Red Lion (Kent)

“The Red Lion is situated on the edge of Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve known for its reed beds, fens, ditches, wet grassland and open water.” The Nature Reserve is an idyllic place, a fraction of what was once the vast nature-rich Kent marshes. Surely not the wildlife-rich location for any nearby venue to want to host a bunch of horses and hounds – especially to see them then go rampaging across the countryside? Not the thinking perhaps of the Red Lion who hosted a poor turnout of the Kent Hounds in December 2023, much to the amusement of the West Kent Hunt Sabs who were there to greet them…and the sabs were amused even further when in June 2025 the Kent Hounds named the Red Lion as ‘Pub of the Month’, a non-event fundraiser the sabs labelled “a pathetic new initiative…seemingly to reward the pubs who host them and to gather what can only be, a measly amount of funds!”