The Greyhound, Wadhurst

The Greyhound Inn is a coaching inn that is said to date from circa 1502. There is minimal parking out the front, but there is free parking around the High Street. Behind the pub there is a large grass covered beer garden with a children’s play area at the rear. The bar area is L shaped with an inglenook and crackling fire to the left of the bar and a dartboard around to the right. There is also a separate dining area/function room to the left, but I had no reason to pop in there. There was no background music, the plasma screen was switched off and unsurprisingly I saw no signs for Sky Sports. Two of the hand pumps on the bar were unused leaving Harvey’s Best and London Pride as the ale options. There is also a standard draught selection and food is served at lunch on Mondays, Lunch and evenings Tuesdays to Fridays, all day Saturday and until 16:00 on Sundays. The pub opens for breakfast at 9:30 at the weekends. The food seems reasonably priced with the tasty sounding mains coming in at around the £10 mark. My visit was on Tuesday afternoon and there were a handful of other customers, some of which were staying in the attached bed and breakfast rooms. A quiz was advertised for that evening, but I’m not sure if it is a weekly event. If I lived in Wadhurst I would use this pub regularly as it is well run and friendly, it’s just a shame that the beer selection was a bit sparse.

A white painted timber framed and tile hung pub in a pleasant square in a popular and busy Sussex village. A large L shaped bar, complete with dartboard and inglenook, not, mercifully lit on a hot July Sunday:a room to the left laid up for meals. It was the Sunday of Wadhurst’s annual Scarecrow Festival, and this pub seemed to be at the heart of things.We were selling plants in the square outside, and the Greyhound was a welcome source of coffee, tea and naturally beer. I was pleased to see Hopback ‘Summer Lightning’, together with Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter:the other two handpumps were , regrettably,unoccupied. Summer Lightening was a revelation when it first hit the market several years back: one of the first Pale ‘n’Hoppy beers that are now so popular and prevalent. I would argue that it is also one of the best, though if push came to shove, I would probably favour Hophead from DarkStar, if only because of its less intimidating ABV. The Harvey’s was as nutty as expected, if served on the cold side. The pub seems host to various local organisations, and hold a Thursday curry night-7 curries from 5 nations were promised. Live music is played on Sunday afternoon:when we were there a bunch of elderly bluesmen were tuning up. The garden to the rear looked interesting and well laid out: I have a feeling that some of our Verbena bonariensis found their way there. Fans of the Archers will be intrigued to learn that the Landlady’s name is Shula.Good pub .

I popped in for a quiet pint and really like the place. Two ales on, and friendly bar staff and locals. One pint cost me £3.10. (This is relevant...) I had things to do, and came back with a mate a couple of hours later. A pint and a half of the same stuff was £6.20. Now I have a degree in mathematics and so naively was expecting to pay £4.65. I was wrong.... Drink by the pint - not the half pint. They cost the same.... If not for the money this place would have got eight stars.