The Star Inn, Pevensey

Official site of The Star Inn - www.thestarinnnormansbay.co.uk

Official site of The Star Inn - www.thestarinnnormansbay.co.uk

The Star Inn is a sprawling pub made up of the ‘Ship’s Mess’ carvery area on the left hand side, Bar and thin ‘Officer’s Mess’ restaurant in the middle and Smuggler’s Cove seating area to the right which leads to a children’s games area that is full of arcade machines. Having a carvery this pub is obviously food orientated (mains around £10), but it does still feel like a proper pub rather than a restaurant with bar or soulless gastro hellhole. One of the hand pumps on the bar was unused during my visit a couple of weeks ago but the Harveys Best was good and Youngs Ordinary and Old Speckled Hen were also available alongside a limited draught selection. There are picnic tables at the front and around the side of the pub and even more seating the other side of a small bridge that stretches across some water. There is also an adventure playground on at the rear which was popular with the children, but I thought it to be a little dangerous and in need of modernisation. There are better family orientated pubs along this stretch of the South Coast and I think that this one is far enough out of the way for me not to bother visiting again. QI: The Star Inn purports to be founded in 1402, but more interestingly according to some text by the entrance of the pub Normans Bay Railway Station was built in Victorian times due to the arrival of a stranded whale in the nearby marshes. Lots of Londoners flocked to the south coast to see the whale and found no railway station so they had to jump off the train. Several sleepers were hurried in overnight to please the masses.

Whether it really dates from the claimed 1402 I don't know, but this is certainly a historic inn with plenty of character inside the pleasant but fairly plain facade. However, some may find the 'olde worlde charm' - with rooms named as the Captains Quarters, Officers Mess, Smugglers Cave, etc. - a bit cheesy. Just two of four handpumps in operation, offering Old Speckled Hen and Harveys (£3.20 and a bit hazy, but tasted fine). Food seemed to concentrate on the carvery. Large beer garden and childrens play area across a small river (plus, unusually, an indoor area of electonic games for the youngsters if the weather isn't good outside).