The Ash Tree Inn, Battle

Hard-to-find country pub, nowhere near any public transport so you probably have to drive down the very narrow lanes... Anyway, the original farmhouse-style building has a smaller single-storey extension (also of some age as far as I could tell) set at 90°, the the various seating and dining areas within the partly opened-out layout form a L-shape overall. Mix of traditional and more modern elements in the different parts. Two cask ales on handpump: the obligatory Harvey's plus the even-more-local Abbey Pale IPA (£5.20) from Battle Brewery.

Official site of The Ash Tree Inn - www.ashtreeinn.com

Official site of The Ash Tree Inn - www.ashtreeinn.com

The 17th century Ash Tree Inn isn’t a pub that you would stumble across by accident as it is located down a narrow country lane that comes off Church Road at the top of Ashburnham village and then re-joins the same road at the bottom of the village. This narrow lane is called Brownbread Street and the pub is adjacent to the Brownbread Horse Rescue Centre, which I found very amusing. To the left of the pub is a gravel car park where a few large rocks have been thrown in to keep the drivers on their toes. At the rear of the pub is a grass covered area with a few picnic tables that afford nice views across the High Weald AONB in the East Sussex countryside. During my recent visit on a gorgeous Friday afternoon all of these picnic tables were being used by a mix of families, ramblers and cyclists. The side facing front entrance leads to a small seating area that is looked upon by an inglenook to the right in the front wall of the pub. In the right hand side of the pub are two separate sunken seating areas, at least one of which has another inglenook. The bar, located in the left rear, faces some seating to the left, where there is a television. This was off and I expect it only gets turned on for the Boat Race, Six Nations and World Cup. The bar supports two hand pumps that were drawing Battle Brewery’s Abbey Pale IPA and Harvey’s Best. There are also five keg fonts that were spurting Becks, Birra Moretti, Goose Island Midway IPA, Stowford Press cider and Guinness. Being a country pub in the middle of nowhere it wasn’t surprising to see that it is food led with a gastropub menu. No burgers here, but ham, egg and chips is available for £11. I found the staff to be polite. It should be noted that this pub has very restrictive opening hours so one should check before planning a visit.