Good news from Hollingbourne in Kent.

The Dirty Habit next to the Pilgrims’ Way is due to reopen in 2026.

The pub was devastated by fire in the autumn of 2022.

The exterior restoration is nearing completion and in the New Year work will begin on the interior.

The reopening, expected late next year around the fourth anniversary of the fire, will see the inn offering accommodation as well as refreshment.

Formerly known as the King’s Head and The Pilgrims Rest Inn, the present name is a reference to the monks of Canterbury who once worked in the local vineyard.

Although the Dirty Habit site is claimed to date from Norman times, the surviving building is mainly early 17th-century.