Barley Mow, Brighton

Very much in the alehouse style, this pub has a fairly cramped interior filled with heavy rustic furniture. The decor in the two-part bar is restrained but more modern. A covered area of about equal size cam also be found out back. Four real ales - including Wadworth Horizon (£4.10) - and a cider from the five handpumps.

A nice little traditional boozer with a brightly painted eye catch ing frontage.Five handpumps offered a choce of Arundle Sussex IPA,Longman APA a couple of other beers from micros along with a Thatchers Cider on the fifth handle.A long walk or slow bus ride from the train station to get here but well worth it.

Every now and again this pub crawling lark throws up a few unexpected gems and the Barley Mow is one of them. The interior has a cosy lived in feel and the bar on the right hand wall supports at least seven hand pumps. These were all drawing local brews which were made up of Level Best, Chocolate Porter and Blues from Rother Valley Brewery, Autumn Old Ale and Stronghold from Arundel Brewery alongside Harvey’s Best and Heritage cider. There is also a standard draught range and pub food is served with the mains ranging between £6 and £13. There is no TV that I saw and I do not recall any background music. There is a surprisingly large covered and heated beer garden out the back that feels like an extension to the pub. There is also a hamper full of blankets for people to wrap themselves in on very cold days. I think that I would stay in the pub rather than have second dibs on a blanket like some vagrant. The staff were friendly and I would gladly visit here again. It’s just a shame that the location is such a trek from the train station.