Gravesend. Not a name to conjure up bright hopes and broad horizons but, with a pie shop of some 3 years' standing, a destination on the 'to-do' list of the Pie and Mash Club. With the HS-1 high speed 'Javelin' train, one is launched from London St Pancras into estuarine Kent inside half an hour; thus were the rovers of said Club posited at the gates of the town with time for a brief pre-lunch perambulum.

At the allotted hour, the group assembled in the precinct of the St George's Centre where they were greeted by the friendly physog of local man, Mark 'Grood' Knowler. For many years an inhabitant of lands north of the estuary, having once had his taste of the sweet life of Kent, Knowler knew he could never leave it. We followed our congenial guide inside Sie's Pie and Mash Shop, wherein we found a homely combination of black and white checks, wooden booths and fluorescent strip lighting.

As you might expect of a bold yet modestly proportioned enterprise far removed from the metropolis, Sie's bill of fare is extensive, offering a wide range of old-school classics such as faggots and pease pudding, sausage, mash and onions, boiled bacon with egg and chips, and various breakfasts. To a man were we unswayed by these dietetic distractions, for homemade pie, eels, mash and liquor were for us the star attractions.

Unlike the Manze's operation, this is no pie and mash conveyor belt; each ordered his food, paid and waited for table-side delivery.

There was also no archetypal scrape of mash, but in all other respects the presentation was exemplary.

If there was a Pie and Mash Champions' League, these two giants would be in it. City and Chelsea respectively, given their sporting affiliations.

The Moore the Merrier.

Er, a rolling Mosse gathers no stones?

Pies in the pews.

My old cartographic colleague Grood was looking trim thanks to a carb-free regime which has seen him shed 4 stones since summer. The modest 1+1 platter before him was a much-anticipated, yet highly nutritious, treat.

Veggie pies are available on request.

This is a cash-only establishment.

For a mere £3.50 you can gorge on a selection of stodgy sweets such as treacle, spotted dick, STP, choc and jam puddings, accompanied by custard or ice cream, just like these gorgeous desserters.

Mike and I were privileged with a peek behind the scenes to meet Mr Sie himself, here posing with a slab of pre-rolled 'top' in his upstairs kitchen. Sie pied his trays for many years at Raymonds of Eltham, and still lives at Kidbrooke, whence he commutes each day.

[Far right] Ladies of the shop Liz and Zena who assist front-of-house with Sie's partner Donna.

Conclusion: Sie's seems to have created a niche for itself in an unjustly overlooked location. Well done to Mr Sie for taking a tried and tested template from Raymond's, putting his own stamp on it, and making it work in north Kent. The quality of the staples we sampled was excellent, and only the most partisan of pie punters could possibly be disappointed.

Gravesend has a number of old boozers – here are two of them. I jest, for our local guide directed us to a more recent addition to the libation list, the Compass Alehouse, which he had craftfully arranged to stay open for us on this Friday afternoon. The Compass is a favourite with the brothers Knowler [John, right].

It had everything a beer and cider fancier might want, and even the cola was artisanal.

As the autumn sun began its descent, we passed down through the historic thoroughfares of the old town to the water's edge. The whiff of brine transported Lucas back to his epic Tilbury crossing en route for Southend back in 2013.

Of Benny the Beluga there was no sign, but it's easy to see how a wandering whale could wash up in this picturesque and atmospheric locale. For Gravesend is truly a taste of paradise.

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