The Bakery TW: The Camden Road Sourdough Spot Now Racking Up National Awards

Walk along Camden Road in Tunbridge Wells and you'll pass The Bakery TW - two shopfronts knocked into one, trays of sourdough in the window, and a queue that tends to form before the pastry counter's even been restocked. It used to trade as The Bicycle Bakery; these days it's racking up national bakery awards while still feeling like a neighbourhood spot.

The headline achievement is a Two-Star "Outstanding Taste" award from the Guild of Fine Food's Great Taste programme for its White Sourdough - judged blind by a panel of more than 500 food critics, chefs and producers, and one of the toughest accreditations in British food. The bakery has also been named South England Bakery of the Year at the Prestige Awards, which it says makes it two years running, alongside recognition from the Good Food Guide and a listing in Harden's.

The business started life as The Bicycle Bakery before rebranding to The Bakery TW, and has since expanded into the shop next door, now spanning 118-120 Camden Road. Everything on the pastry counter and in the bread basket is made from scratch on site - sourdough, all-butter croissants and a pastry line-up that changes through the year - alongside coffee from local roaster All Things Bloom. It's open Tuesday to Saturday, closed Monday and Sunday.

The bakery has also partnered with The Oaks Specialist College to provide supported internships and employment for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) - work it says was featured on ITV News. On its own site, the team singles out "Baker Ben" as the person behind the ovens each morning, the kind of small detail that tends to matter more to regulars than any trophy cabinet.

The bakery's Facebook page - its best public record of local reaction - shows a 98% recommend rate from 59 reviews and a 4.9-star average, with just over 2,600 followers. For a small independent bakery, that's a strong, consistent signal from the people actually buying the bread.

The Bakery TW is at 118-120 Camden Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 2QZ, open Tuesday to Saturday (closed Monday and Sunday). Source: The Bakery TW, The Bakery TW, Facebook