The Red Lion, Haywards Heath

Fine-looking Georgian inn with a symmetrical facade featuring bow windows and two front doors (evidence of this building originally being a pair of semi-detached houses). Traditional interior, with some interesting details in both the bar to the left of the central counter and the dining room on the right-hand side. Substantial real beer garden behind the car park. More pub-like than most Ember Inns, with Harvey's, London Pride and Bass (£4.60) available from three of the five handpumps (with reversed clips for Doom Bar and Tribute on the other couple).

Official site of The Red Lion - www.emberinns.co.uk

Official site of The Red Lion - www.emberinns.co.uk

The Red Lion has a U-shaped bar that serves a front wooden floored bar area and carpeted seating areas to the left and right. During my visit on a recent Saturday afternoon a band, that was set up in the front left corner of the pub, had just finished playing. My visit coincided with the Platinum Jubilee so the pub was very busy. There are a few televisions dotted around as this is the village pub that shows Sky Sports. The bar supports eight handpumps, two of which were unused, but were being used to advertise the CamRA discount and try before you buy. The others were drawing Fuller’s London Pride (x2) St Austell Tribute, Harvey’s Best, Black Sheep’s Twilighter Fresh IPA and Marston’s Cheers Ma’am. A standard and premium keg range was also available. Out the back is a patio area, with picnic tables and patio seating, that leads to an enormous grass covered beer garden. Here there are picnic tables and huts for covered outside seating during colder months. This Ember Inns pub is decent with friendly staff and was my favourite pub in the village.

Quite busy for lunch yesterday, to the extent that I popped over to the Stand Up Inn whilst waiting for the food rush (& small bar queue) to quieten. Returned to a good pint of Harveys, there was another handpump on offer but I don't recall what it was, sorry. Attractive rooms either side of a large central wooden bar, enormous beer garden to the rear.