ian Fleming stayed there to write 'You Only Live Twice' In 1964. He was no doubt confident that Smersh would never find him... Harry