The Pig at Bridge Place

The Pig at Bridge Place

On the wall above the basin in a handful of bathrooms at The Pig at Bridge Place, original 1960s concert posters remain, left over from the era when this bucolic Kent property traded its manor-house calm for a run as the region's hip-shaking hideout of choice, hosting Led Zeppelin, the Kinks and Ben E King. That contrast, half country retreat, half rock relic, is something no other hotel in Canterbury can claim. The hotel itself stays small, 31 rooms, no lift, so anyone needing step-free access to upper floors should ask ahead, though two rooms off the main courtyard are built fully wheelchair accessible. Breakfast and a restaurant cover meals, a spa slows down a morning, and free parking and Wi-Fi are standard rather than notable. Reception runs around the clock, useful for arriving late from Canterbury's centre, 5km away, or from a day spent at Howletts Zoo nearby. Dogs are welcome to roam the grounds, so long as they leave the resident pigs alone, though they're kept out of the restaurant and the rooms themselves. Check-in from 3pm and check-out by 11am are ordinary hours for a hotel that otherwise resists the ordinary. Rooms run modest, a Comfort Room and a Standard Room, both looking over the garden rather than dressed up with much else. This suits the traveller who wants a story attached to her stay and doesn't mind a staircase to get it, less so anyone who needs lift access or a dog sharing the bed at night. What lingers afterward isn't the spa or the free parking. It's the thought of Ben E King soundchecking somewhere near where the pigs now graze. The Pig at Bridge Place hides a rock and roll history behind its bucolic Kent setting, once hosting Led Zeppelin and the Kinks. Original concert posters still hang in the bathrooms. With 31 rooms, no lift, a spa and a restaurant, it sits five kilometres from Canterbury, dogs welcome outdoors.