Keeping it in the family on Sheppey has always been important, but is the relationship between these two just a little close for comfort?

Brotherly love is a thing of beauty, but without so much as a whisker between them, the Wheatsheaf Inn and the Walnut Tree in Eastchurch have a unique pub relationship in my experience.

The Apprentice and I were pointed in the direction of Minster, on the Island, by SD fan Steve Pink who said this pair of pubs butting up to each other offer something a little bit different.

We turned right into The Wheatsheaf and, after a little wait at the bar, started with a Guinness and a Whitstable Bay Pale Ale. The ale was served in an old metal tankard, the like of which I haven’t had a drink in for many a long year.

Silver fox Trevor has an infectious cheeky grin and welcomed us with several wonderfully politically incorrect quips. We then took our drinks to the room on the right-hand side of the pub, if nothing else to get away from Happy Little Ted (a kids’ grab machine I think) which broke the silence alarmingly, and very loudly, at regular intervals.

Black cat Coco, I forget if they’re lucky or not, joined us at one point, as did Belle, another fur ball, this time of the Tabby variety.

Though the cats were a lot quieter than the kids charging around the dining room.

As well as visiting cats there are lots of signs with ‘funny’ sayings – ‘Danger, Bad Mood’ and ‘Hangovers last for a day, memories for a lifetime’ but perhaps the most striking is ‘Don’t Panic’ – written out twice in block capitals.

Having discovered these neighbouring pubs are run by brothers who fell out seven years ago and split the big pub they owned jointly into two completely separate boozers, we had to pop next door to visit Trev’s bro Steve at the Walnut Tree.

It was lively enough in the bar, the sparring mainly took place between Steve and his other half, who admitted it was like a cross between a bad episode of EastEnders and a Punch & Judy show.

If it was like a soap opera then local, and huge snake fan, Jay, was making a guest appearance and was overshadowing the regular actors. His story centred around an appearance on ITV’s This Morning two years ago when his neighbour, with a phobia of snakes, was encouraged into his adapted garage where he had, by his own admission, about 90 snakes, many bred himself.

A number of the same beers were on offer here as next door and my Whitstable Bay Pale Ale was an identical price.

The Walnut Tree clearly got the car park, which is spacious, in the split but lost out on the toilets, which are ridiculously bijou and feel like a late addition. The toilets, as well as not having much space, were also missing a drier or paper towels, soap, a light or screws in the ceiling switch.

We’d already decided the only fair way to judge the food at both these boozers was to order the same thing at each and make sure we shared them. We went for pepperoni pizza but the one here was created on a pre-prepared base and it was a world apart from the freshly made example next door. Sorry Walnut Tree, in our taste test the food at The Wheatsheaf was a great deal better.

Both pubs have jukeboxes, dartboards, strings of fairy lights and pumps serving the same drinks, but only The Wheatsheaf has a pool table, two grab machines, a pair of old fruit machines and an air hockey table.

I’m reliably informed there are plenty of locals who are more than happy to visit both pubs, many on the same night, and we were followed from one pub to the next by a few other folk.

However, when the brothers, who both have a history in construction, built the division between their boozers all those years ago there were a few locals who nailed their colours to the Walnut Tree mast or continue to show their allegiance to The Wheatsheaf.

We were happy to pay our respects at both and sample the delights of both sides of this unique pub experience.

THE WHEATSHEAF INN AND THE WALNUT TREE

The pubs have identical addresses – Warden Road, Eastchurch, Sheerness ME12 4HA

How they shape up...

Decor: They’ve both got their fair share of fairy lights and a few items you’d find in an amusement arcade, but the décor in both is fairly similar with much dark wood and old beams. I’d score this as a draw.

Drink: Neither pub has too many ales available but the Whitstable Bay Pale Ale was okay and was well served in both. I might just give the edge to the Wheatsheaf for the old-fashioned tankard.

Price: Again, I think this has to be a draw as the pale ale was £4.20 in both pubs. A Guinness in The Wheatsheaf was £4.50 and a pint of Moretti in The Walnut Tree was £4.80.

Food: We judged the pubs on the pepperoni pizzas they served and I’m afraid there was no contest. The Wheatsheaf’s freshly prepared pizza was miles better than next door’s offering.

Staff: I know they’ve gone their separate ways and are now following their own pub paths, but both Trevor and Steve are genial, pleasant hosts who welcome locals and visitors alike.

A high scoring draw for this one.

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