In London and Kent
My husband, Tom, and I were in London the second week of September ’08 and stayed in the southern suburb of Penge in an old home turned B&B: Melrose House (89 Lennard Rd., London, SE20 7LY, U.K.; phone 0208 776 8884, e-mail melrosehouse@supanet.com or visit www.
It is located in a very quiet neighborhood a 10-minute walk from the local train station (with frequent day and night trains), which is 15 minutes’ ride from London’s Victoria Station. It was 10 minutes in the other direction to town, which had an excellent pub (The Moon & Stars) and two very good restaurants.
The cost was $110 a night for a nice-sized, comfortable double room.
We stayed in Marden, Kent, at the 150-acre Tanner Farm B&B (Goudhurst Rd., Marden, Kent, TN12 9ND, U.K.; phone 01622 831214, www.tanner farmpark.co.uk). Marden is near Tunbridge Wells.
This is a lovely farm and home, complete with oasthouses. There was a large campground also. We had a spacious room in the B&B and an excellently served breakfast for $110 a night.
We tried two excellent restaurants in nearby Goudhurst: La Zia Maria (West Road, Goudhurst, Kent; phone 01580 21210, www.laziamaria.co.uk) and Green Cross Inn (Station Road, Goudhurst; phone 01580 211200, www.greencrossinn.co.uk). The price for a meal at either restaurant was about $100.
ANITA TOMASI
Santa Rosa, CA